I recently got a hobie 16 after several years of being boatless, Unfortunately, I do not always have crew to sail with. I was wondering what people's experience has been with various solo-righting systems. I've used a bucket system before, and found it a bit of a hassle. I want to be able to sail solo without worrying about righting the boat if I flip.<br><br>

Hi - I have been in a similar situation. I started out with a small Murrays water bag on my first boat, a Prindle 16. It worked, but it was very heavy to lift onto your shoulder, esp. when cold and tired, etc. A much better solution was to get the large Murrays waterbag, which includes 4:1 blocks and replaces the whole righting line for solo righting. It holds about 200+ lbs of water, and I have used is successfully several times on a Prindle 19 after solo capsizes. I highly recommend this system (be sure to get the blocks!). You can keep the system even if you move to another boat later on, so the price is worth it. <br><br>Sail fast and have fun,<br>Alan Thompson<br>I20 - San Diego<br><br>http://www.murrays.com<br><br>

Just a note. I was (am) so scared of turtling (turning upside down) that I bought and always use a mast floatation device.
<br>I did it once on my H14 and it took a powerboat to right it.
<br>Greg H14,H16<br><br>

It is crucial that your mast be watertight. I have had to use silicone rubber sealant on both my current and past boat to stop leaks at rivets and/or masthead castings.<br><br>Practice capsizing & righting your boat a few times, then take the mast down at the end of the day. If you can hear water sloshing inside when you shake the mast, you know you have a leak. This is a mandatory-fix item, or else a simple capsize that shouldn't be any problem will become a certain disabling of your boat. This is a miserable experience at best and could become life-threatening if you are stuck offshore and can't get back or attract assistance.<br><br>It's not hard to waterproof a mast (just a $3 tube of marine silicone), so do it!<br><br>Sail fast and have fun,<br>Alan Thompson<br>I20 - San Diego<br><br>

I almost forgot - just 2 months ago, a sailor in New England died when he capsized his H16 just offshore and couldn't right the boat. The coast guard found him dead from hypothermia on his upside-down boat, otherwise uninjured, just a few hours after his girlfriend called to report him overdue.<br><br>While you might say that he could have been saved by having a wetsuit or a working radio, it is equally true that he could have been saved if he could have righted the boat.<br><br>Given that nothing is 100% reliable, I suggest that you have all 3 items: <br> a. a wetsuit able to keep you alive for 48 hours in the water.<br> b. a radio<br> c. the ability to right your boat so that you won't need to rely on items (a) and (b) and a rescuer!<br><br>Alan Thompson<br>I20 - San Diego<br><br>

Thanks for the good saftey advice, I agree you should always be prepaired for the worst. Was wondering if anyone has used a pole type system for solo righting. They look convenient, but was unsure if they provided enough leverage. Also, any views on shroud extending devices?<br><br>

I built 2 righting poles on my P19 before giving up and getting the large Murrays waterbag. While the Isotope (a singlehanded cat) seems to have success witht he righting pole, it didn't have enough leverage for the P19.<br><br>In hindsight, I should have seen this coming. Physics says that if your feet are on the lower hull and your body extended out over the water, you get the same righting moment whether you're holding onto a regular righting line, a hawaiian righting line, or a righting pole. Because of balance and other problems, it doesn't work if your feet aren't on the hull.<br><br>One exception which looks cool is GARY's SoloRight system. You should email him at GARY <hobiegary@mediaone.net> for more info. He has a cool website set up to describe it.<br><br>Sail fast and have fun,<br>Alan Thompson<br>I20 - San Diego<br><br>

I have 2 of Gary's solo righting systems and use it all the time when training or teaching sailing lessons. I use the pole for safety reasons because the guy I sail with has a spinal cord injury and can not help right the boat and if I can not right it and we do not get help soon enough he could die very quickly. I have tried water bags and Rick Whites power righting system. The bag sucked and Risk's system is I think for bigger cats. The power righting pole sticks out several feet behind the rear cross beam of the H16 and it just did not seem to right the H16 effectively enough. For me Gary's system is the only system that has worked for my H16. As a matter of fact one day my wife and I capesized our H16 5 times just because it was so much fun to right the boat with this system. Its a simple way to right your boat even though installing the system takes a little time. There is no drilling required to install Gary's system like there is for the Rick's power righting system. I think Rick's system is great but just not for the H16.
<br>
<br>Cheers.<br><br>

Ok, now you guys have got my curiosity up... It sounds like this "Gary's" system is a good one. Would somebody please list his web address? I do go solo quite a bit. Thanks!<br><br>

email him at [email]hobiegary\@mediaone.net[/email]<br><br>

Let's try that again... hobiegary@mediaone.net<br><br>

Does anyone have the GARY SoloRight system website address?
<br><br><br>

Sail-S mentioned using "the pole" for safety reasons - is this a pole that comes with the GARY SoloRight system or from RW power righting system?<br><br>

To answer the above question a pole (righting pole) comes with Gary's Soloright system and has no connection with RW.
<br>
<br>Here is the Gary's Solo Right web site at: http://www.geocities.com/hobiegary/soloright.html
<br><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by sail-s on 07/20/01 04:01 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

For you guys using Gary's righting system: I have one but haven't found a good way to stow when not in use. As you know, the system uses a complex system of lines to work. How do you stow the pole and these lines such that deployment is quick and easy when needed?<br><br>

Check out this one that I made for under $40.00 http://www.artifacthunters.webhop.net/pole<br><br>

<html>
<br>
<br><body background="http://www.geocities.com/hobiegary/orange_paper.gif" nosave>
<br>[color:"#FF6600"]<font size=+2>Rick has corrected the url for
<br>the Solo~Right web page in the catamaran section of the links.</font></font>
<br><br>[color:"#FF6600"]<font size=+2> <a href="http://www.geocities.com/hobiegary/soloright.html">http://www.geocities.com/hobiegary/soloright.html</a></font></font>
<br><br>[color:"#FF6600"]<font size=+2>I'm sorry that I had not given
<br>Rick the new url sooner.</font></font>[color:"#FF6600"]<font size=+2></font></font>
<br><p>[color:"#FF6600"]<font size=+2>There's a pic of me doing a Mystere
<br>6.0 by myself.</font></font>
<br><br>[color:"#FF6600"]<font size=+2> <a href="http://www.geocities.com/hobiegary/solomystere6.html">http://www.geocities.com/hobiegary/solomystere6.html</a></font></font>
<br></body>
<br></html>
<br><br><br>GARY

<html>
<br><body>
<br> /ad police off<a href="http://www.geocities.com/hobiegary/SRMystere.html"></a>
<br><p><a href="http://www.geocities.com/hobiegary/SRMystere.html">The only
<br>visual proof that a Solo sailor can right a Mystere 6.0</a>
<br><p> <a href="http://www.geocities.com/hobiegary/srp18.html">The only
<br>visual proof that a Solo sailor can right a Prindle 18 (or hobie 16!)</a>
<br><p> <a href="http://www.geocities.com/hobiegary/solmovie.gif">The
<br>only visual proof that a Solo sailor can right a Hobie 18</a>
<br><p> :-D <a href="http://www.geocities.com/hobiegary/waterbag.html">Visual
<br>proof that it can not be done</a>  ;-)
<br><p>Solo~Right is THE solo righting system that proudly claims to enable
<br>a solo sailor to right a catamaran BY HIMSELF, presenting picture proof
<br>of that claim.
<br><p>/ad police on
<br><br> 
<br><br> 
<br></body>
<br></html><br><br>GARY

All this talk about turning turtle brings me out in a sweat just thinking about it. I've been there a few times and have been lucky enough to get assistance from power boats - most embarressing. But seriously,this is all great information which is well worth passing on to us solo cat sailors.

I sail a 14' Hobie on the open ocean and for me it's a very real problem if I do capsize or worse - turn turtle - because assistance may not always be available.

A friend suggested trying to lower the main to reduce the lateral pressure - does anyone think this is possible.

I would think this would be a last resort solution if in fact it would be possible.

First and foremast, make absolutely certain that your mast is sealed. If it is, with proper technique you should be able to get the boat to go from turtle to on its side without assistance. If your mast is not sealed and is filling with water after your capsize you won't be able to right the boat without help.