Rig failure, and two kinds of caution.

[johngsandusky]

There's the caution that keeps you ashore, and the caution you practice underway.
There was a small craft advisory on the Sound yesterday. The forecast was 10-15, gusting 20, increasing during the afternoon, stronger east than west. I'm in the middle. The last three times I sailed, I suffered some light air and calms. I don't really trust forecasts, they're usually too generic for thousands of square miles of water. But I do believe in caution. Still, 15 or 20 knots is not too much for an 18' dory. When in doubt, go look. At the harbor, it was moderate sw, with some fresh gusts. Not bad. I launched and rigged. The first caution didn't keep me ashore.
The second caution made me resolve not to get too far off. Outside in the Sound, we made good way on all points, heeling and racing along in the puffs, handling well. Great fun. Once before I was out in fresh or strong puffs, the mast flexed impressively, and some seams and flaws seemed to work a little. Considering this, I wondered what I would do if the mast broke. I thought I'd anchor if possible, get the rig aboard, and try the mizzen in the mainstep. Even if I could only sail a beam reach, I'd make the beach near home. I could row, but the oars are a little short, she doesn't have a good rowing thwart, and it's a lot to row an 18' dory into a 20 knot breeze.
After a few back and forths, the gusts got stronger. I headed back into the harbor. Still it was great sailing weather, the tide was up. I decided to tour the harbor, sailing over and through flooded marshes. At the east end in a good puff, racing along, CREAKBANG. The noise came from forward, but I couldn't see any damage. Maybe it just shifted? Better be careful. Head back to the dock, keeping in the lee of hills and treed shore when possible. Stayed to leeward of moored boats just in case. Almost at the ramp, another gust and shift made me wear around to avoid hitting the dock. Two more tacks will put me in the slip. One tack, crunch. The mast breaks at the deck, falling neatly over the port side. I didn't even curse, just marvelled at how smoothly it went.
I put the anchor over, paid out some rode. Pulled on the jib, hung up under the boat. Oh, yeah, the daggerboard. Hauled it and the rudder. Then the jib, the sprit, the boom, the mast and sail. Set oars, raised anchor, rowed to the dock.
I didn't feel too bad. I'm not really sorry that I went out. I had a great sailing day, a casualty drill, and fulfilled the primary requirement of a trip. I returned with boat and crew. The mast, laminated from lumberyard pine, seems not to have bonded completely. The glue is amber and shiny. I would have had to replace it at some point, but I was unlikely to do so until it failed. Had I stayed home, I would have been able to sail next week instead of building a new stick. The second caution kept the failure from being too troublesome.
What was the worst that could have happened? If the mast had failed in the sound,and I couldn't sail or row back? I suppose I would have been blown over to Conneticut in a few hours. Put the boat up somewhere, take the ferry home.
I'm sure some would think this all reckless. I don't. My boats will not always be perfect. I'm not going to cross any oceans. I use a three strike rule to decide to cancel a sail. My doubts about the mast and the SCA were two strikes. I went out and lost the mast. It's a lesson for sure, but there was always an option if things went wrong.
Be careful, have fun.

[Jim Ledger]

I dunno about the North Shore, but over here, on the windward side of the Island, it was too windy to take the catboat out.

Call me a wuss but, I swear, the boat was heeled in the slip.

[johngsandusky]

Jim, I set out at 10am, docked at 1225. The strong wind didn't get here until later. Also, a sw usually blows harder on your side.
You're not a wuss, you kept your mast.
:)

[J. Dillon]

John a good tale . You survived it and used good judgment.
Thanks for sharing it.:D

Had the same experience last year and posted how I repaired the mast with a scarf in new section.

JD

[Dale H]

Thanks for sharing this here. It's all about the choices we make, isn't it?

I think you did everything right, especially thinking ahead of the boat and considering what you would do if there was a failure. When I was flying this was drilled into our brains over and over. Think way ahead and consider all possible problems.

If you hadn't gone out that mast might have failed in really tough conditions where it might tip the balance against your safe return.

Dale

www.alistego.com

[johngsandusky]

Thank you JD. I have thought about a clothespin scarf, but I think that it failed partly because the incomplete glue joints allowed the stress to be on one or two of the sections at a time. That first crack was a break in those. Then the others failed without their support. Even though the partners are the highest stress point, I feel that the whole mast is suspect. It's a simple, free standing 14 foot spar. Building new won't be much harder than repairing, but will give me more faith in the final product.
Thanks Dale. I learned seamanship in the USCG. Always have options. This lesson has been reinforced every time I've been in a jam.

[dpincus]

Mate, this was not a failure, you realized the wind limit of your boat, you were sailing conservatively, ducking in the lee of stuff, you knew the mast was bending a bit much, you heard the crack and did not ignore it. Masts fail, but you had a plan for it and executed it. That's sailing, well done. Thank your maker that it failed where and when it did and have fun making the new mast!

dp

[OErjan]

boyscouts have it right, "be prepared", saves lots of work/pain... to think ahead and try to see options/solutions.
My grandfather often said "why think about trouble? the paths out of and/or around is what you should try to find, preferably before the trouble arise".

[Gary Bergman]

Good details; glad you are alright and have a plan for going forward,mate.

[George Roberts]

"The mast, laminated from lumberyard pine, seems not to have bonded completely."

A big problem that amateur builders have is that they lack quality assurance.

All in all you went out in your boat and you got back home. Should not wish for much more.

[Tylerdurden]

"The mast, laminated from lumberyard pine, seems not to have bonded completely."

A big problem that amateur builders have is that they lack quality assurance.

All in all you went out in your boat and you got back home. Should not wish for much more.

Guess it was trouble hanging the clamps......

[johngsandusky]

I don't know for certain the details of the mast build, I bought the boat from it's builder. The wood is white and very light, with frequent knots. It has no noticeable scent. The glue is amber, and shiny. It didn't hold everywhere. I think it's carpenter's glue, and I agree that if it had properly bonded, the mast would still be standing. It did stand for 24 years though, so I think he did a good job. The boat itself was somthing of an experiment, but I believe a success.

[bamamick]

Very good, John. I have been through all sorts of mast breaks, capsizes, and other minor disasters. Bad injuries while sailing. All sorts of things. It is always a good idea to think ahead and try to plan for 'worst case' and then some. On the other hand, we have to try to be analytical about it and not let it keep us off of the water. Not let emotion (i.e. 'fear') get the better of us.

One thing that I am experiencing now really for the first time in my life is a worry about drowning. I have sailed all of my adult life but almost always in keelboats, and even though you can flip some keelboats (I know. I have done it), odds are you aren't go to go swimming off of one. The last three years or so my focus has shifted to single-handed sailing and small dinghies, and along with the thrill that sailing boats that are this quick and responsive will give you, you also get that gut wrenching, nerve fraying sensation that goes along with doing something right on the edge of disaster. For people who are more fit than am I it's probably not so bad, but for a lard-butt like me it can get rather dicey.

So, what's the worst thing that can happen? In most boats you break and you drift. In this modern age you can whip out your cell phone and call a tow boat (I've done that too). If you're in a small dinghy and you're having trouble the thing that I have come to realize is that you just need to relax. You're in a vest. If you keep calm you aren't going to die. Stay with the boat. If you can't get the boat up yourself, sooner or later someone will come along. I think that my biggest problem has been some sort of feeling that I have to get the boat back up within seconds and I thrash around and get exhausted quickly. I have to learn to take time and do it right. It weighs on my mind like no other experience I know ever has.

John, you went through a tough time and came out looking good and feeling good about the experience. My mast breaks have been a different kind of experience, since in a Star if you lose your mast you aren't going anywhere until someone comes to get you. On the other hand, both times it was rather surreal how calm you can feel when something like that happens. 'oh, the mast just fell. What do we need to do to clean it up?'. That sort of thing. I think that most of my friends and the folks I have sailed with over the years will tell you that I don't really get rattled over stuff breaking. I just deal with it. It's only these last couple of years and this having yourself thrown into the water thingee that seems to have me a little flummoxed. But I hope that you do notice that it hasn't stopped me?

Mickey Lake

[Thorne]

Well, two of the worst things that can happen in a small boat when the unstayed mast breaks is that the mast hits you in the head, or you get wrapped in the rigging/sails and pulled overboard.

I've broken two masts in my Chamberlain dory skiff, both were extended ('cause they weren't long enough) and broke at the top of the extension. Was sailing with the woife one time, with friends the other -- nobody got hurt, luckily.

Like you, the second time I heard it crack first, then it failed a few minutes later.

Made the third mast nice and strong from two lumberyard DF 16' 2x4's, overbuilt a bit so it shouldn't break.

My mistake was in experimenting with the glue -- I usually use epoxy for critical jobs like this and PL Premium for the rest, but it was suggested here that I use Weldwood resin glue so I did.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/graphics/weldwood.jpg

http://www.luckhardt.com/newmast0.jpg

http://www.luckhardt.com/newmast3.jpg

Apparently I didn't meet the clamping pressure requirement, the temperature requirement, or both. Anyway after some brisk sailing the glue started to fail near the base of the mast, and I had to clean it out and re-glue with epoxy. No sign of subsequent failure.

[paladin]

Good on ya....the only spar that I have broken was in an airplane wing.....it was a bit interesting for a while but it all worked out.
(to add)...specifications for + and - G loads in an aircraft wing dunno count flying over volcanos):o

[johngsandusky]

Mickey, you're too hard on yourself. I'd describe you as "solid". I do think it's good to be careful about going in the water. As long as you stay down in the Gulf you won't freeze. Even up here a couple of out-of-shape guys sunk an aluminum skiff and survived 6 hours or more. One swam ashore, the other clung to the bow of the boat. The lesson was to neither panic nor surrender. I think of my extra weight as "insulation".
Thorne, thanks, I'm thinking of using fir 2x4s, maybe hollowed first. Or a Parker style 6-sided stick. But I'm having trouble finding good stock. I don't worry much about getting hit by the stick because they always seem to go over the side. I think there's more side-force than aft. Also, the jib halyard holds it forward.

[StevenBauer]

Hey John, it was great meeting you at the show last weekend. Have you thought about a birdsmouth spar? Easy to make and very forgiving of less than perfect stock. Some lumberyard spruce or fir and you're all set. I haven't broken any of my unstayed birdsmouth spars yet. :)




Steven

[Ian McColgin]

Get or make some proper oars and set a proper thwart. A dory is an all around sea boat that in really tough conditions will be better rowed anyway.

If you must go to weather, drop the board, lash the helm and row three points off the wind, tacking as necessary. I could not row my dory Leeward straight against a Strong Gale (Force 9, wind about 45 knots) and not far in a Near Gale (Force 7) but just being a bit off the wind really took the curse out of it.

G'luck

[johngsandusky]

Thanks Steven, nice to meet you too. I really wasn't thinking of a birdsmouth, but I will now. I went shopping today and didn't find the stock. If I end up slicing bigger peices, I may go birdsmouth.
Ian, I might have bigger oars, I already built a bench to sit on, I do need to move the oarlocks for better advantage. Thanks for the advice on the board.

[James McMullen]

Welcome to the "Dismasted!" club. . . . .lots of us folks in here.

I think you are right to start fresh and built a new stick rather than try to repair a mast that by empirical evidence wasn't strong enough in the first place. When it comes time to glue up the blank, I'm thinking I'd rather have nice, long epoxy glued scarphs than any knots at all in the wood if you can't find clear, straight grain long enough.

[Captain Blight]

.the only spar that I have broken was in an airplane wing.....Winner of the 'HOLY CATS!!!!" post of the day. One free replacement pair of underwear to be sent shortly by first-class mail.

C'mon, Unka Chuck! Don't leave us hangin.

[Russ Manheimer]

Thanks for sharing John. Look fforward to seeing the replacement spar.

Nice to meet you in Mystic. Let's try to go for a sail this summer.

Best,

Russ

[johngsandusky]

Thanks Russ. Good idea for the summer, or even fall or winter sailing. With you, Joe, Jim and I so close, we should be able to arrange something.

[Tom Hunter]

John,

Thanks for a thoughtful description.

I'll second Ian's comment. Good 9' oars will give you huge leverage and wonderful power. Rowing regularly will give you the muscle and endurance you need. 20 knts dead on the nose will slow you down some, but it won't stop you. Ian is quoting force 9 and 7, and I have rowed in 6 and 7 without any real trouble. It was work, but not trouble.

One of the beauties of a boat like yours is the redundancy. But you have to fit the boat out properly. Plus if the wind dies good oars will get you home without trouble.

[David Tabor (sailordave)]

I didn't even curse, just marvelled at how smoothly it went.

I know EXACTLY what you mean.
Was out sailing my Laser on the reservoir about a month before 9/11 and thought I'd get ONE MORE REACH in across and back before heading for home. Just as I tacked on the far side I heard the deck tear and looked up to see the mast topple over. Was really kinda anticlimatic. That hull was a very early 70's hull so I think it was well used.
Glad you had a fun sail!

[John B]

Mine went bang and the next thing we were doing a pirouette around it at a rapidly diminishing 7 knots. I remember standing there thinking 'what just happened'.:rolleyes:

[johnw]

My father was dismasted three times in one boat. Finally he decided it was a design defect and after he fixed it the third time, sold the boat to someone who didn't use it as hard. I've got to say, it's one of the worst feelings in the world when the mast snaps.

I wonder if wrapping it in Dynel or something would help. We had a Merrimack in Maine with a mast that had been broken, spliced back together and the splice wrapped in fiberglass. Never had a bit of trouble with it.

I suppose after that, the spruce was a core material for a fiberglass mast.

[johngsandusky]

I'm not sure that this would be a good rowboat, even with better oars. I too have rowed a dory or dinghy in pretty wild conditions. But this boat has a 6'6" beam, and high topsides.
A wrap might have saved this mast, it would have kept the laminations together tightly. the new one will be stronger.