Capsizing

New user Yoram posted this as his introduction. I felt the topic might get lost if allowed to stay in that area, where the subject needs to be his name.

Yoram wrote

hi everyone, Sea Hawk 17 brothers and sisters. my name is Yoram and i live in Denmark. i am about to buy a Sea Hawk 17 and will post another post with more details about the boat itself. i live in Denmark near a big fjord (Limfjord) and it is big enough to take a week or more to sail around it. it has some islands and nice beaches so i thought a small sailing boat that can approach the beach could be a nice option.
my worry is about capsizing. the winds here are very unpredictable. is Sea Hawk 17 safe enough when heeling to a maximum? i had a fin keel sailing boat before and i was relaxed about that since i knew it would come up right no matter what heeling angle i had. how is it with the Sea Hawk 17?

 

Hi Yoram,

I never had worries about capsizing in my SeaHawk. The SeaHawk has masses of weight in it's keel that will hold the boat upright. The only advice I would give is not to cleat the mainsheet in equally conditions. Your Seahawk will look after you if you do that.

Here's a number of pages that have references to how the SeaHawk behaves in stronger winds that should reassure you (The term I search for was "heel").

http://www.seahawk17.org.uk/buyers-reviews-stringer.php
http://www.seahawk17.org.uk/boat-description-hull.php
http://www.seahawk17.org.uk/buyers-reviews-bennett.php
http://www.seahawk17.org.uk/boat-history.php

thanks for the answer, Greg,
i apologies but my knowledge in English nautical terms is limited... what does it mean "not to cleat the mainsheet in equally conditions".? you mean reduce the main sail according to weather conditions? in light winds to open fully and in stronger winds to reduce it to 70% for example?

Apologies! I was typing on my phone and the spell check changed a word I did not intend which certainly did not help.

A cleat is "a T-shaped piece of metal or wood on a boat or ship, to which ropes are attached". To cleat is to attach to a cleat.

Mainsheet is the rope with which "you control and trim the main sail of a sailing boat".

equally should have been squally.
A squall is "a sudden violent gust of wind"

So it means when you may be hit by sudden strong winds do not tie the rope controlling the mainsail but keep it in your hand so it can be released in a gust.

Hope that helps!

thanks for you answer.
 
you are right about the system with the mainsheet and "feel" the wind and the boat.

i am basically wondering in a steady wind, for example, my last boat which was a fin keel boat, could heel even till the the water were touching the deck and i would not worry about capsizing because the weight and depth of the keel. here it is a different set of balance and ballast. could Sea Hawk 17 heel to a very sharp angle and still not capsize?

You should be fine in a steady wind, and as for Greg’s comments about cleating the line, normal practice would be to have the main sheet in some kind of quick release cleat and keep a hand on it.

You don’t have to take the strain that way, but have control in case of a gust.

As for capsizing, it has a lot of weight in the keel (more than 50% of the boat, I think) so it will heel but not capsize. Won’t be as stiff as a fin keel, but once it’s heeling a bit the broad stern will also help.

Good luck and enjoy sailing.

Perry

Hi Yoram
I have sailed our Seahawk 17 in winds of over Force 7 in the Camel Estuary and on the open sea off Lyme Regis.  The boat is very stable with a lot of weight in the bilges and drop keel.  I converted our boat to slab reefing several years ago, so I make sure the mainsail is reefed down before I leave the mooring and roll up the jib a bit.  Under reefed sails the boat is easily controllable even in gusts over F7.  You can spill wind out of the mainsail using the techniques that Greg and Perry have posted above, but it is easier to luff up into gusts ( means steering the boat into the wind) when on a reach.  

Seahawks are fast boats for their size (I once won a race against a Sadler 25 off Lyme Regis!) and it is difficult to put the lee rail under water perhaps because the small 'bilge keels' give extra buoyancy when heeled, so capsizing is really not an issue providing the sail plan is right for the weather.  I would also renew the standing rigging in an old boat like this - it is not expensive if you buy the stays and do it yourself.  

So go ahead and use your new boat in Limfjord - please send us some pictures of her enjoying the Danish sun!

Happy sailing

Brian

thank you guys. i am a bit more relaxed about the subject now. i guess i have to sail it and feel the boat. i am very exited about it. i will post photos and for sure will have more questions.

Last bit of advice from an experienced dinghy sailor.

The biggest reason that boats heel or capsize when gusty winds are experienced is because they have old sails that are very baggy, and in a gust, with the wind shift, these act as a scoop rather than an aero foil.

Do your best to flatten the sail, and make sure you have a good strong vang/kicking strap to keep the boom flat. That way the sail won’t belly and problems will be less.

Also, luffing up is fine, but the same goes here. Don’t head up to wind with your sail held in tight, especially if reefed because the sail tends to be baggy again. You have to get through maximum heeling before going head to wind... and that’s not a great idea!

As I was always taught.... whatever the situation, if your boat doesn’t have a deep heavy keel, then be sure you can depower the sail quickly.

Good luck and yes, let’s see those photos!

Perry

thanks. i will look into this option. might comes handy since i do not have much experience with sailing a dinghy.