Preview: Self Rescue from an Open Sailboat Capsize

52 Responses So Far to “Self Rescue from an Open Sailboat Capsize”

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  Frank Day says:

  I have come up with a cheap and flexible way to add flotation: make cylindrical canvas bags with drawstrings. order a roll of those “air pillows” used for packaging…make sure you get the kind already inflated. The shipping weight is of course zero. Stuff the bags with as many of those as you want, and secure them appropriately in the boat. Super cheap, modifiable flotation.

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    Ben Fuller says:

    Good idea. I have canvas covers on my long beach rollers which I had made at local sailmaker for a good bit less than the price of the sewing machine which I don’t have. I had some webbing sewn on to contain the long webbing straps that I use to secure the bags. I also had some pockets sewn on to put some of the small things that drift about when sailing.

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  Howard Rice says:

  Thanks for the video. What would the outcome be on a day with wind and waves? I see many calm water capsize recovery videos, however calm is likely not when a capsize will actually happen.

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    Ben Fuller says:

    A capsize test in calm water tells you whether recovery is possible. It will also tell you how hard it is to roll your boat and tell you if it is more likely to downflood (swamp) before it capsizes. it will tell you what you need to do. It won’t give you rough water experience. Those of us who grew up in dinghy racing have rough water capsize experience in an controlled environment. If I was going to consistently push my row sail boat around in F6 and better, I’d arrange to do some testing in those conditions.

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  Howard Rice says:

  Thanks for the video. What would the outcome be on a day with wind and waves? I see calm water capsize recovery videos, however calm is likely not when a capsize will actually happen.

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  James Reinhard says:

  I built a little 10’ Sponburg designed Chula sailing dingy decades ago. My daughter, about 12 at the time, was sailing her while I shadowed her in my inflatable. She flipped her to windward. No problem in a warm Lake Erie on a mild day. And I was right on the spot to assist. As we were absorbed in righting her I happened to glance up to see the bow of a USCG 41 footer looming over us! Apparently a vigilante lifeguard at the nearby beach called the Coast Guard when he saw her go over!

  I have 4 Holt bags tucked into her and though I’ve never gone over, she is tender so the flotation is reassuring. I need to take her out and give capsizing a try….in late August on Lake Champlain.

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  Wolfgang Doughty says:

  Well Done

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  Baxter Evans says:

  Great info! I’ll be tying in my bailing bucket from now on and adding extra flotation to insure the dagger board trunk stays above water.

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  Suzan Wallace says:

  Excellent drill! First thing we did after swim test was capsize drill in my Marine Corps USSA program. Fiberglass boats have integrated flotation for the most part…but wooden boats are rare with air tight compartments. ALWAYS have a plan for swamping, it is not fun bailing! I carry bailers, sponges and pumps if on open water. Practice those downwind “controlled” gybes! Well done~

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  Ben Fuller says:

  Have not looked at this string for a whlle. Unfortunately APS is out of business, not sure where to get Holt style airbags anymore. Canoe bags that can go in my ends are easy. Big rollers are also easy which i what I am using now. Caveat is that these take pumps but they are very durable.

  Just back from a few days in a fully loaded Ran Tan, set up for camping aboard. I worked at lashing stuff down but still might have had some stuff go walk about. Good news is that the gear was all lighter than water except for the anchor which also should be locked in. Bad news was that even though my halyard release cleat is easy to reach, gear made it hard to release, so will work on that.

  And I was reminded that the easiest way to roll a boat like Ran Tan is downwind if the yard gets ahead o the mast, and the most difficult sailing was in very gusty conditions.

  My friends who are serious about traversing the coast are taking new rides to a lake for testing. One is currently working on enough floatation for a Caledonia Yawl, a big boat.

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    Jerry McIntire says:

    Ben, et al, the full range of Holt buoyancy bags is still available from Trident UK. https://www.tridentuk.com/gb/chandlery/buoyancy-drainage/chandlery-buoyancy-bags.html West Marine no longer carries them in the U.S.

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      Ben Fuller says:

      Hassle right now is that APS in Annapolis used to be the US dealer. Don’t know if anyone has picked them up in the US. I use canoe bags in my ends but they are more delicate.

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        Patrick Wells says:

        Hi Ben, If you have a sec I would love to pick your brain about your carbon spars.
        I built a Ness Yawl a few years back and would like to commission a carbon main mast and yard, but not sure how to do it. (Im based in the UK) my main reason to do it would be to increase stability, I think the rig is currently a bit heavy. Any thoughts you might have or observations about the benefits would be most gratefully received. I’m not that wedded to the ‘traditional’ look where it comes to spars and am looking to maximise stability as the boat is currently a bit tender.
        Thanks so much,
        Patrick Wells

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          Ben Fuller says:

          Patrick,
          Not sure where you get carbon spars built in the UK. Mine were done by Van Dusen, and then by Tony Delima at Forte. The mistake we made on my first mast was to use a tapered mandrell, as I recall around 2″. It was too flexible, so the first thing is that for a lug rig you don’t want any bending when it is breezy.. Here would be a discussion with your maker, as I don’t think export makes much sense. The spar is sealed at the top with a halyard sheave, and a minicell plug has been put into the bottom. The step is a plug that fits into the mast base, I don’t know what the area of a Ness Yawl; I can share my mast scantilings, but it might be good to get in touch with Tony Delima at Forte and get the specs. My older 18 footer was really easy to step, the current one certainly weighs more. For the mizzen you may be able to get away with an old windsurf mast. My yard is also carbon and I just had a sleeve for it put into my sail.

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            Patrick Wells says:

            Ok great, thanks Ben! Are your carbon masts much lighter than the wood equivalent?

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              Ben Fuller says:

              They probably are but you need to weigh your wooden mast and take a deflection. If you like the deflection you take that info to the carbon fabricator and see what a mast with similar characteristics would be. We didn’t do that on RAN TAN, but the mast was much thinner for the same stiffness. As I recall when we introduced carbon on International Canoes back in 83, the carbon sticks were about half the weight of a Proctor D aluminum mast. You could feel the difference in the way the boat went through the water.

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                Patrick Wells says:

                Thanks so much for this.

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  Neil Henderson says:

  An absolutely excellent video – well done to all. This video should be viewed by all of us ‘mature’ sailors. I will now put buoyancy bags in the Oughtred Gannet that I am building, and will add straps for tying gear down. THANKYOU !!

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  Eric Child says:

  Great video, thanks…!

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  Russell Smith says:

  I built my “John Dory” over the past 5 years but have been apprehensive about sailing it as I am a novice and in my 70’s. Capsizing is something that has been on my mind every time I hoist the rig. This video has given me great suggestions to be prepared just in case. My sailing experiences get a little more enjoyable each time I go out and my confidence is growing. Living in the pacific northwest I will have to wait until summer to do a “test capsize”. Thanks to OCH for the most informative videos and enjoy reading the subscribers comments.

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    Steve Stone says:

    Well done, Russell. One thing I learned from the old-timers around here, which seems ridiculously simple and obvious, but might be overlooked — picking the right weather and resisting the lure of the water when the weather is sketchy is the one thing that can reduce the probability of a capsize (or a soggy sandwich) the most.

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  Leslie Real says:

  Very informative video. I would like to know the kind of boat that is being capsized here. Any info would be helpful. Just trying to learn more about boats and there construction.

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    Remi Khu says:

    I believe he has a Harrier designed by Antonio Dias

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      Ben Fuller says:

      That’s correct. I’ve changed the small float bags out for big rollers which are now dual purpose and refined some tie down systems, ways of keeping gear from wandering around the boat. A big net zippered divers duffle is clipped across the stern sheets in which all the little stuff you want handy goes.

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  Chris Noto says:

  Fine work, as usual, OCH! Many thanks for a video that has motivated me to move forward in adding flotation to my boats.

  One point that I’d add: Water temperature is a huge factor in survivability of a capsize. I capsized my Bolger Teal 30-some years ago, when she was new, and I didn’t know her well, on a February day in North Georgia’s Lake Lanier. The water was 45 degrees F. Even in a small cove off the main body of the lake, the result could have been fatal if a boat full of bass fishermen hadn’t gotten me out of the water within a few minutes of my capsize.

  This business is as serious as it gets in terms of our safety on the water. May we all live to learn from our mistakes.

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  Joel Zackin says:

  Nice Video. Advice from our high school sailing team: Never let go of the Boat. Do not “swim” around the boat, hand over hand pass yourself around the boat. This is what Ben did in the video and is faster than swimming and you never lose contact with the boat.

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  Captain Nemo says:

  Like I said already, this is a HECK of a great website! You guys (and gals) who are obviously very experienced boaters need to tell everyone you know about OCH and have them join. As a former boating safety instructor thinking about getting back into it, we DESPARATELY NEED a place such as this to help teach newcomers about boating safety.
  Greg

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  John Wujack says:

  “Capsizing isn’t scary”, but cold water is! Decades ago, I was taught the “Rule of 100.” It’s worth remembering that If the combined air and water temperature is 100 degrees or less, one should consider an outing on the water as extremely risky unless wearing a wetsuit/drysuit. There are plenty of early season outings when we’re participating near that 100 degree threshold and until either the temperatures rise or the summer crowds return, efficient self-rescue is paramount.

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    Chris Noto says:

    Thanks, John! I’d not heard of the Rule of 100 before. I was definitely in trouble on the 35 degree day I went into 40 degree water! I’m glad to have a rule of thumb to help me assess the danger of hypothermia.

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  michael symmes says:

  this is a very good subject as i am now thinking about where to locate floatation in a Beetlecat , and thinking how cold a Montana mountain lake could be…

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  Todd Griner says:

  Another great video. I appreciate Ben being humble enough to admit that this has happened to him and things didn’t go smoothly. He learned from the experience and made modifications to the boat and made sure he was better prepared for the future. This is something that is very valuable to someone new to sailing like myself. Thank you.

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    Captain Nemo says:

    It’s happened to all of us Todd – and anyone who says it hasn’t is either not very experienced, or else is telling fibs! :-) Mr.Fuller obviously cares about teaching folks safety and good seamanship, and he is to be commended for that.

    My first capsize was in my Force-5, when I took her our for the very first time in a small blow on the local reservoir. I was maybe 22 years old, and Mom and grandpa were on shore watching. Well, I forgot to bring a bungee to secure the dagger board and couldn’t get it to stay down (or “up” since she was now turned turtle!) and Mom was apparently worried sick when I didn’t immediately come to the surface. (I was underneath in the cockpit, trying to figure a way to keep the board extended so I could use it as leverage in the righting.) Pop on the other hand had taught me well when I was a kid on the Great south Bay, so he knew exactly what I was doing, especially when he kept seeing the dagger board go up – then down — up – then back down again! LOL I eventually took my belt off and used it to secure the board in the up position, then got on top of the hull and righter her without any trouble; but I learned a good lesson that day.

    Greg

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  Tom Lucas says:

  Wow, what I fear most with sailing. I’ve had 4 boats and flipped them all. The first 3 from never, never remembering to put in the plugs. A very slow flip over. But the current one, Precision 15, flipped so fast on a jibe, I didn’t see it coming. I do have a float on top of my sail so it didn’t turtle. Problem 1- forgot to secure the rudder, it started to sink so I grabbed it and held on to it. Lost my Rx sun glasses, hat, oars, and dignity. I did have a line attached to the boat that floated back to me which I held onto. Easy to right the boat on the center board but then it started sailing, sails still cleated. There was no way I could get back in, although I tried many time, too much weight and too much age. Figured I try heading to shore which wasn’t really far and the boat was still sailing so I hung on and guided the boat with the bow line and it worked well. Then a man in another sail boat came up to me and said, your wife sent me, do you need help. Told him what I was doing by getting to shore to stand up and get back in so he kindly left. Finally I got back in the boat and out to the middle of the lake. Then the wind died, for the next 3 hours. So I sat there until the park police came up in their boat and said, your wife sent me, give me your rope and we are going to tow you in. How humiliating.
  Since then I have been to scared to go back out. But the video may change that. I’ll try going just to flip it over, maybe even remember to tie everything down.
  Thanks for the video.

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    Steve Stone says:

    Hey Tom. Thanks for sharing the big fear. Not sure where you are, but here in Maine where the water temperature is 58 degrees on a good day, swimming a boat back to shore can be fatal.

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    John Stephen says:

    Thank you Tom for being so honest and sharing your experience. We can all learn from i’m sure.
    Take care, John.

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  Philip Prather says:

  Thank you for this video. I really liked the parts about making all the overlooked parts bouyant. I loved the mini cell foam plugs in the mast ends. I am a new comer to sailing but have done some whitewater canoeing out here in the pacific N.W., and the key to being able to remain functional after capsizing is flotation, and lots of it. I really like the idea of building it into the boat. it takes up space but if it is carefully placed, I think it’s worth it’s wieght in gold! Or maybe the opposite of that. Thanks again!

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  Kenneth Brown says:

  Videos like this are the reason I joined OCH. I met Ben at the 2013 SRR and he was very kind and helpful to me, someone without a lot of experience sailing the Maine coast. Thanks Ben!

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  Grant Carlson says:

  Capsizing in calm conditions is an important first step. Tests should also be done in the conditions that are realistically likely to accompany a capsize, with help standing by.

  Near the end of the video Ben notes that “if there had been any kind of a sea running, we would have had to have external help. It’s the only way you could have saved yourself.”

  That’s an important comment that was too easy to miss. We need to prepare ourselves and our gear. We need to also know our limits.

  Thank you Ben.

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  Lee Fox says:

  Great video Ben! and the OCH crew that make these kinds of videos possible. Capsizing a small boat should not be a traumatic event. It’s all about preparing yourself for that day when in will happen and be prepared for all the what if’s? What do I do? I like how Ben showed all the ways he stowed his gear all the floatation bags and especially the clip to prevent the loss of the rudder!…I know, I speak from experience. “Foxtrot” my 1977 – Kells 23 suffered a serious knockdown on a windy day on the Chesapeake with the loss of the rudder! Diving down 10+ feet in dark cloudy water for two hours trying to find my rudder on the mucky bottom and then tying a line to retrieve it was not a funny matter!… I’ll make a new rudder next time! Or don’t lose it in the first place secure it! I like Ben Fuller’s comment “We don’t want any drama in these events” Thanks!

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  John Hughes says:

  When a boat’s full (or even half-full) of water, it’s got remarkably little roll-stability. You can see this as Ben tries to climb over the gunwale into the boat. My experience with this is that you want to heel the boat towards you a bit, get yourself floating face-down on the water, with your legs near the surface, reach over the gunwale to the farthest thing you can reach (cboard? the opposite thwart?) and slide yourself in, doing your best to remain supported by the water and not the boat, until you’re 75% of the way in. If you try to pull yourself up and over the gunwale, chances are you’ll capsize the boat the other direction. Of course, if you capsized on a breezy day, you want to climb in over the windward side, and perhaps the wind on your mostly-loose sails will help counteract your weight.

  Once your sitting in a swamped boat, chances are good that there’s a sea running, and every bit you bail out will want to come back in as the next wave passes, esp if you’re head-to-wind. If you’re beam-on, then waves will want to wash over the gunwale. Whichever it is, you want to prevent that from happening to the degree possible. If you and a friend sit on opposite sides at the low point of the gunwale, your backs can effectively increase the gunwale height just enough to do you some good in the early baling.

  By the way, that bucket looks like the one I’ve got. They’re not sold at many marine stores, but every horse-supply place has ’em, under the name “stable bucket”. The bales are generally galvanized steel, and start rusting after a year or two. I like to fashion a replacement from stainless rod, but the rope-as-bale solution is good too.

  –John

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  Ralph Wood says:

  Very informative,Ben. Specially since I’m looking for a boat like yours there. Was good to see you again. BTW the new owner of Fima managed to sink her. No bailing there!

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  Kenneth Baker says:

  A very helpful video Ben, thanks.

  One thing I have done on my dinghy’s is to attach a 5/8 – 3/4 line with a bunch of knots tied into it and it is secured near a midships point in the boat near the keel. When I capsize, I find this line and throw it over the gunwale. When I swim around to the bottom of the boat, I have a line I can grab to help start righting the boat. Depending on where the sails are under water, the conditions, etc. it gives me some more leverage to help right the boat. It’s a lot easier to grab this line that trying to reach up and grab the gunwale.

  Let me know if someone can’t visualize this and I will try to post a picture or sketch of what I’m describing.

  Ken

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  Jerry Rose says:

  Nice and informative video Ben. You may want to add advice as to making sure the main sheet is released before a righting attempt. Chances are it was in tight when the capsize occurred. If it’s really windy, righting the boat will be really tricky. Also it may be necessary to pull the main sail down completely if possible to reduce suction.

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  Jack Camillo says:

  Thank you for this video!

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  Robert Nash says:

  Very useful video. I certainly agree with the main thrust of the video–practice! Even if you did it when you were 12 years old, now that you’re in your 60s you need to go through the drill again. One point to add: When I taught sailing we always encouraged at least one person to get to the daggerboard/centerboard as quickly as possible to stop the boat from “turning turtle.” If the boat turns turtle, it is almost impossible to rescue without outside assistance.

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  Tom Barclay says:

  Thank you, Ben, editors and production crew. Very important topic, chronically overlooked.

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  William Boulden says:

  Awesome vid! I know many people who have not bothered to capsize their small boats and have to learn, under duress, how to right them. It’s so much easier and can even be fun if you are prepared and practiced!

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  Ben Fuller says:

  I sourced most of my float bags from Annapolis Performance Sailing which imports them from the UK. All the APS/ Holt bags have floatation numbers. These are pretty basic racing dinghy kit. My boat weighs about 250, 300 with gear. I figured that for basic floatation it could float itself as proven by an early capsize in anger. And even support some people. I did not do fancy calculations, just looked at the spaces available and stuck in as much as I could which works. For a ballasted boat which might not be self rescue able you can at least figure the weight of the ballast and float that. There have been various attempts at ‘Yacht Savers’ but none stayed on the market for very long.

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  Larry Cheek says:

  Flotation is an inexplicably neglected topic in boat design (and boat use). Production manufacturers, in particular, seem to believe in magic rather than physics. Fortunately, we who build our own boats can choose sensible precautions.

  When I built my 19′ Devlin Winter Wren, I chose to build about 13 cubic feet of flotation into it in the form of closed-cell foam or air compartments in the bilge and under the cockpit seats. On the advice of designer Sam Devlin, I made all the air compartments accessible for inspection through threaded deck hatches. Sea water weighs about 64 pounds per cubic foot, so this flotation totals about 832 pounds. My lead ballast and batteries total 650 pounds. Adding in the flotation from the wooden hull and internal structures, though impossible (for me, at least) to calculate, should provide a reasonable margin of safety. I had to sacrifice some storage space for cruising, but I am happy with that tradeoff.

  Why can’t a variation of automotive airbag technology be marketed for marine use—an aftermarket package of airbag flotation that would automatically inflate after a capsize? My guess is that the term “litigation potential” has something to do with it.

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  William Gehring says:

  Very useful, informative video. It might be helpful to append a list of vendors for such items as flotation bags. I was going to suggest that the topic be expanded to include approximating the amount of flotation necessary, but then realized that might be too lengthy. Perhaps trial and error under controlled conditions would be the easiest solution for most of us.

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  Prescott Powers says:

  This video has me making a short list of “need to get and need to do” to improve the safety of my CY. As a small boat sailor, I’d love to see more of these videos!

  Please also consider making one on coastal navigating….

  Great work guys!

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  James Greene says:

  I LOVE this video! This type needs to have it’s own category. “Basic Seamanship-Things you need to think of but didn’t.” I am not a sailor, but strive to be. Once I build my boat, I would appreciate the knowledge to keep me from ending up on the evening news! Thank you very much. I would GREATLY appreciate more videos of basic seamanship.