Securing for sea

[laika]

2. Floorboards should be secured against free movement.

What does that mean exactly? Nail them down? How would I then check the bilges, access the bilge pump or access the emergency wine stores?

 

[dunedin]

List the items from YM. Will make more sense for those haven't a copy.

It’s a shame that so few of those who use the YM forum site actually contribute financially by buying the magazine.

And asking somebody to post current magazine content on the forum could be considered a bit inconsiderate (of copyright as well as other considerations)

 

[Fr J Hackett]

What does that mean exactly? Nail them down? How would I then check the bilges, access the bilge pump or access the emergency wine stores?

Floor boards with a bit of ingenuity and the correct fixings can be made easily secure but at the same time easily removable. There are lots of things in a boat that should be secured or constrained that aren't and usually end up on the floor, people should be thinking about those as well it just shows the limitation of the article and journalism that they don't form part of the discussion.

 

[capnsensible]

It never ceases to amaze me the stuff that publications like YM and PBO manage to put into their folders of advertisements. All the stuff in the lists is either basic: routine inspection or maintenance that anyone that sails would or should be familiar with and those starting should be learning ie they wouldn't be considering taking a boat out. Yes I know everyone has to learn but stuff like this is better learnt first hand not from the pages of advertising journals masquerading as sailing magazines. It's one of the reasons I stopped reading them years ago.

Could it be as an experienced sailor, you know this stuff therefore don't find it worthy of you? Personally, I learned stacks many tides ago from yacht magazines. Just because I know stuff now, doesn't mean following on generation's should be denied this information. In my opinion......

 

[capnsensible]

Floor boards with a bit of ingenuity and the correct fixings can be made easily secure but at the same time easily removable. There are lots of things in a boat that should be secured or constrained that aren't and usually end up on the floor, people should be thinking about those as well it just shows the limitation of the article and journalism that they don't form part of the discussion.

Deck boards or cabin sole, dear boy.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Could it be as an experienced sailor, you know this stuff therefore don't find it worthy of you? Personally, I learned stacks many tides ago from yacht magazines. Just because I know stuff now, doesn't mean following on generation's should be denied this information. In my opinion......

Maybe you are correct and yes I picked up a lot of information and skill as well as developing my existing skills, it was fortunate and probably down to being extremely practical by nature and enjoyed the maintenance and repair aspect of sailing rather than finding it a chore. It was also down to the type of sailing I enjoyed and the boats I eventually bought ( I have said before I was never fond of just going out for a few hours and returning to the berth unless there was a specific reason). You also get it correct in alluding that the articles are aimed at beginning sailors just learning the ropes so to speak but I always found that learning on the job from people who knew there business ( like you) was far better than any magazine article but that didn't stop me reading lots of books though.

 

[scottie]

Sep. issue of YM posted a comprehensive article of preparing a yacht for sea, with special attention to expected bad weather.
I agree with all items listed, however I would point out some missing actions:
1. Life jackets (presented on the authors picture!) should be prepared, assigned to crew, crotch straps checked, and jackets fitted to user.
2. Floorboards should be secured against free movement.
3. Check bilge pumps operation, including floaters.
4. Put (in a secure place) a knife in the cockpit.
5. Check/replace/charge batteries in any handheld instrument

Anything else?

Floaters should be in black water tank although preferably tank emptied first

 

[jwilson]

I agree . If you're worried about the structural integrity of your spray hood, then buy a better designed one.

No sprayood ever built will withstand REALLY heavy weather including multiple knockdowns. Essentially in those conditions it is a sacrificial bit of kit, like just about anything else stowed on deck, or in some cases bolted on like most of a vane gear. I've been there deep sea. Sometmes thase magazine articles offer advice that is good for ocean passages, but OTT for ordinary sensible coastal cruising.

I am happy to sail my present boat of similar size in any coastal conditions I would expect t meet without having floorboards secured. Batteries and anything else heavy and sharp yes though. When I long ago experienced a total inversion it was the toolbox that was the cause of considerable grief.

 

[laika]

Floor boards with a bit of ingenuity and the correct fixings can be made easily secure but at the same time easily removable. There are lots of things in a boat that should be secured or constrained that aren't and usually end up on the floor

A reasonable point, but my sole boards aren’t going to end up anywhere they shouldn’t be unless I get knocked down or the boat floods. If we take the cost in time and money of adding hinges and catches to all the sole boards vs expected probability of being knocked down x effort of putting them back and risk of them breaking things as they fall if that happens…I think I’m going to be on the losing side with the upgrades. Of course I should probably upgrade to something fancier than a westerly where they come like that out of the factory

 

[Fr J Hackett]

A reasonable point, but my sole boards aren’t going to end up anywhere they shouldn’t be unless I get knocked down or the boat floods. If we take the cost in time and money of adding hinges and catches to all the sole boards vs expected probability of being knocked down x effort of putting them back and risk of them breaking things as they fall if that happens…I think I’m going to be on the losing side with the upgrades. Of course I should probably upgrade to something fancier than a westerly where they come like that out of the factory

Yes and I think that's where the article and list is poor, the vast majority of people sailing in coastal waters particularly in relatively small boats are not going to need to do such stuffs I said earlier there is plenty of stuff that ends up on the cabin sole even in moderately rough conditions that should receive attention before such things. That is not to say you can't get knocked down in coastal waters or crossing the channel or Irish sea, you can.
For what it's worth my last boat a Vancouver 34 didn't leave the factory with secured cabin sole and bloody heavy the boards were but as only the water tanks were there simply screwing them down was sufficient.

 

[Daydream believer]

I am not sure what sort of weather one is talking about. I sail SH & I do not regard F8 as unduly bad if I am on a coastal trip of , say 10 hours & it cuts up unexpectedly rough just over half way, or it is not an option to turn back. If , however, I was doing something a bit more adventurous, say 80-100 miles, which I do several times a year ( covid excepted) or I was in strange waters- ie the Irish sea- & it looked like being sustained F7 plus & possibly F8 then one of the things I would do is let the CG know of my whereabouts & my intentions.
I do not use the latest internet stuff as I have not a clue how it works & cannot be bothered to learn. I would prefer to just let someone know that I was out there. I have also notified Dover CG when in the Dover Straits when it was gusting near F8 a couple of times & I had no business being out there.

 

[bitbaltic]

I read the whole list as good advice for newbie skippers of eBay specials who are maybe gonna read one thing before cracking off bound for the Azores or whatever; better than nothing. Otherwise it is a list of obvious things that a cautious costal skipper would at all times be on top of, some things needing an eye before leaving port in marginal situations (whatever the skipper judges those to be) and other things being good seamanlike prep and maintenance which we all learn by observation and experience.

 

[Resolution]

No sprayood ever built will withstand REALLY heavy weather including multiple knockdowns. Essentially in those conditions it is a sacrificial bit of kit, like just about anything else stowed on deck, or in some cases bolted on like most of a vane gear. I've been there deep sea. Sometmes thase magazine articles offer advice that is good for ocean passages, but OTT for ordinary sensible coastal cruising.

I am happy to sail my present boat of similar size in any coastal conditions I would expect t meet without having floorboards secured. Batteries and anything else heavy and sharp yes though. When I long ago experienced a total inversion it was the toolbox that was the cause of considerable grief.

I didn’t see batteries mentioned in the YM list, which is surprising. As the heaviest lumps of kit in the saloon they would concern me most in the event of a knockdown. Mine are in boxes secured with heavy straps bolted to a cross member, even so I worry they could come loose in a rough knockdown. From my limited experience, in my only real knockdown one of the off duty crew was nearly mashed by a large heavy Bose speaker (it was the eighties!) that flew across the cabin and embedded itself by his head. IIRC Matt Sheehan said that his dad was fatally injured by a flying baked bean can during the 79 Fastnet.

 

[Boathook]

I read the whole list as good advice for newbie skippers of eBay specials who are maybe gonna read one thing before cracking off bound for the Azores or whatever; better than nothing. Otherwise it is a list of obvious things that a cautious costal skipper would at all times be on top of, some things needing an eye before leaving port in marginal situations (whatever the skipper judges those to be) and other things being good seamanlike prep and maintenance which we all learn by observation and experience.

Would ebay newbies buy YM ?

 

[penfold]

Davey make some catches for removable floor sections.

 

[Stemar]

I wasn't an Ebay newbie, but definitely a newbie, and I did. It was my yottie fix before I got my own boat. I only gave up on YM & PBO when I had my own boat and found that the articles I was interested in were rehashed year after year and swapped between the mags.

Would ebay newbies buy YM ?

 

[Skylark]

Whenever writing an article, the first question should always be "who is my target audience?". I haven't read the article but from these comments it clearly isn't targeted at newbies as it would scare them away before they start. Neither is it targeted at the experienced sailor preparing for a long voyage where heavy weather may be encountered as, surely, they would refer to the more comprehensive and authoritative tombs available. Hence I conclude that it's targeted somewhere in the middle.....the curmudgeonly who these days prefer to be argumentative rather than cast off to sea.

A good article for newbies may be how to cope with the grave and imminent danger of losing a phone signal at sea ?

 

[capnsensible]

Do authorative tombs make grave predictions?

 

[Skylark]

Do authorative tombs make grave predictions?

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. ?‍ You may make grave predictions but I’ll stick to text prediction. ?

 

[mjcoon]

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. ?‍ You may make grave predictions but I’ll stick to text prediction. ?

Do you not understand the (huge) difference between sarcasm and puns?