I had a capsize today, but it was before I ever left shore. I was rigging the cat for sailing, and had the jib up, then went to raise the main. Well, it stuck! The metal halyard was jammed at the masthead block, so being the high tech idiot, I gave it a good yank. The brass clip I use to connect the metal halyard with the bottom of the mast stretched and I was left with my halyard at the top of the mast and my rope and clip on the ground. Just curious, what do you do?

My solution was to grab the trapeze and pull the boat over to the balance point, then moved to the side-stay and pulled and pushed the mast to a soft landing on some beach chairs. I sorted out the rigging, and then used my capsize line to pull the boat back upright, and let it down gently. All is good. Have you ever capsized your boat on the beach to fix rigging, or am I the only one?

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Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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Common practice, either onshore or at the dock. Give it a good yank and walk it down by the shroud.

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Southern Alberta and all over the damn place.
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1981 SuperCat 20 "Roberts' Rockets"
1983 SuperCat 19
TriFoiler #23 "Unfair Advantage"
Mystere 17
Unicorn A-Class (probably made by Trowbridge) that I couldn't resist rescuing at auction.
H18 & Zygal (classic) Tornado - stolen and destroyed - very unpleasant story.
Invitation and Mistral and Sunflower and windsurfers w/ Harken hydrofoils and god knows what else...
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Quote

Common practice, either onshore or at the dock. Give it a good yank and walk it down by the shroud.

Agreed - pretty common
my aussy halyard ring occasionally gets snagged (the mast hook sneaks into the shackle instead of the ring) and the ONLY way to get it off the hook is to put the cat on it's side

I prefer to do this with at least 3 people - and even better if i can do it in the water to avoid scratches
if i do it on the sand i throw down sailbags, life jackets, anything i got to avoid scratching up the painted boat -less concerned with the gelcoat boat

don't for get tot secure booms, tillers, rudders or you risk damaging them or worse (a broken gudgion will end you weekend)



Edited by MN3 on Aug 09, 2021 - 07:57 AM.

Yes, losing the main halyard by not securing the end, & having it run up the mast.
It’s pretty easy on the N5.7, but as MN3 stated, be careful with the rudders.
Turning the boat on its side, no problem, but if a rudder falls into its sailing position, you will do serious damage when the boat goes back down.
I tipped it a couple of times on land. If solo, I put an inner tube where the hull will land.

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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The rudders were secured with an uphaul and centered, but good point that could cause quick damage. I tipped the boat on grass which did not scratch. I mainly posted this to help others to know there are easier alternatives to pulling down the mast, which I did more than once over many years to solve a problem that could have been done much easier.

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Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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More often than not I've done this at the dock, so the rudders are a non-issue, and instead of walking back (off the dock!) we just push the boat away as the mast comes down.

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Southern Alberta and all over the damn place.
*
1981 SuperCat 20 "Roberts' Rockets"
1983 SuperCat 19
TriFoiler #23 "Unfair Advantage"
Mystere 17
Unicorn A-Class (probably made by Trowbridge) that I couldn't resist rescuing at auction.
H18 & Zygal (classic) Tornado - stolen and destroyed - very unpleasant story.
Invitation and Mistral and Sunflower and windsurfers w/ Harken hydrofoils and god knows what else...
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On my Nacra the nylon / plastic sheave broke when I started to take the main down and the halyard jammed. I was at a beach that was rocky and no way was I going to pull the boat over on it's side to release the halyard. With the boat in two feet of water I set an anchor and ran the line under both hulls and tied it to the main cross tube on the same side that would stay down when I pulled the boat over using the halyard. I hope my experience helps anyone who finds themselves alone in the same situation.

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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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Good solution Bill. You never know where you might be when access to the top of the mast is needed.

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Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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