Righting with boat

Hi All,

Is there a proper way to right the hobie using a boat? I was out yesterday having a great time when my crew when we suddenly pitchpoled. The boat almost immediately turtled (another topic!). We took the necessary steps to right the boat and began trying to get it up. We have a combined weight of approx. 350 lbs. and had a good 15 knot wind. However we could not get the mast out of the water. After about 20 mins with no luck, a boater approached and asked if we needed help. We tried to right the boat using the same technique with the powerboat. Each time we tried, the boat would get almost up then fall off to the bow or the stern. By this time the boat had been turtle for about an hour and the mast was full of water along with some water in the hulls. Eventually the powerboat called the coastguard as we were drifting into a major shipping lane. They contacted a search and rescue team from a local college to assist us in righting. This crew also could not get the boat up. We eventually dragged the boat to shallow water after dismasting with the boat still turtle. All in all it was a very frustrating experience. Is there another technique we should have tried using the powerboat? I know I need to reseal the mast as that would probably have lessened the difficulty. Any other suggestions would be very helpful as I do not want to go through that ordeal again.

Thanks,

Craig

If the boat is on its side, have them lift the mast from the top. The next thing a boat can help with is to get the mast upwind. That is by far the easiest way for another boat to help. I usually grab the mast at the shroud tang area and then "walk" my hands up to the head... lift as high as I can reach, then "walk" my hands along the sail leech till high enough they can right. Did this from a Hobie Mirage Island this weekend for one of our factory guys who was trying to right single handed.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I am glad to hear you made it back safely. You owe the powerboater that called for help as you would never have been able to right the boat with even a small amount of water in the mast. Even a small weight on a big lever makes for an impossible situation.

Before you go sailing again, you need to seal the mast. If you turtle, the tip of the mast is about 30 feet under water. The pressure on the tip of the mast a lot higher than on the surface, so even a very small leak can be a big deal quick. When the powerboat pulled the mast to the surface, was is spraying water like a fire hose? If so that was the leak.

My first question should have been: is your mast a solid aluminum tube or is it two parts, the lower part aluminum and the top part fiberglass. If the mast is two part, it can leak at the top and it can leak at the joint. It can also leak at any unsealed rivet or other hole. Solid aluminum mast frequently leak at a hole under a cracked or bending mast tang. If this is a leak, you need to replace the tang and use 3M 5200 under the new tang at the hole to seal the hole. Sikaflex is another sealant that will work. Silicone is not a good option.

Solid mast seldom leak under the mast head so don't start here. Older mast can also split lengthwise. If this is the case, it's time for a new mast (boat).

New mast can leak under the mast head or along the seam along the front of the fiberglass portion of the mast. A little resin can cure a seam leak quickly. It is unlikely a newer mast head would leak as the seal was changed years ago. If the leak is under the joint, a hole is drilled in the aluminum part just below the joint and a two part epoxy foam is injecteced into the mast. This can/will cause a mess and shooting foam can be a safety issue. It is best to have the dealer do this work.

After all this work is done, righting will be far easier as the sealed mast will float. You also said there was a lot of water in the hulls, this will also make righting difficult as the water shifts the boat becomes less stable. Some water will enter the boat through the ususally dry breather hole (under the front crossbar castings), but you may want to make sure the usuall leaks for the hulls are taken care of as well before you go out again.

Another thing you might want to consider is a Hobie Bob for on top of the mast. It will help float the mast tip. Sealing the mast is a must though.

As stated above, sealing the mast is very important.

Just want to make sure we're clear on the rest of the problem, though. The technique for righting from turtle to normal capsize (boat on its side) is very different from the technique for getting from normal capsize to upright, and it's unclear from your post which you were using. To "unturtle", you get your weight aft (preferably on the leeward hull), lean straight back off the stern, and pull (or have power boat pull) on your righting line, which is preferably tied to the main beam. This way there is little resistance from the sails, the sterns are buried, and, if successful, the boat will come up bows first, until it becomes unstable enough to fall on it's side. Then you can use a "normal" righting technique (leaning off the side). This may not work with a full mast, but I've done it with an empty one when my son and I were a combined 285 lbs.

It sounds like you never got the boat from turtle to a normal capsize position. I don't understand how the boat could fall off to the bow or stern as you describe if that's the case and you were using the turtle-to-normal capsize technique described above.

Hope this helps some. Maybe with some clearer info, we can get to the bottom of it!

Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mi'sippi

Jerome,

Thanks for the input! I have never come across the righting technique you described. I think that would have been very useful. We did however get the boat on its side using the typical technique at which point we tied a float to the top of the mast to float it while we tried to further right it. Even with five people on the lower hull we could not pull it up and with the boat it just continued to fall off one way or the other. I think the way you describe would work well and I will definitely keep that in mind for the next time. Using the boat to power the mast from turtle caused my sails to rip at 3 of the seams even though the sheet was uncleated. My sails were in good shape too so I am pretty bummed about it. Thanks for your input, I really felt there had to be a better way to right from turtle, I just wish I did'nt have to find out the hard way. I am a newbie though and some lessons are learned the hard way! I had my mast sealed or so I thought but I checked it today and the biggest leak is at the top under the pulley. I think I will have to pop the rivets and remove the top part to seal it. Another topic but if anyone has advice....

Thanks again,

Craig

craig, i experienced somethign very similar to what you describe on one of my earliest excursions with a hobie cat. fortunately for me, i happened to be sailing with a magician who managed the unthinkable. here goes the tale:

when living in miami, my friend eric owned two very old and worn hobie cats, 16 and 14. one windy satruday we took both boats, and three other friends, for some fun on biscayne bay. we raced against each other, he and two friends on the 16, the third friend and myself on the 14, across the bay with apray, hulls flying, and a lot of hooting. on one fast tack, my mate decided to join me at the rear of the tramp, and the serious wind found itself underneath the tramp enough to flip is up and over backwards!

after recovering from the surprise (this was in fact my first capsize), we hopped onto the rear crossbeam from underneath and started to lean the boat upright. when it flopped over, the boat did a 180 and ended up with the bow underwater! next we flopped the boat over to one pontoon to perform the standard righting. this only resulted in the boat pointing straight up again, bows pointing skyward. my friend at this point had circled back and was now laughing heartily with his crew as we two struggled to get the boat afloat. after ~30 minutes he realize though that perhaps we weren't complete numbnuts, and the spurts of spray bursting from the pontoon as the boat flopped for and aft soon revealed that there was quite a bit of water in one of the pontoons. if you can imagine, the amount of water in the starboard pontoon was enough that each tie the boat came upright, the water would rush to the other end of the pontoon and pull the whole boat over the other way with its momentum. this is what i suspect may be the problem with your boat. the inertia of the water in your pontoon or mast was so great that you couldn't get the boat to stay upright when it was coming about.

but to get to the magician part...the owner, eric, seeing we were exhausted from fighting with the laws of physics (with which you almost always lose), swims over to us, lowers our main and drags it to his boat, rolled up and out of the way. he then ties our main halyard to the rear corner of his boat's tramp frame, and tells us to take specific positions on our boat. sheeting in, he manages to use his hobie to flip ours several times, unfortunately to the same effect. after deciding the pontoon is in fact too waterlogged to get the boat upright, he proceeds to tow the hobie 14, on its side, across biscayne bay to the marina ramp, tacking several times, with all five of us on his boat, in major gusts! now i am sure many readers here can SAY that they can do this, but to actually perform this feat is truly an act of magic. consider the drag and awkward moment angle towing a waterlogged, sideways sailboat has on your course. all these years later, and much more seasoned, i still consider this perhaps the most amazing sailing stunt i've ever personally witnessed.

sorry for the long post, but i couldn't help sharing this gruelling adventure with the mates here! cheers! ~ippi

_________________
getaway on long beach island, nj