Hi, with the sailing season pretty much here i am looking forward to some awesome sailing, however, i am always a bit timid when it comes to pushing the limits mostly due to the fact that i don't have a mast float, and i have never actually flipped or had to right a cat. Most mast floats are way to expensive for my taste and i've been trying to think of a cheaper alternative. On my 18' Solcat in NH i built one out of foam and fiberglass and i attached it with a PVC pipe and clamps riveted onto the mast. It's a little ghetto.


My other attempt at a mast float was for my little 14' day-sailor. i ended up making a net out of scrap ropes and hanging a soccer ball from the mast... quite a bit ghetto and i don't know if it would have worked, but at least it made people laugh.


anyway, these are my two attempts at making a mast float cheaply. I want to build something for my 18' Solcat i have here in UT. Does anyone have any other ideas on how to utilize an inexpensive mast float? or do i even need one? my biggest fear with cat sailing is going turtle...



Edited by Venora on Jun 16, 2012 - 06:43 PM.

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70's 18' Sol Cat "Venora"
70's 18' Sol Cat "Bumblebee"
60's 14' Sailstar Tallstar sloop "Arandora"

Heber City, UT
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what you should do is flip on purpose so you not as scared as flipping but make sure you mast is sealed,

or you could do this

i was just looking at that! super awesome, and super ghetto. I love it.

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70's 18' Sol Cat "Venora"
70's 18' Sol Cat "Bumblebee"
60's 14' Sailstar Tallstar sloop "Arandora"

Heber City, UT
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A gallon bleach bottle on a bunji works.. Not classey but not ghetto.. And do what optikid suggested .. in shallow water pull her over and try to coax her back .. H

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Hal Liske
Livermore CA
H 16 (6+ 1.. Friends) H 3.2 N 5.2 (2) H 17 (2) H-18
Nacra 5.8 (son's) H 20 (Friends)
It's a Sickness

I Need a A Cat Please
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On a solcat I think you're over stressing. Just seal the mast with silicone at all the rivets and top and bottom. My buddy has turtled his Solcat but he had not really sealed the mast.

Definatley practice righting on a calm day in shallow water. Nice if you have some backup to help if you have trouble.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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I had the same post when I started. Turns out, you do not need one. Just practice capsizing and righting. over and over.

On a similarly related note: I saw a pair of sailors capsize then turtle out on the frigid waters of Lake Michigan today. They were able to right their H16.

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Nacra 6.0 NA
Ogden Dunes, IN
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I was worried about it to at first but I am not worried about righting the boat now I still should practice more. Turtling is always a pooibility even with a float. I'm not gonna test righting from a turtle any time soon. next step is to see if my skinny boys can right the P18 on their own.

My problem is reboarding the boat afterwords. I am a big guy and I can't do it yet by myself I am ok with a crew to pull and a stepping device but I need to come up with something so I can o it alone.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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Quarath

My problem is reboarding the boat afterwords. I am a big guy and I can't do it yet by myself I am ok with a crew to pull and a stepping device but I need to come up with something so I can o it alone.

I had to replace my righting line, so I found a 3/8" dock line with a 12" spliced loop on one end. When the crew (or I) need to board, we wrap the line around the mast base a couple of times and hang the loop end in the water to use as a step. Grab the mast and stand up in the loop. This is a lake method.

There was another thread here (and photos) where some intrepid person made retractable loops that had a plastic step build in.
Here:
http://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures/?g2_itemId=82796

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Sheet In!
Bob
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Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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cool guys, i guess i'll just have to get a decent sized crew toegether and practice flipping and righting it on a good day. Then i guess i'll see if i even need a mast float. I'll be sure to seal the mast as well... I noticed on my little 14' day sailor that the mast was actually full of foam. Is this also common on catamarans?

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70's 18' Sol Cat "Venora"
70's 18' Sol Cat "Bumblebee"
60's 14' Sailstar Tallstar sloop "Arandora"

Heber City, UT
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halliske

A gallon bleach bottle on a bunji works.. Not classey but not ghetto.. And do what optikid suggested .. in shallow water pull her over and try to coax her back .. H

reminds me of one i saw at osyc... boat bumper tied to the top of the mast

Venora

I noticed on my little 14' day sailor that the mast was actually full of foam. Is this also common on catamarans?

Uncommon because cat masts are so long. Some use a foam plug near each end, but the metal expands in the heat, especially a black mast, and leaks occur. You have to seal off the castings and rivets anyway, so just do a good job of that and forget the internal foam.

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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klozhald

Venora

I noticed on my little 14' day sailor that the mast was actually full of foam. Is this also common on catamarans?

Uncommon because cat masts are so long. Some use a foam plug near each end, but the metal expands in the heat, especially a black mast, and leaks occur. You have to seal off the castings and rivets anyway, so just do a good job of that and forget the internal foam.

The "fill the mast with foam" thing comes up often, just remember that air is a lot lighter than foam. So seal the mast, don't add weight to it.

--
Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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Quote

The "fill the mast with foam" thing comes up often, just remember that air is a lot lighter than foam. So seal the mast, don't add weight to it.

makes sense. I'll just seal the mast up good.

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70's 18' Sol Cat "Venora"
70's 18' Sol Cat "Bumblebee"
60's 14' Sailstar Tallstar sloop "Arandora"

Heber City, UT
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Seal the mast as best as possible. If you find you need more floatation a large boat bumper filled with air or a basketball/soccerball (we use a tetherball up here if you know what that is, easier to attach) attached to the head plate of your mainsail is the easiest solution.

Several people I sail with are quite large and do not have enough upper body strength to get on the boat without help. I installed a retractable ladder by thru bolting it to my front beam. It works amazingly well and is solid and self retracting (no tendancy to go under the boat like rope ladders). Here are some pics on my album:

http://www.thebeachcats.c…ictures/?g2_itemId=80559

http://www.thebeachcats.c…ictures/?g2_itemId=80556

I got the ladder from West marine here:

http://www.westmarine.com…Num=50353&classNum=50354

But had to get some extra long bolts to do the job. I love it, I have had 300 lb people use it with no problem. And a bungee cord attached to the rear beam makes it retract under the tramp and out of the way.



Edited by Wolfman on Jun 18, 2012 - 09:48 PM.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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My $00.02, yeah it's late in this discussion, ... I've seen more than one comptip mast break when slapping the water during a capsize. And that's without a float. That's gotta be worse with a Bob or tetherball or whatever. Buddy of mine had a seamstress make a triangular sleeve type thing with closed cell foam inside. He could slide this over the sail before he attached the halyard. Enough floatation that the thing wouldn't turtle. He never broke a mast so maybe that's better.

Sounds like that works similar to this one.
http://www.apsltd.com/c-4…astfloatbuoyancybag.aspx



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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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