Okay this has been bugging me for a while now.

I've been bungeeing my water bottles to the tramp lacing in the center, just behind the mast, because it seems convenient and nobody really sits there. The problem with that though is that the jib sheet is always hanging up on them.

So on Saturday I tried bungeeing them around the dolphin striker which gets them out of the way of the jib sheet MOST of the time, but if the lazy sheet hangs down *just so* then it'll still catch on them in that position as well. Finally I moved them so that they were *hanging* from the tramp lacing behind the dolphin striker which put them totally out of the way of the jib sheets, but it also made them so inconvenient that my GF and I just elected to stay thirsty rather than heave-to and retrieve them again.

So what do YOU do?

we bungee a soft cooler a couple of feet back from the mast in the middle of the tramp. if we're cruisin. if racing we put a bottle of propel in the halyard pocket and leave the front of the tramp otherwise clear.

I just put the big ice chest down on the deck where its easy to get to when you're thirsty... Oh thats right I have a Stiletto 27, you can walk to the ice chest to get a drink!

On the other hand, on my previous H20 and TheMightyHobie18, I would either strap the soft cooler to the tramp as noted above or bungie it to the boom about a third back from the mast. Its off the tramp so it dosen't get in the lines, its far enough forward so you don't hit it while crossing. If you do hit it while crossing, its softer than the boom so its not bad.

Clayton

I save all the hassles, i have a kayakers bouyancy vest, and they have a pocket on the back for putting a rescue line in. I put a cycling 'Camel back' in there. The hose is sitting on your shoulder you can drink when on the wire.
Don't put too much water in though, its too heavy. Bout 700ml I find thats enough for an afternoon sailing.

Dave

Just be careful not to wear a camel back when you're racing as you will probably end up with some a**hole protesting you! Perhaps it makes a difference to the very very top sailors but the difference is so slight that you would gain/loose much more by having the sails slightly out of trim or by steering a couple of degrees off line than by the extra 1kg on you're back rather than on the tramp. Not a rule that I agree with.

They're a great idea for recreational sailing though.

Drink Holder:

Greg
H14,H16

I'm just curious about this, because I thought water bags, camelbacks, etc. were made illegal for safety reasons -- too many racing dinghy sailors were injuring their backs in their zeal to reduce heel. I haven't seen any rule making it illegal to fill your trapeze harness or a backpack with helium to make you lighter.