mast floatation

[Guest]

I recently had the unpleasant experience of having my daysailor I turtle. We could not right it and the harbormaster, after tiring of his fruitless attempts to help, towed us to shore mast down. Needless to say, the mast is trashed. I am now thinking of ways to avoid a reoccurance. Does anyone know of floatation devices for the mast? I have been told that O'Day once sold a sort of an air-bag device that was inflated by CO2 cartridge when submerged.

Dave Barkman (barkman-at-attbi.com)

[Guest]

My styrofoam packed inside my DS-1 mast has been falling out at an alarming rate of late; the advice I've gotten is to (yike) drill some holes into the mast the size of the nozzle on an expanding foam insulation cannister & spray away. Initially, however, I'm trying to shape a foam swimming "noodle and push it into the mast cavity. Either way, I'll get some flotation out of it.

Chuck (good5buck-at-attbi.com)

[Guest]

Yes, O'Day did once offer a sort-of "air-bag" device that mounted at or near the masthead to prevent turtling. I guess it would work, once........my Godfather had one on his O'Day Javelin, he tipped over once and sure enough the float inflated, problem was that it stayed inflated! I'm not sure just how he fixed it, I guess it could be reloaded like an inflatable PFD, but I'm not sure. I beleive this was basically a rubber balloon and a CO2 cartridge, with a water activated valve.
My best advice, and I know I'm going to get critised for this, is don't capsize. It is a know hazard of sailing centerboard boats that they can capsize, however, it is not, I repeat not a forgone conclusion, it is not inevitable, and it is avoidable. ALWAYS sail with the mainsheet in your hand, if the boat has a camcleat for the mainsheet, use that to hold the tension, but keep the sheet in hand so that when a gust of wind hits, you can instantly release the mainsheet before you even get close to a capsize. I have found that sitting on the side deck of the boat and using a tiller extension helps tremendously to keep the boat upright as well. The DS I is a bit uncomfortable sitting there, unless the wooden coamings have been cut down to deck level, but maybe a cushion or such can be made to provide more comfy seating there. I sail my boat on windy Buzzards Bay (Massachusetts), I sail singlehanded 95% of the time, if the wind is strong I will often sail with just the mainsail, or even just the reefed mainsail. When sailing without the jib, the centerboard needs to be raised slightly to reduce the weather helm.

Rod Johnson,"SUNBIRD" (rjohnson24-at-juno.com)