I did a bow stuff and capsize while under spinnaker Saturday.
Couldn't keep it from going turtle. I think I might be doing something wrong there, but not sure what yet. At any rate, the mast seemed to fill from the bottom and a small leak from one of the side stays. At least that was where I found leaks after submerging the mast in my pool yesterday.
Since the top of the mast was sealed, and the bottom and stay attachment leaks are slow, when out of the water, even two lifeguard boats could not get the Blade to right, or even stay on it's side except under tow.
Had to drag it back to the beach and upend it there.
The water took at least 5-10 minutes, maybe longer, to quit draining out of the base of the mast.
I'm going to have to cut the plugs out of the top and bottom of the mast and side stay attachments and reseal.
I'm considering stuffing the mast tube with those foam plastic noodles. Anybody got a good reason that that's not a good idea? I know that they will add some weight and eventually absorb some water, but they could be replaced easier than the plugs which are made of that foam coated with sealer.
Also have to figure out what I'm doing to cause the boat to want to turtle.
Once it goes over, it seems to want to stabilize perpendicular to the wind with the full force of the wind forcing the tramp and the mast down. Maybe I just have to have presence of mind to get off fast and get to the bow to try to swim the bow into the wind.
Any suggestions?
John