Lunch Break Anchoring. Cautionary Tale

No disrespect to yourself, but not dropping the main was just bone idleness.!!!!! Taking advice to be bone idle is just plain madness. !!! /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
Never really considered anchoring without dropping the main, and this cautionary tale reinforces my beleif. Take the point about bowing to so called "experience" though.
Great thing about this forum you can learn from others without having to make ALL the mistakes yourself. /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
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..., learnt (at an early age) Lee-Ho! meant duck. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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Yes, The Lee Ho Fook in China town does do great Aromatic duck. - Sure that's what you meant!
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Safety lessons:

1. All boats should have booms which are above your head height when you're standing in the cockpit

2. Main sheets elements which move with the boom should be clear of the cockpit



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There my main two considerations when buying the family boat
 
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I certainly would not want legislation here. If you want a boat to meet your safe boom criteria, you have the choice, and long may it stay that way.


[/ QUOTE ] The difficulty is that there's no warning attached to these dangerous boats, and they're also frequently sailed (often chartered) by inexperienced crews, who just don't comprehend the warning they may or may not have been given before sailing.

Of course, they may learn the hard way >|< . But designing the problem away is much better. One day a lawyer will see the possibility of a claim . . . that'll push matters along.
 
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I am not at all convinced about the connection between experience and propensity to be right.

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Agreed!

I had been sailing for 30 years, as well as being a qualified Deck Officer, (Merchant Navy), but I learned tons more about sailing by doing my Yachtmaster in 2007, and sailing across the Med. in the same year.

There was some stuff that I knew I didnt know, but lots that I didnt know I didnt know /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Surely your having a laugh? There are people on this forum who will flame you for suggesting your 5 year old should not be able to sail around the world in laser and you seriously want to end production of all sub 30ft sports boats because of the risk of the boom or tackle hitting people. I think you should add mandatory head protection and safety shoes, finger guards on all clutches and blocks and ban the use of ropes. Maybe safety netting extending 1m around the edge of every boat.... /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Just as a further exploration of this thinking, would it be advisable to rig a boom preventer when at anchor to prevent the boom from swinging? I would suppose the backed mainsail would never succeed in driving the boat, perhaps she might swing a bit more.

Not that I would ever be so daft, but would it be theoretically possible?
 
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Just as a further exploration of this thinking, would it be advisable to rig a boom preventer when at anchor to prevent the boom from swinging? I would suppose the backed mainsail would never succeed in driving the boat, perhaps she might swing a bit more.

Not that I would ever be so daft, but would it be theoretically possible?

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Just sheet it in tight so that it can't swing.
 
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you seriously want to end production of all sub 30ft sports boats because of the risk of the boom or tackle hitting people.

[/ QUOTE ] You exaggerate. All I want to do is design them such that the boom can't hit heads of people standing in teh cockpit, and the sheets and blocks keep clear of the cockpit when gybing. Perfectly possible. It's just that few people have had the brains to do it.
 
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you seriously want to end production of all sub 30ft sports boats because of the risk of the boom or tackle hitting people.

[/ QUOTE ] You exaggerate. All I want to do is design them such that the boom can't hit heads of people standing in teh cockpit, and the sheets and blocks keep clear of the cockpit when gybing. Perfectly possible. It's just that few people have had the brains to do it.

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Depends how tall you are as well.

Surprised that many boats do not have an adjustable boom. They used to.

A reasonable compromise is having the boom length restricted as in many boats.

Probably no simple answer to this one but the subject needs airing.
 
I do miss sailing the old lugger I parted with about 18 months ago. Coming to anchor sheeting the (boomless) mizzen tight immediately brought her to head to wind and the fore(main)sail could be dropped in a matter of seconds without leaving the cockpit, even if not head to wind. Raising the foresail again was almost as quick provided it was already on the traveller. Of course there was a downside - when setting the large foresail tacking took about 4 minutes.
 

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