Jollyrodgers,
How much do you weigh? How long is the windsurfer mast? I am assuming you are sailing an TheMightyHobie18, is that correct? I found a windsurfer mast, I am just wonder if it will be long enough for me to be able to right my Nacra 5.2. I had to lift my boat over on its side at the beach yesterday to put the mainhalyard back on the sheave at the masthead and it was a beeyach to get back upright. I had to stand about 10 feet out and had a friend lifting the mast for me. I am really hoping it will be easier in the water. I'll make sure I have some jetski friends around before I test it.

Rob V.
Panama City
Nacra 5.2

hello,
the pole i used is the top half of a windsurfer mast. i never mesured it, but it sticks out past the rear beam about 6".
i weigh 160 and righted the TheMightyHobie18 twice by myself in light winds. it was tricky when the wind was lighter. something failed causing the capsize.
the trick was to tie the pole off at the daggerboard bungie attachment point. they explained to me on the old forum that because the hull has more bouancy forward the righting pole has more effect when tied off further forward. it took a while for me to wrap my mind around this concept because i looked at the leverage puzzle as if it were on land. in the water the bottom hull gets depressed as you pull on the top hull so it requires even more leverage to get the mast tip up high enough to right the boat. more of the energy gets used to lift the mast when pushing against a more boyant section of the hull.
the pole sticks out beyond the shroud and is comfortable to hang on, so the leverage is more than just tieing a line to the chainplate. you could fill a backpack with water to get more leverage i expect.
on another note you can't tie the front of the pole high for storage because a little slack is needed in the loop. that's why i bungied the pole up. also because of the curved beams the pole hits the middle of the tramp so the pole tips won't be able to touch the beams whilst stored under the tramp.
when righting your boat on the beach you can just lift the mast tip then walk down the shroud till the boat reaches it's balance point. if someone is there they can lower the top hull to the sand while you pull on the shroud.
hope this helps.
ps. i'd be careful testing the pole on the beach. if you get that top hull coming down at you and don't catch it some one or something could get hurt.
also when i reright on the water i get the mast pointed to wind so that i can climb around on the top hull w/o going turtle.

OK, I'm a little confused now . Maybe it is because I have a Nacra, so the beams are straight. Also, I think with the shape of my hulls, I would be ok rigging the pole right at the dolphin striker. I'm just not very convinced that the pole will be enough for me to right the boat. I flipped it on dry land yesterday to do some mast head work and it felt pretty darn heavy coming back up. I'm not sure I could right it in the water, even with a pole.

Rob V.
Panama City
Nacra 5.2

Rob,

On shore, you might still be able to right it with a pole...but remember that while in the water that you should orient the sails so that they point to the wind properly. The sail will provide a good deal of lift, aiding you in righting the boat, even with a gentle breeze. At 165lbs I could right my 5.2 single handed (using only a righting line) as long as it was blowing over 12knots.

Other than just barely lifting the mast up to horizontal, this seems like a recipe for disaster. Just where will the pole go as the boat comes up when on land? Shallow water is hard on righting poles but on dry land it's inconceivable.

I would try seeing how the lines are attached and if they'll hold some mild stress, but there's no way I would try to right that boat on land: Think about the stress on the lower hull as you're standing on it.

Just practice with it in the water like everyone else did; you'll get the hang (no pun intended) pretty quickly. As far as the length of the pole; you want at least six inches past the rear cross bar because you want to be able to grab it and bungee it back up, then sail away!

Wyatt

Actually, I tried this on dry land before trying it in the water. I didn't lift it all the way obviously, but I hung on it until I could feel the mast coming up. You definetly don't have to totally right the boat just to test the pole. I then took it into the water and it worked there also.

The only thing that I don't think can be that good is that the pole slams into the descending hull typically as the hull hits the water. I did not have a preventer rigged though. Maybe that would have helped keep the pole between the hulls and away from them.

I was very careful in stepping on the lower hull when out of the water. If you have somewhat weak hulls, you could easily go through one.

I haven't installed the pole yet... maybe this weekend if the TS doesn't hit us. I was standing on the ground about 10 feet from the hulls. My boat is old (1984) so I wouldn't stand on it out of the water on it's side. I weigh just under 150 pounds, so I am pretty sure that I won't be able to right it solo, even in a decent breeze. The way I have heard though, if there is enough wind to knock me over, there should be enough to right me (stupidity aside). The pole would definately give me some good leverage in the lighter winds.

Rob
Panama City
Nacra 5.2

Rob:

I wouldn't be surprised if you could get the boat over by yourself; just extend the pole up from 90 to 60 degrees and try to hand walk to the end of the pole.

I think it will do wonders for your sailing. by increasing your confidence.

Wyatt

I just went down to strap the boat down for the storm and found two holes in the starboard hull. Some idiot pushed it sideways into the metal tiedown bracket.
So my right pole project is on hold until I can get the hull repaired. I guess my projects just got re-prioritized for me.

I've been toying around with the idea of a righting pole for my TheMightyHobie18 as well. I was lucky enough to score a broken windsurfing mast and am trying to put together something simple. My theory is if it isn't simple it's not worth it. When your boat is on its side it's not a great time to be untangling line and figuring out what goes where.

I cut the mast in half and put the top half inside the other so it is double strength for most of its length. I shoved a golf ball in the bottom end and drilled a hole through all for a rope "hinge". The rope is somewhat loosely tied around where the post meets the dolphin striker. I have one line with a clip that hooks to a loop positioned at the end of each crossbar. To deploy the pole I swing it out and clip it to whichever loop is higher in the air

I tried the pole out in light wind last weekend. There will have to be another test... I clearly need some kind of limiter line. I must have looked pretty funny swinging back and forth on the end of that pole! I was never perpendicular to the boat long enough to tell if it was coming up or not. I tried to MacGyver a limiter line but during my next attempt the loop on my crossbar broke. I righted the boat with some assistance from a passing PWC (imagine that!). I'll give it another try one of these days using a better top loop and a limiter line. I think a single line from the rear should be sufficient. It seemed that the tendancy was for me to swing forward. Any feedback here?

My bar ended up on the short end. It swings back just to the rear crossbar when stored. I should have made it a bit longer. I'm hoping my 190 lb load will make up for the lack of length...

Todd in MN

If your righting pole is attached to the upper part of the dolphin striker post at the main beam, the dolphin striker should provide some resistance from going forward - no?

In my case, no. I tied it to the end where the striker and post meet. I tied it is such a way that it stays at the end, away from the crossbar. It's a good suggestion though. I may try to move it down and try that. The downside is that I would loose some of the distance from the end of the pole to the boat. Worth a try though. Thanks!

Rick's Power pole in action & installation instructions[/url] [/quote]


Gee that sounds sexy! (LOL)