Hi everyone



I'm still reading all the posts on this forum and came across this one - thought I'd share a couple of ideas from downunder in relation to righting and mast sealing.



1.Righting

To my knowledge no-one in Australia uses anything other than a righting rope for any of the cat classes - certainly not on T 4.9's

I sail cat rig and use a 10mm rope tied to the dolphin striker and over-the hull - I found this provides just that little bit of additional leverage when the boat is half up to make the difference. This rope retracts with shock cord when not in use.

In addition to turning the boat into the breeze and releasing the main sheet and traveller rope the real trick is to release the downhaul !! - if you dont't release the downhaul the sail retains optimum shape and starts generating lift as soon as it gets out of the water the wind moves over it and sucks the rig back down into the water - this is particularly vital in light conditions.



2. Mast Sealing



To my knowledge the T 4.9 masts are sealed only at the top by most sailors. Sometimes sailors put some silicone in the rivet holes and T-swages around the hound / diamond wires. If you are going turtle and the water reaches the diamond arms my opinion is that no amount of sealing is going to save you - the trick is to get off the boat as soon as possible after capsize - the T 4.9 will go turtle if you let it but it usually takes time or lots of wind to push it over. In most instances you should be able to get the boat up and sailing again within 30 seconds or so with a bit of practice.



For my 2 cents worth I never completely seal my masts and only seal from the top (block of foam with silicone) to the hound. Firstly I like to ensure my mast remains dry inside with no trapped water inside and I have also found that on a hot day the mast heats up so much that when it hits the cold water on a capsize the sudden temperature change causes a vacuum in the mast which will suck water into the mast even through seals unless there are enough openings to equalise pressure rapidly (it is not unusual on hot measuring days for crews to cool down their masts before measuring to ensure the masts 'contract' within the maximum length limits due to the affect of sun heat)



Of course there may be no science to the above but it seems to work.



cheers



James

T4.9 AUS 153 'Woof'