Reply To: Bouyancy question
Hi Richard
All OKs are supposed to have foam in the front – 0.12 cubic meters according to rule 9.1. When I put a new deck on 2031 last winter I replaced the wooden side decks with glassed-over foam: they are the max depth (80mm) below the sheerline and 40 above, and look like a pretty substantial slab of buoyancy, and it hasn’t made the slightest difference to what the boat’s like when it’s capsized, not that I’ve done a lot of swimming this year (haven’t had the wind for it ) I hate blow-up buoyancy anyway – the poxy bags are always going flat, and there’s always a risk that when the chips are down and you really need it the bags will bust or pop out of the hull or something. (I’ll never forget having the aft bag in a mk1 Firefly – it was HUGE – bust out of the boat and blow away – the back end of the boat just sank! I was about twelve at the time.)
I think if you want to do something to make capsize recovery quicker and safer, using big enough righting lines is key. If the rope’s too thin you just can’t get a decent grip. I’ve got some 12mm rope on my boat that I think is meant for water ski tow rope – it’s light and floaty, but big enough to get a really good pull without cutting your hands up.
Happy Christmas!
Dave
