Getting Back Onto the Boat

[Wolfman]

Hey Everyone,

Just got my New old 5.2 rigged and out on the water last weekend. Everything went OK until me and my bud decided to flip it over and right it. Anyway it all went pretty well until I tried to get back on the boat.

Now granted I'm pretty heavy right now (100 kg), but I am also pretty strong. What I found was there was almost nothing to grab onto on the side of the boat and I didn't have enough strength to get back in without my buddy's help (little embarrassing).

With our old Hobie 16 there always seemed to be something to grab a hold of, and the hulls were so shallow it wasn't much of a haul. With the Nacra the hulls seem incredibly tall and it is quite a way up. I was thinking of getting some webbing and a plastic buckle and making a stirrup I can hang off of the rear beam or the shrouds to give me a leg up.

Has anyone else had this problem? Is this a silly idea?

Dave

[darcy1945]

Try getting on from the bow, it's much easier to sink the bow then slide on, i'm 97kg and that's my method for all size cats, 4.3 to 5.8, another way is to put a second trap handle 30-40cm above the original, to get you further out of the water.

[madboutcats]

I agree with the over the front beam between mast and hull, grab the trap handle way of getting on. You may have to grab the beam and pull your self up a bit to grab the handle then hook your knee over the beam, you wont damage anything with your trap hook that way. I'm 100kg and its the only way I can get on

regards Jeff

[Wolfman]

Ah, that makes better sense. Was trying to figure out how to get on from the back like some of the books show. I should also get a second set of trap lines at some point.

[brucep]

Wolfman,once you have righted the boat, duck under the hull & grab your trap lines &flick your legs up on the deck then simply slide on.It is the way we get back on our 5.8 Hope this will help CHEERS BRUCE

[Cletus]

Whilst you guys are on the topic of Cat righting - I just picked up a mid-80's (1986) Nacra 5.2 - it has a big blue stretchy righting rope that came with it. I know it threads through blocks that sit on each hull and it connects in two points to each of the hulls, but for the life of me I can't figure out where to attach it. Any pointers?

Best regards

Peter

[Wolfman]

Interesting. I'm not sure how old mine is (sail number in the 3000's), but the righting system for it is just a shock cord clipped to eyelets under the front and rear beams. I just unclip it from the rear beam and throw it over the hull that is out of the water at the front beam.

Not that it answers your question but I belive you want the setup to be able pull in-line with the mast and with the line run over the top hull to get as much leverage as possible.

[tonyquoll]

Hi,

I've seen a few cats with a rectractable righting rope:

One end of the rope is adjacent to a hull and the front crossbeam. The rope runs through a pulley (or two) and has elastic tied to its other end. The first meter or so comes towards you easily, then hits a knot. It should come out far enough that you can stand on the leeward hull and lean a long way back.

Once you let go, the elastic retracts the rope to stop it dragging in the water.

The system is mirrored on the other side of the boat.

Dad had similar trouble to you getting back on board his Nacra 14square. An untested idea we came up with was to tie a loop in the righting rope, jam it into the cross-bar brace, and use it as a step to get over the front cross-bar onto the deck.

Good luck

Tony Hastings

Paper Tiger 2128 Pelikinetic

[QB2]

Righting rope system on a Maricat 14 footer

The original righting ropes start at the rear beam, travel parallel with the hull to the pulley on the dolphin striker plate, through a plastic eyelet which is attached to the pulley with elastic, back along the hull to the rear beam, through another eyelet attached with elastic to the rear beam, across the rear beam to the other hull, through another plastic eyelet attached with elastic to the rear beam, then runs parallel with he hull to a pulley attached to the dolphin striker plate, through a plastic eyelet attached with elastic and then back along the hull to be tied off on the rear beam. This sounds very long winded but is quite simple when you see one set-up. It starts and finishes at the rear beam. There should be one piece of elastic for each hull, tied off through a hole on the pulley, just above the pulley carriage, on the front dolphin striker plate and the rear elastic is feed through a plastic eyelet attached to the rear beam and then tied off with another plastic eyelet that your righting rope will be fed through. You will need four plastic eyelets/rings ( two for each hull attached at the rear beams. The righting rope travells through the other eyelet when making it's return from the front beam as it then turns and proceeds along the rear cross beam to the other hull. Two lengths of elastic cord to run down each hull and approx 10m of rope, this will be more than enough rope, I think the actual lenght is more like 7m.

The only change i would make to the above is using SS steeel rings in preference to plastic to ensure they don't break under the weight

[Wolfman]

Thanks for all the advice guys!! I dumped the boat last weekend. The bungee thrown over the hull at the front beam works beautifully. I couldn't believe I righted the thing so easily, by myself!! It helps that the mast is pretty well sealed and floated at tonne.

Grabbing the trapeze line and putting the feet on the front beam also worked super well! I wish that trick would have worked for our old hobie 16 also.

Thanks for the advice!!