-----
Original Message -----
Sent:
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 9:44 PM
Subject:
bailers W Mk III
Al
Interesting
discussion in the latest Whiffle. I had a conversation with
Richard at the mid-Winters about this very topic. Like him, I've
been thinking of adding stern drainage in my boat although other
projects and a difficulty in finding suitable fibreglass tube precluded
it. Perhaps this year. It should work on any W
version, but on the Mk III the floor is about the same level as
the bottom of the transom so a drainage tube would be nicely
horizontal. The maximum size is identified under the rules
as two tubes of nominal 4" size which should be quite enough and a big
improvement over what can go out the floor bailers.
If the drain tubes
can be level, that will be a big help. I didn't realize that they can
be. It would be interesting to do some tests on such a system as you
propose to do. I suppose that, in theory, the boat should drain itself
once it is righted. The question would be how long this would take. And
then, the matter of climbing back into a high-floating Mk III with its
lack of handholds, raises its ugly head - especially for those of us
who are not as spry as we used to be. I went swimming off the CL at
Hilton Beach in 2006 and had a heck of a time climbing back in, unlike
in the wood boat where you can get a nice grip on the inside edge of
the deck. And even so, I am still thinking off installing/bringing
along a climbing aid - perhaps nothing as fancy as Tom Graefe's (first
pic below) but something homemade as per the Chuck Jordan idea -
see pics below:
Many
dinghies (regardless of floor buoyancy tanks) have stern bailers...
they seem to work, and generally improve safety. The goal
particularly in cold or rough conditions is keep the
crew out of the water and get the boat stable, dry, and sailing again
asap. Anything that gets the ice-cube water of Lake Superior out
of the boat fast after the dreaded capsize would be a benefit.
The older I get, the more I'm inclined
to believe in getting back into the re-righted boat a.s.a.p. rather
than waiting for it to drain. I have the distinct feeling that by
sitting both people well aft immediately after righting and bringing
the board all the way up, the Scott Town-suggested method of just
sailing away on a broad reach should work - and a pair of drain tubes
would quickly remove any water that doesn't go out over the aft tank in
the first forward surge.
Without finding some
tubing commercially, my plan was to make approx. 4" dia.
fibreglass tubes by wrapping cloth around a piece of pipe as a
mold. Cut holes in transom and rear bulkhead, fibreglass the tube
ends into those transom/ bulkhead holes, a bit of gel coat here
and there, add shock corded transom flaps with a rubber gasket
seal, and use a couple of 4" hand hole access ports on the rear
bulkhead openings so the drainage tubes can be screwed shut
and made watertight for sleeping in the boat. Should just take a
couple of hours. Ha.!
Indeed!!
A Mk III with open bailers
has a dry floor until you stand in it and water starts coming
in. It shouldn't sink too far before
the buoyancy of the front and rear tanks provides equilibrium again (
the average 360-lb. crew would need only about 6 cu.ft of
additional displacement with water at 62 lb/cu/ft). Just the rear
tank alone (at say 5-ft. width x 2-ft. length)
provides that with a 8" submergence. A test
is needed... open the bailers... add the crew ... drink a beer and
see just how much water comes in. I'd guess the actual
sinkage with open bailers should be less than the depth of water
that frequently sloshes around after a capsize - meaning given half a
chance some water might even drain out on its own
accord. Even if not, stern drainage tubes would get the water
out far faster than the floor bailers once sailing and eliminate
much of the instability that follows a capsize (the Mk III is
particularly prone to this problem with all that water sitting on
top of the under-floor buoyancy tank). Looking at the
pictures of the new Hartley W that Kit took in London, it would appear
it has under-floor buoyancy too, so there shouldn't be too much
difference between the drainage setup of the HW version
and tubes installed on a Mk III. In short, it should
work.
I am in full agreement with
Richard's observations on the sealing and rear hatch of the Mk
III. It leaks as he noted, and is difficult to
achieve reliable buoyancy and maintain reasonable
access. Although the Mk III is generally a fine boat, this
is one of a number of aspects that could easily have been done
better. My hatch modifications and some other items are
listed somewhere in the WIT (http://www.wayfarer-international.org/WIT/misc/Wayfarer_mods.pdf).
I would suggest adding the righting line to anyone concerned about
quick recovery and turtling issues.
I just re-read your
W modifications article and am again impressed. The righting line
sounds a fine addition.
The other thing I was
pondering is whether one could fill the top of the mast with foam...
say the expanding type used in home renovations. There might not
be much volume there, but even a few pounds of floatation force at the
mast tip would be helpful in slowing the roll-over tendency.
Assuming a 2" dia. mast section, about 3 feet of foam would provide 4
lbs of buoyancy (the equivalent of a bag of sugar) at the mast
end. If an inner tube is sufficient (assuming it's not from
a truck), a foam filled mast tip should be roughly equivalent.
What would you do
about the main halyard getting past the foam? And how would you get the
foam in there? Seems to me like the bicycle inner tube or Richard's
pool noodle would be an easier option?
As for the
sloshing water over the back tank theory. Put me down as a
bit skeptical. That would require a significant sinking of the
stern of the boat and as noted the buoyancy of the rear tank would seem
to make this difficult. Besides, a foot of water in a
W weighs over a ton and makes it tough to gain much in the
way of sudden motion.
I don't imagine it
would take much sudden forward motion to slop the worst of the water
out? What I expect Scott pictured was for helm and crew to move well
aft and at the same time sheet in and go - the water would rush aft and
the beginnings of forward motion should help the slop effect.
Cranking the sails in to
attempt this (at least in my albeit limited experience) is much
more likely to get the boat heeling and water rushing sideways to
create another capsize as it is to go over the back.
Not if you sail
away on a broad reach!!
It might work in some
situations but a second choice I think to vigorous bailing
with the board up and jib backed as you described.
Backing the jib is
for heaving to, which I don't like the thought of with the boat full of
water. After a capsize, Marc and I let both sails rag completely, and
get the board full up as soon as we get back into the re-righted boat,
which in my experience lets the boat stabilize itself sideways to the
wind without help from the rudder - a good position from which to
begin sailing the water out after a bit of bailing. Regardless of the W
type, to sail dry, you want the bow out of the water as much as
possible, i.e. both crew on aft tank or near that.
However even better might be
having a set of stern drainage tubes with which one could sail the
water rapidly out of the boat. I think I've talked myself into
another boat project.
I'll look forward
to your reports on how this works out!!
cheers,
Andrew
Haill
W9657
