Masthead buoyancy

My brother got a Crewsaver mast float for his RS200 that i used the first couple of times i sailed my Contender as he as not out and now i used two of the bags from inside wine boxes blown up, one wither side of the sail. To decrease drag (as if it really matters with the speed i sail the thing) i tied a rope to the bottom of the Crewsaver one and lashed it hard to the bottom of the mast so it effectively lay along it, this int possible with the bags due to their square nature and lack of a point on the bottom of the bag to tie a rope to.

As i am learning this was extremely useful particularly as my first sail was in a 4-5 and resulted in 28 capsizes, it kept the boat completely on it's side and allowed me to right the boat easily and even rest on the centreboard before righting in the latter stages. Contrary to JimC's observation i did not float at all far downwind ( Northerly wind, sailing out of Shoreham). In all i think it is a very good idea for a learner in any class who is not particularly confident in the abilities to right from turtle/ does not have the energy to constantly right from turtled. Also contrary to what someone said there is no visible damage to my mast although to be honest i havn't really checked yet.

I will eventually be removing them though despite how bling bling the silver bags are at the top of my mast (That is a joke ).

N.B. Wine bags are not quite as buoyant as the floats and are slightly harder to hoist without getting caught in the track (i can be a bit of a numpty so getting it caught is not a problem if you are paying any kind of attention.

I think I heard of someone who filled their mast with ping-pong balls - don't know if it was true!

once its inverted, it is much easier and quicker to bring the rig up to windward and the boat will drift a lot less, (stating the obvious i know!).

Maybe it's just my boat, being a grand old lady and all that, but if I capsize and forget to release the kicker, she turtles instantly. I suppose the sail is slacker when the kicker's off and "balloons" a bit over the surface before sinking.
If the kicker's on, I can't right it at all - I'm on a fine balancing point there

(I'm 60 kgs in a wetsuit and the hull's about 85 kgs, not counting the water that gets in the hull!  ) 

Originally posted by Black no sugar ...It's also a good idea to release the kicker (and the other controls, but kicker is most effective) as soon as you feel you've reached the point of no return. That will prevent the boat from turtling instantly.

Does letting the kicker off really slow down an inversion? or does it just make righting easier? I don't capsize that often any more but when I do it's always at a critical point in a race  and stopping an inversion could make all the difference.