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HERE to take the test
Anyone who sails a small boat for any length of
time will almost certainly be overtaken by bad weather at some
stage. With the wind howling and the waves building, we often
wonder: “How seaworthy is my boat?” There is no question
that some boats survive bad weather better than others, even allowing
for various degrees of experience among their crews. But what
makes one boat more seaworthy than another?
We can’t answer that question, of course,
until we define the word “seaworthy.” Experts agree
it’s a nebulous term that does not lend itself to absolute
definition.
It’s almost easier to define seaworthiness
for sailboats intended to cross oceans than it is for boats designed
to sail on rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Seaworthiness for
world cruisers means the ability to stay afloat, remain watertight,
and keep crew safe in the worst conditions of wave and weather.
It includes the ability to beat off a dangerous lee shore in heavy
weather.
Seaworthiness for boats that do not stray so far
from land is a little different because they can often run for
safety and reach land before wave conditions become too dangerous
and before fatigue sets in among the crew.
Naval architect Ted Brewer says in his book Understanding
Boat Design (International Marine): “Obviously
it is unfair to compare the seaworthiness of a family daysailer
with that of an ocean racer, and an outboard fishing boat does
not need the seagoing ability of a bluewater motoryacht. However,
all boats must meet a certain level of seaworthiness to suit their
particular purpose, and they can and should be compared with others
of their type.”
The type we’re concerned with here is sailboats
displacing no more than 3,500 pounds that are regularly trailered
for afternoon daysails or weekends afloat. And what we’re
looking at is their ability to perform safely in the sea areas
and weather conditions for which they were designed. They should
be able to cope with the conditions found in the protected and
semi-protected waters typically frequented by trailersailors.
The accompanying quiz can’t give you a definite
verification of your boat’s seaworthiness but it will certainly
indicate its relative fitness for its designed purpose by comparison
with other types of boats. And remember, it’s up to you
to find out what your boat’s designed purpose is, and to
sail it within those parameters.
How Seaworthy is your
Trailerable Sailboat?
The quiz (click image at left) will give you an
indication of the seaworthiness of your trailerable sailboat of
not more than 3,500 pounds displacement, used in areas and weather
conditions for which it was designed. In general, that means the
conditions found in the protected and semi-protected waters typically
frequented by trailersailors.
We take it for granted that you have a conventional
rig such as a sloop, a ketch, or a yawl. If you sail a small cutter,
a schooner, a junk, or something more exotic, you’ll have
to play this game by ear. We also assume a reasonably normal ratio
of displacement to waterline length and overall length. In awarding
points to various characteristics, simplicity of design and operation
has always won out over other considerations.
Choose one answer from each section, except where
otherwise
stated.
Incidentally don’t jump off a cliff if your
boat doesn’t come up to your expectations. There are certain
to be seaworthy designs that fall through the cracks in our quiz.
What we hope is that taking the quiz will make
you think more deeply about the many factors that constitute seaworthiness
in a small sailboat, and pursue them diligently. Try to figure
out why certain aspects of boat design earn more points than others,
and discuss them with fellow boaters. Finally, we hope a good
score will bring you improved confidence in your choice of boat
and greater pleasure in sailing her.—John Vigor
John Vigor has written numerous books. Click HERE
for a list of the ones sold at Amazon.com - eds
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The Heavily Ballasted Skipper 20 |
Displacement and Inertia
You may wonder why a whopping 25 bonus
points is awarded to the heaviest boats in our seaworthiness
quiz. Here’s why: Capsize is often as much the result
of wave impact as the effect of a sudden gust of wind. Either
way, the heavier a boat, the less likely it is to capsize,
because of what’s called inertia.
Inertia is the resistance of a body at
rest to being moved. It is also the resistance of a moving
body to being stopped. It’s difficult to make a heavy
boat with a tall mast heel suddenly. The mass of the hull
and the leverage of the mast resist sudden changes in movement.
The deeper, heavier, and longer a boat,
the more inertia she carries. Heavy-displacement boats are
about five times as resistant to capsize as ultra-light-displacement
boats of the same length, according to famed research scientist
and naval architect Tony Marchaj.—JV |
| Cockpit Drainage
Cockpits are often disproportionately large
on small boats. There is thus more need than ever for quick
drainage. But very few production trailerables have adequate
cockpit drains. Some have open transoms or outboard wells,
but it’s a very rare boat that has better than two
1 1/2-inch scuppers. Two 2-inch scuppers would be a great
improvement.—JV |
Designer Warren Jordan’s 15-foot Footloose
Skiff favors simplicity. John Kohnen and his Pickle
pictured. |
Simplicity
The smaller the boat, the greater the need
for simplicity. Complex systems all too often become liabilities
when the weather gets rough. How often do we hear of a small-boat
sailor caught out singlehanded in a sudden blow who can’t
reef or start the outboard because he’s too scared
to let go of the tiller and stop actively sailing?
Too many of us succumb to the blandishments
of the purveyors of shiny marine equipment. We unwittingly
follow the follies of fashion. We bolt on fancy fittings
of expensive, hightech material where a good old-fashioned
cleat or fairlead would do. Beware of the tendency to “improve”
the piece of lanyard that’s doing an honest job. Sail
safer by thinking simple.—JV |
| Vigor’s Black Box Theory
Some boats seem to be more seaworthy than
others. They survive storms unscathed where others get into
serious trouble. Is this just luck? No, it’s work.
Every boat has an invisible black box
that stores good-luck points. You earn a point every time
you check the rigging before setting sail. You earn points
for taking a shore bearing after you’ve anchored.
Points pile up when you change the engine oil on time and
buy new batteries for the GPS. In short, every seamanlike
precaution you take, every little bit of maintenance or
checking you do, especially on dark rainy nights when you’d
rather be in your bunk, every bit of pre-planning on the
chart, earns another point.
In times of stress, when you’re
caught in a storm and you’ve done all you physically
can, the points are cashed in as protection. You can’t
control their withdrawal. They withdraw themselves as needed.
Boats that have no points in the black
box will later be described as “unlucky” and
“unfortunate.” But those with points to expend
will survive the same conditions. The black box will take
care of you. All you need to do is keep it topped up.—JV |
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Capsize and Swamping
Two of the accidents most feared by small-boat
sailors are capsize and swamping. You’ll sail with
less angst if you’ve thought out in advance what you’d
do if either of these things happened to you.
Dinghy sailors with wetsuits or drysuits
can practice righting their craft by holding them head to
wind and then standing on the centerboard, but what do you
do about larger trailersailers? Luckily, the act of capsize
in larger craft is slower, and if you haven’t cleated
the mainsheet you’ll have a chance to spill wind before
the mast hits the water. Further, a bigger boat’s
metal centerboard will act as righting ballast. The quickest
recovery will be made by boats with deep ballast keels.
Incidentally, many trailerables with fixed
shoal keels or keel-plus-centerboard combinations are considered
more seaworthy than boats with only a centerboard or daggerboard.
There have been a number of reports of keel-plus-centerboard
boats losing their boards, but still being able to sail
to their destinations. And there are many instances of centerboard-only
boats turning turtle and experiencing the board crashing
back into the trunk, sometimes with great structural damage.
Swamping, that is the filling of the cockpit
by a wave washing over the transom or side deck, is an ever-present
hazard in heavy weather. You must give thought to the problem
of getting rid of the water quickly, before another wave
or swell comes along and swamps your heavily loaded boat
even more. —JV |
| Elements of Seaworthiness
Seaworthiness is notoriously difficult
to define, but we can reasonably expect the following characteristics
in a seaworthy trailerable sailboat being operated in conditions
for which she was designed:
• The ability to recover from
a 90-degree knockdown without serious damage and without
shipping a dangerous amount of water; or, in the case of
open dinghies, the ability to recover and resume sailing
after a knockdown and swamping.
• The ability to look after
herself hove-to in sudden storms for at least short
periods while you gather your wits, reef the sails, and/or
start the engine.
• The ability to beat to windward
in strong winds but reasonably calm waters toward a
nearby weather shore. Alternatively, the ability to run
safely downwind and beach herself on a nearby lee shore.
• The ability to keep her crew
safe in all conditions. To achieve these desirable
traits, you must be able to reduce sail area and still retain
the good balance and helm docility that makes for a safe
and efficient boat in heavy weather. —JV |
| There are a number of variables
in our seaworthiness test, but here is an example of how
three small boats with seaworthy reputations might score.
For the sake of comparison, we’ve given each boat
full credit for safety gear and reefing options and assumed
their skippers were thoroughly experienced. Put your boat
to the test and see how it compares. —Eds
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The Drascombe
Lugger: 134 |
The Cape Dory
Typhoon Weekender: 170 |
The Santana 22:
182 |
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