V Twin

Originally posted by rogue 'tie the mainsheet to the harness' Would I want to go it in a more powerful craft, on the sea... well I guess that depends on circumstances.   If there's local rescue cover then probably not, in the event of serious rescue, sod the boat, they can pull me out without the risks of me being dragged off with the boat or having the b**tard sheet pinned around my ankle without a free end to get hold of and untie myself. If there isn't club rescue cover then I guess in the event of coastguard/RNLI rescue being with the boat would make me easier to spot, especialy given both Graeme's and my aversion to naff, brightly coloured sailing apparel, so the risk is worth it.

Do you mean more powerful than an MPS?

I'm not sure what Graeme wants to achieve speed wise.I assume similar, but without all that capsising stuff and why not at that sort of speed on the sea when relying on local cover. It is exactly the thrill of speed in waves in a up to a force 6 that for me is what dinghy racing on the sea should be about, but again for me certainly not single handed and yes, reasonably safely. I know Graeme would prefer to be out there with his great crew and friend, who we have sadly lost, enjoying the challenge together. Two handed non skiff boats are relatively safe since there is always the other person if one is in trouble, and even if inverted, if of sensible design, it should be recoverable.
 
To try and achieve this experience on the sea, in wind, in a single handed craft, why not, but at 60 kg some compromising will have to be done. Reduce sail area slightly, reduce buoyancy, do away with double bottom, or at least, as already suggested make in semi double bottomed and of course accept  a partially filled cockpit after capsise cleared quickly with bailers. Accept about four capsises a season, perhaps two of which might require assistance in righting from club rescue but all this assumes you take measures to make it 95% proof against inverting.

Achievable without any major changes to concept.

Sorry to hear all your troubles with righting. I think it is a really difficult problem. I have thought of lots of useless ideas! I do hope you (or someone) can solve them.

I would recommend a sealed mast with external halyards (we have semi sealed - still a hole at the base), though I think this is not enough for a complete solution.

'tie the mainsheet to the harness'

Edited by rogue - 26 Apr 12 at 12:31pm

For the lever to work well, you still need a way of exerting pressure in the right place. I know that if you have a lever big enough you can move the world, but the Vtwin might be trickier than that...

The whole point of the gas filled mast float thingy is that there is no reason why it should notice when deflated. I might be old, bald and past it but even I resist the idea of a pop bottle tied to the mast head. Remember, my idea was to connect a deck mounted gas cylinder that had a valve operated by a string through the center board slot.....hey use helium and a big enough mast head bag and it could shoot up with the mast vertical throwing the noble Mr Fuller off into the oggin!

The idea of trying to sink a float down through the water using rope and pullies sounds like a non starter to me.