tank talk spring 01
DESCRIPTION
USA 505 Class MagazineTRANSCRIPT
T H E M A G A Z I N E O F T H E 5 O 5 C L A S S , A M E R I C A N S E C T I O N
$4.50 SPRING 2001
WHEN
SAFETYMATTERS
A ripped jib in Durban.The Worlds raised troubling questions about safety.A special report, PAGE 11.
2 TANK TALK
ULLMAN SAILS
Give your 505the Ullman Sails
Speed Advantage!
Ullman Sails410 - 29th Street
Newport Beach, CA 92663 USAPhone 714/675-6970
Fax 714/675-6276Email [email protected]
1st & 2nd1998 & 1999 Worlds
Championship Winning Boatworkby Peter Alarie, Lars Guck, and Prescott Cronin
Custom Foils, Expert Repairs, Fairing, and Painting
KISS Rondars in stock, available for delivery!Complete boat, with sails $13,600!
Pricing, Options and Specs:www.guckinc.com
email: [email protected]
GUCK, INC.19 Burnside StreetBristol, RI 02809401 254-5090401 254-5092 fax
Message from the President
SPRING 2001 3
I will always remember the 2000 505 sailing season as one of extremes. This isespecially true for those of us on the East Coast where we always seemed tohave lots of wind or none at all. This theme certainly persisted at the North
Americans and at the worlds in Durban, where it blew gangbusters. When we didsail in Durban, it was magnificent, and I will never forget surfing down the face ofsome of those enormous mast-high waves. Likewise for the 4-mile beat back toshore after the pre-worlds race in over 40 knots of wind. My only regret was notpacking my windsurfers into the container for the days when we were abandoned.
AMERICAN SECTION AGENDA NEWS
The American Section continues to move forward. Our stalwart Vice President, Ben Benjamin, is producing our class promotional video. Dave Stetson, our hardworking Secretary/Treasurer, has sent out the dues notifications. Have you sent yours in yet?
In keeping with my “you will all pay if I’m elected” platform at the 2000 NAs, duesare going up in 2001. The level of programs and support offered by the AmericanSection has started to take its toll and we have run an extreme budget deficit for two years. I don’t relish this edict, but the time has come to raise dues, which havebeen stable for well over a decade. As of 2001, the new dues structure will be thefollowing:
➤ Benefactor — $100 (this includes family or full membership)➤ Family Membership — $60 (up $10)➤ Full Membership, 30 years and over — $45 (up $10)➤ Full Membership, under 30 — $35 (unchanged)➤ Associate Membership — $25 (up $5)
With the extra income (about $1700), we can continue with the same level of quality you have come to expect in Tank Talk. We will also be increasing our marketing efforts through the use of the class videos and publications that will besent to select college sailing teams. If you have a preference to what colleges youwould like these materials sent, please inform me. For those of you who bemoan the increase, consider that $10 barely buys a new ball bearing block, 20 feet of pre-stretch line, or a tiller universal joint.
A DYNAMIC CLASS
This is a time of change in our class. Initial results of the big spinnaker ballot are in(around 400 total votes), and it seems that internationally there was a 2:1 majority infavor of the change. The American Section had 39 total votes, with 34 in favor. So,now we begin a new era of development and I think it will be quite exciting! I hopeyou will embrace the change with an open mind. Additionally, research is nowunderway into the development of an affordable and compatible carbon spar, withtechnical representatives from the Flying Dutchman, Fireball, and 505 classes sharing information. A number of spar manufacturers now offer production carbonsections suitable for the 505. If a carbon spar can be made within 25% of the cost of an aluminum spar, and the bend characteristics are identical to the Proctor D (so you wouldn’t have to replace sails), would you be in favor of a change? I’d like toknow your opinion.
Here comes the spring! Get pumped!
Fraternally,
Jesse Falsone
The Magazine of the 5O5 ClassAmerican Section
CLASS PRESIDENT
Jesse [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT
SECRETARY/TREASURER
David [email protected]
MEASURER
Bruce [email protected]
TANK TALK EDITOR
Allan [email protected]
SENIOR EDITOR
Jesse [email protected]
ADVERTISING
ART DIRECTOR
Nancy [email protected]
CONTRIBUTORS
Ethan Bixby, Peter Alarie,Ali Meller, Neil Fowler,
Pip Pearson, Barney Harris
FORMER EDITOR
Scott MacKay
To advertise in TANK TALK contact Ben Benjamin at
For more information on the 505 class, go to
www.int505.org/usa
4 TANK TALK
New Video on theBurner
A new 505 promotional video is in the mak-ing. Over the last year, class VP BenBenjamin has collected 505 footage from
world championships all the way back to 1975. Whatto expect? Obviously a lot of great sailing clips put tosome ripping tunes. We’ll also see some explainersegments on rabbit starts and the dynamics of sailinga trapeze dinghy. Also up are some vintage interviewswith Krister Bergstrom, Paul Elvstrom, Ian Barker,Howie Hamlin and many more! Ben hopes to targetthe video to an American audience. If you or anyone you know has exceptional 505 footageplease let Ben, [email protected], know ASAP . The video is scheduled to go to the studio thisspring and released in summer. }
SHORT TACKS
Are You Geared Up?The Ronstan Skiff Suit made its big debut in the 505 class at the 2000 NAs. Warmth and comfort were a priority in the cold waters of Santa Cruz, and the Skiff Suit didn’t disappoint. Also new from Ronstan “sticky race gloves,” designed to add gripability for any line.
WantedBENEFACTORS
The American Section has created a new “Benefactor” membershipcategory. This category is reserved for those members wishing to contribute extra funds to the American Section, with baseline membership starting at $100. All Benefactors will have their nameprominently displayed in each issue of Tank Talk for that year, and will earn the adoration of the American Section.
NATIONAL MEASURERS
The American Section is seeking a replacement for Bruce Tilley as National Measurer. This is not a time consuming job, but it isvery important. The ideal candidate will have some boat building knowledge and technical ability, and will live relatively close to one of the two official measurement jigs in either Santa Cruz, CA, or Bristol, RI. All inquiries should be directed to Jesse Falsone, [email protected].
2000 Worlds in Durban, South Africa.
IAN
BU
FOR
D
SPRING 2001 5
Go Sailing!
U P C O M I N G 5 O 5 E V E N T SThe spring is here, so it’s time to gear up for the season. Check out the Hoover Regatta
in Columbus on May 12-13 and in the Seattle area it is well worth supporting S.O.C.K.S.
at the Shilshole Marina, May 19-20. On the East Coast, the main event is the East Coast
Championship, scheduled for May 26-28 in Hampton, Virginia. The same weekend the
West Coasters will be testing their metal at the Memorial Day Regatta at Alamitos Bay
Yacht Club in Long Beach. The New England fleet will play host for the Falmouth Open,
June 9-10, at the Falmouth Yacht Club on Cape Cod. And although a few months off, the
North American Championship is scheduled for August 8-12 in Kingston, Ontario.
For more information about these and other events go to: www.int505.org/usa/
events/regs.htm. To get your events listed send them to [email protected].
Dancing in DurbanWho said Durban wasn’t all fun and games? During a
break from sailing and race cancellations, world
competitors were entertained by a local dance troupe.
Cam UpdateSome would call them insane, but CamLewis and Larry Rosenfeld sent us this picture to remind us they actually had funsailing ’round-the-world on Team Adven-ture. They finished third in The Race.
E-Mail Sign UpOver the coming months, there will be agreat deal of crucial information thatmust be passed on to our membership.The nearly universal acceptance of e-mailmakes this form of communication themost efficient. Please sign up for the 505 USA list by sending an email to: [email protected] “subscribe 505 usa” in the body of themessage.
JES
SE
FA
LSO
NE
6 TANK TALK
pre
pTrailering Tips from the
Mind of SPOT B y B a r n e y H a r r i s
In over 50,000 miles of traveling, Team Spot hasnever lost a boat. Last year alone Team Spot drove12,000 miles with three or more boats in tow—and
all without any damage. Here are some hard won trai-lering tips from the mind of Spot.
SMOOTH RIDE: Next to having it fall off whiledriving, trailering is the most destructive thing you cando to a boat. The loads on a boat sailing in the waterpale by comparison, being smashed onto a rocky shoreexcepted. Spot recommends that you secure every-thing on the trailer and force it all to move as one.This maximizes the ratio of sprung to unsprungweight. The higher the ratio the more effectively thesuspension filters out road bumps and the smootherthe ride.
REDUNDANT TIE DOWNS: Ask yourself whatwould happen if the single piece of ratty 3/16ths linesecuring your boat’s bow to the trailer failed for somereason. Spot always uses redundant means to secureboats. You secure your trailer to your car with both ahitch AND chains, why would you do any less for yourboat? Rule of thumb: Keep adding tie downs until youcan deliberately cut any one line and not have a cata-strophic loss.
FOAM COMPRESSES: Closed cell foam of alltypes will compress as thin as a piece of cardboardwhen loaded over time. I prefer resilient material suchas sliced up inner tubes wrapped in old sail bags.
KNOTS: Use knots that will not come undone. Goodknots include bowline, trucker’s hitch, and multiplehalf hitches. Bad knots include slip knots, midshipmanstopper, clove hitch (unless used with half hitches) andanything resembling a shoe lace knot.
RIG PREPARATION: Pull all halyards to the top oftheir travel. Coil the ends at the base. Remove theshrouds and forestay, and coil them and stow them inthe boat. Preparing the mast in this way will reducedamage from chafing to the anodized outer surface.Spot uses an old jib bag slipped over the mast base. Itkeeps the sun off the halyards, reduces road grime andchafing. No need to tie it on. Simply point the mastbase end forward and it will stay on just fine, based onthe last 50,000 miles of travel anyway.
SECURING MASTS: Loosely wrap line aroundthe mast to the supporting structure, leaving an inchor so of slack. Then seize around the loops and lockthe two together. This forms a rope insulator betweenthe mast and trailer. There are no cut bits of carpet tocome loose and no duct tape is required.
MARRYING MASTS: Tie one end of a length ofline to one mast with a bowline. Then make severalfigure eights around both masts. Finish by seizing the
lines between the masts. Finish with several halfhitches. The masts are now locked together and isolated from each other.
WARNING FLAG: Masts that extend behind amulti-boat trailer are vulnerable. Spot suspends a foamnoodle wrapped in reflective tape from the mast tips.When driving down the road the reflective tape cov-ered foam noodle floats several feet behind the trailerand alerts overtaking vehicles. When parked, thereflective noodle hangs from the mast at automobiledriver eye level.
COVERS: Team spot uses a six-inch loop of 1/4 inchshock cord in series with each cover tie down. By pre-loading the shock cord, the cover is held taught despitechanges in humidity and temperature, and thus willshed rain. The method also prevents flapping while onthe road.
SPRING 2001 7
continued page 8
Spot’s triple trailer.
8 TANK TALK
World Class Boats & Foils Exceptional Quality & Performance
Waterat Sailing EquipmentP.O.Box 2790 1041-c 17th Ave. Santa Cruz, CA 95062 USA831-462-5745 FAX 831-462-5357 e-mail [email protected]
• epoxy/kevlar/glass laminate with honeycomb core• available in any configuration from a bare hull to a fully rigged boat• standard rigging packages • average bare hull weight 170 lbs.• rigged boats are ready to unpack and race
UPSIDE DOWN TRAILERING: Placing thebottom cover outside the top cover will preventrain water from filling the top cover.
SPARES: I had a bearing problem towingsomeone’s trailer, whose name shall remainanonymous but whose initials are ALIMELLER. No problem. Ali had a spare set ofbearings. Unfortunately they were for a differenttrailer. Team Spot always travels with a spare huband wheel with mounted tire. Spot also keeps asmall scissor lift jack in the tool kit since thevan’s jack is not well suited for raising the trailer.
ELECTRICAL: Trailer manufacturers typical-ly use wire nuts in exposed trailer electrical sys-tems. Wire nuts are not sealed, rely on thestrength of stripped copper strands to remainintact and are exposed to road salt. Spot recom-mends marine-rated crimp fittings with integralheat-shrink tubing and thermally-activatedsealant. Send the wire nuts to the Snipe class.
STRAIN RELIEF AND CHAFING: Look inyour car to see how wiring should be supported.Car manufacturers have learned that a wire bent
around a sharp corner will eventually chafethrough and go to ground with consequencesthat range from inconvenience to catastrophe.Trailer manufacturers are not as highly evolved;their products are rife with chafe points. Fix thisby wrapping electrical tape at all potential chafepoints.
BEARINGS: I heard a very telling comment bya naval ship deck machinery designer—“….winches are destroyed through neglect andimproper maintenance long before they wearout.” The same applies to trailer wheel bearings.Trailer wheel bearings are lightly loaded as bear-ings go. So why do they fail? Improper mainte-nance and abuse. Placing them under water is aprime culprit. Running the trailer till the sealsare gone and all the grease is expelled is another.Check the inner seals for leaks—if you see greaseflung all over the inboard side of the trailerwheel, get them repacked and the seals replaced.Keep an eye on them on a long trip. Touch themoften. Ideally they should be only a little aboveambient air temperature. }M I K Nina, .
Trailering CONTINUED
sp
ee
dW hen we talk boat speed we often focus ongoing fast upwind. But the biggest speedgains are made off the wind, particularly
wire running. The technique was introduced to the505 in 1992 when Chris and Darren Nicholson used itin 1992 to help them win the worlds. Howard Hamlinand I took note and have spent countless hours eversince working on our off-wind speed. We credit whatwe’ve learned in netting top-three finishes in the lastfive worlds.
WHEN TO GO WILD
When to sail on the wire and when to sail on the tankdepends on wind and wave conditions. It can pay tokeep off the wire when it is windy, but it never pays towire run when it is too light. So the big question iswhen is it windy enough to go on the wire? Thisanswer depends on variables such as crew weight. Butas a general rule, once the boom is consistently easedoff centerline, it is windy enough to go for it. In mar-ginal conditions waves make a huge difference. In gen-eral the smaller the waves, the sooner you go to thewire. If the waves are steep and setup so that you canget long rides you may want to sit and ride them down.In short, make sure you maximize your time on thewaves. That could mean tightening up and going forthe wire or it could mean staying on the tank. Usuallybefore the start we try both methods and see whichprovides the quickest ride.
SET UP
When wire running, you are looking for power. Easethe outhaul, let the cunningham off, pop off the vangand put the centerboard vertical. If you are carryinglots of rig tension, ease the shrouds. You just have toremember to put the load back on at the bottom mark.
The skipper should be sitting just in front of the rearthwart in moderate conditions. As the wind builds, heshould move one foot behind the thwart and thenmove both feet behind it in big breeze. Ideally theskipper should sit on the tank but keep inside the rail.This allows the crew to move back and forth withoutfear of tripping over the skipper extended over the rail.
STEERING FOR SPEED
The wire-running goal: Be the fastest and lowest onthe course. If you want to go low with speed, you haveto do it with apparent wind. The key is to start off rel-atively high to get the boat up to speed. This meanscrew fully trapping and sails flowing (but not luffing).As the boat speeds up you will be able to head lowerand lower. The most common mistake is sailing toolow too early. Don’t be suckered by other boats thatlook like they are working lower.
Neutral helm is everything! So in waves you have tothink ahead and anticipate. Bear off at the top of the
wave before you get weather helm. At the bottom ofthe wave, head up before you get lee helm.
CREWING TECHNIQUES
The crew has two jobs downwind, sail trim and steer-ing the boat with his weight. Sail trim is simple. Trimthe jib so it is flowing most of the time and cleat it. Asthe boat heads up and down through the waves it willsometimes stall. That’s OK as long as it is flowingmost of the time. The spinnaker is much more critical.The kite should be trimmed as far out as possible andthe luff should be dancing all the time. As a puff hits,make sure the kite is eased for maximum acceleration.
Doing the Wild Thing Maximizing Downwind Performance
B y M a r k M a r t i n
SPRING 2001 9
continued page 10
10 TANK TALK
Over trimming the kite is slow and will causethe rudder to stall, often resulting in a swim.
The crew has a big influence on steering theboat downwind. When driving over the top of
a wave the crew can help theboat by extending out and backand pushing the bow down.When approaching the bottomof the wave the crew shouldlean in and bend knees to helpthe boat head up. Smoothmotions in sync with the skip-per’s tiller motion is the goal.Like all sailing more time onthe water is key.
TACTICS AND STRATEGY
Another big benefit to wire running is that theruns are very tactical because of the 90 degreejibe angles. Shifts and puffs make a big differ-ence. Jibe when you are about to sail out of apuff. Some courses are biased to one sidebecause of better wind or current. The passing
lane in this case is low. When you round theweather mark if you can work lower (with equalspeed) on the pack in front of you, you can jibeinside and “roll em”.
With the new big spinnaker on the way, wirerunning will start in less wind and lead to big-ger gains and more exciting sailing. So hook upand blast off. }
Wild Thing CONTINUED
Pe r f o r m a n c e a n d S e r v i c e
Your 505 SourceAsk us about our new sail designs, including our radial Kevlar mains
with full visibility, as we are constantly improving our sail designs. Also call for a copy of our
new Tuning Guide.
North Sails1320 20th Street, N.
St. Petersburg, FL 33713727-898-1123
PE
TE
R D
AN
BU
RY
Steve Bourdow and MikeMartin at Worlds 2000.
JES
SE
FA
LSO
NE
SPRING 2001 11
court the high wind venues. I got stokedabout attending the world’s in DurbanSouth Africa in November. Durban pre-sented the rare combination of largeocean swell, high winds, and warm airand water temperatures.
So I was predictably disappointed that wespent much of the two weeks in Durbansitting on the beach, blown out by toomuch wind and no shortage of trepida-tion about taking on the elements.
In fact, I consider Durban a case study ofhow ineffective safety management cancripple a regatta and put in harms waylives and equipment. Safety concernsneed to be balanced against the class’demand to compete in extreme condi-tions. The better the preparation thehigher the confidence level when thewind and seas go nuclear.
Day one of the pre-worlds witnessed avirtual safety meltdown. The race com-mittee’s confidence to manage damagedboats and crews was clearly shatteredafter 40-plus knot winds wrought havocon the fleet. The next day, the committeechose to abandon a race shortly afterrecorded sustained wind speeds reachedthe mid 20’s, usually sailable for the 505.A string of early morning abandonmentsfollowed, some justified others not.
In thinking about Durban, I realized thatwe spend plenty of time as race organiz-ers, whether at world class events or local
regattas, worrying about a myriad of pre-regatta questions. Who will lead the racecommittee. How will boats get transport-ed to the event site? Who will serve onthe protest committee? But we often neg-lect the most important question of all:How will we stay safe? In reviewing myown sailing career, I realized that regattaplanners too often spend more time ondesigning T-shirts and figuring out whowill bring the beer than how to sail safelyin the most challenging conditions.
Taken in this broader context, the safetymeltdown in South Africa should not beseen as a one time event but as a muchneeded wake up call. More importantly,
I’m addicted to high-wind sailing. It’s like climbing a mountain,
diving on a wreck, driving on banked turns at 150 mph. There is
the double-barreled challenge to beat other boats and conquer
the elements. Big breeze is a big reason I love to race 505s. We
B y B a r n e y H a r r i s
Surveying the wreckage, Worlds 2000.
Crossing to Safety:Avoiding the Next Durban
JES
SE
FA
LSO
NE
12 TANK TALK
Durban really drove home the need forclass associations and race organizers todeal with safety well in advance of theevent.
Disaster Averted?The first and only race of the Durbanpre-worlds started in over twenty knotsand built to twenty-five by the top mark.At the finish, the wind blew thirty and wason its way higher. Our launch site wasthree miles to windward and high surfprevented landing anywhere but insidethe shelter of the club breakwater. It wasan extremely difficult sail with no goodchoices. You could head away from shoreinto more breeze and more difficult seaconditions or you could head towards theshore, the breaking surf and the sharks.The wind soon clocked in at 48 knots.Fourteen masts and booms broke andcountless sails shredded. There werenumerous injuries that required hospitalvisits. Three boats were lost completelyafter the crews were rescued. Two dayslater, remnants of the abandoned craftswashed up on the beach several milesdownwind. The transom of one destroyedboat found its way to the club bar wherewe all took turns writing salutations inmagic marker. We were lucky no onedied.
To be sure, these were freak conditionsand the wind built unexpectedly to levelsseldom seen on our shores. But althoughthe RC had a number of craft on thecourse, none were well suited to assistsmall lightweight dinghies. All were large
and ponderous, some upwards of 30 feetin length and unable to effect a rescuewithout fear of damage or injury. As aclass, we should demand that committeesbe equipped with smaller, more manage-able crafts, such as rigid bottom inflata-bles. If race organizers do not have theresources to provide such crafts, the classshould find a way to help find a remedy. Ifminimum standards cannot be met, a newvenue should be considered. The Durbanorganizing committee was strapped forcash and personnel, so it might have beenworthwhile for the class to investigateproviding rescue crafts. There was roomin the East Coast container for at leasttwo rigid bottom inflatables.
Furthermore, some of the rescue craftwere not equipped with the most basicsafety equipment. Radios either didn’tfunction adequately or could not be used.Many competitors drifted with brokenboats for hours while in visual contactwith race management. Communicationis essential to good management when thebreeze is on. This means not only func-tioning radios but a clearly understoodhierarchy of what each crash and markboat should be doing. Which boats shouldbe assisted first? Should an RC boat movea mark or assist a downed boat?
Doing it RightKnowing when to call it quits and whenthe day can be salvaged requires theability to calmly assess the conditionsand weather predictions, the state of thefleet, and the number of rescue boatsavailable. The RC must keep composureand not get spooked by the wind and afew capsized boats—and keep their eyeon what they, and the sailors, are tryingto accomplish.
The 505 should be raced in conditionsthat would keep most one designs on thebeach. The 1999 Hampton Trapezeregatta for 505s, Hamptons, andMobjacks was conducted in conjunctionwith the Fireball Nationals and is anexcellent example of a well run high windevent. The first day saw steady breezeover 30. The Hampton and Mobjackclasses didn’t even show up. The RCpolled competitors and, based on theresponse, sent out the 505s and a smallfraction of the Fireballs.
Safe at any speed?
505 Class Safety Guidelines7.0 COMMITTEE, SAFETY AND OTHER BOATS
Committee Boat and Mark Boats
7.1 The Organizing Authority shall provide an adequate committee boat whichcan be suitably maneuvered and anchored. It should have radio communicationwith the shore and all mark boats, safety and support boats.
Safety Boats
7.2 There shall be at least one safety boat to every 10 boats competing and a proportion of these should have a low enough freeboard to allow maneuveringclose to competitors without risk of damage.
JES
SE
FA
LSO
NE
SPRING 2001 13
The Hampton event demonstrated thateach venue is different and requires agood understanding on the part of therace committee of the risks of their sailingarea and the assets to manage it. AtHampton, the wind strength was relative-ly high but the sheltered bay preventedthe sea state from getting out of hand. Inaddition, the relatively small fleet allowedfor a high crash boat to competitor ratio.Before the first race, one 505 broke amast, requiring a rescue and tow. But theRC was still able to shoot off a race in epicconditions.
The Santa Cruz Yacht Club demonstrat-ed another approach at the 2000 505North Americans. Santa Cruz is a windyvenue sailed in the cold water and rollersof the Pacific Ocean. So the RC explainedduring the skippers meeting that com-petitors having difficulty would beremoved from their boats and taken tosafety. Their boats would be left to driftand picked up later after the wind and seadied down, as it always does near sunset.This approach allowed the organizers todeploy fewer rescue craft, keep the racinggoing and reduce the threat of hypother-mia for sailors stuck in swamped or crip-pled craft. It should be noted that SantaCruz is a deep water venue so there wasno threat of broken masts.
Crash Boat OperatorsEven the most challenging conditions canbe managed effectively. Waves are funand big waves are even more fun. Butwaves can make already tough conditionsmore difficult.
Nothing will bring out deficiencies incrash boat suitability and operator prepa-ration more than big sea conditions. Infact, difficult sea conditions can render acrash boat piloted by a poorly skilledoperator more of a hazard than an aid.
The most common scenario is anyonewho is willing to spend the weekend onthe water is unceremoniously deputizedas a crash boat operator. A prime trait ofan inexperienced crash boat crew is thedesire to come into physical contact withthe stricken craft—to place their handson the boat to be rescued. It is imperativeto keep the crash boat away from thestricken craft. The crash boat must retain
its ability to maneuver using theirengines —and it cannot do this if it is nextto another boat with people in the water.
In Durban the crash boats were mannedby inexperienced rescuecrews and mark boatsoften did double duty asrescue crafts — a poten-tial recipe for disaster inany context. I recall a1997 event conducted inNantucket Sound offCape Cod in which fiveboats broke masts —ofwhich we were one. Wehad cleaned up the boatand were ready to accepta tow as a crash boatarrived nearby. In spiteof the steep breakingthree-foot chop and 20 plus knot winds,the crash boat pulled right alongside. Wepleaded with the crew to stand off to noavail. We ended up with a huge hole inour bow and the crash boat crew nearlylost a few fingers—all of which couldhave been avoided with a little training.
A safer alternative to coming along side isto equip and train rescue crews to pass aline to the stricken craft by dragging a 30-or-so foot polypropylene line behind thecrash boat with an empty Clorox bottlesecured to its end. The crash boat shouldposition itself to windward of the strickencraft; the line will be blown down ontothe boat where it can be easily retrieved.Advanced training is really not requiredfor this maneuver, but communication is.Make sure the race committee walks therescue boat personnel through the prop-er drills. And make sure they understandthat the construction of a 505 makes it alltoo easy to put a hole through the side.
The rescue assets of a high wind eventmust be well coordinated to ensure thatall those really in trouble are taken care ofwhile never turning one’s back on the bigpicture—keeping one’s head out of theboat—sound familiar? It is thereforeobvious that rescue assets must notbecome mired with any one competitor.
I have often witnessed a stricken crewattempt to right a capsized boat time andtime again, the effects of fatigue becom-ing more and more obvious even from a
Damage in Durban.
Rantings on CrashBoats…An ideal rescue craft is small, light,maneuverable, soft, has no propellers,and is as unsinkable as can be—a jetpropelled RIB (rigid bottom inflatable)checks just about all the boxes. Eachrescue craft should be equipped with the following: Several 40 or so footpolypropylene tow lines with small floats, several anchors with rode adequate for the water depth and moderately sized hippity-hop floats,waterproof radio with spare battery,extra bailers or buckets, basic navigationcapability such as a hand held GPS, anda compass for fog. It should be crewedby two able-bodied persons, one ofwhom is equipped to enter the water.
The Current WarningCurrent can increase the severity of wind driven chop and can make cap-sizing in shallow water treacherous. Most of the lakes and bays where we racein North America have no current —at least in comparison to the UK wherevelocities of several knots are a daily occurrence. Race organizers at some UKvenues must time the departure and return around the tides or arrange towing.Current is an issue if it can carry a stricken boat away from shore and into further danger; the water fall downstream of the Nepean Sailing Club in Ottawais an excellent example. The RC must advise out of town competitors of current issues.
Shallow water, current, and the resulting steep chop will tend to drive a capsized yacht’s mast deep into the bottom and can bend or break it like atoothpick in a block of cheese, ruining your day in the process. Worse yet, if themast fails below the jib halyard, the rig will no longer be sprung into the hull byshroud tension, the mast may come unstepped. Now it is a battering ram constrained at the partners and free to punch holes through the hull whichcould ruin your week—and make self rescue impossible. From the planningstandpoint, the RC should try to set the jibe mark in deep water when possibleand advise competitors as to any water depth issues.
14 TANK TALK
half a mile away. Throughout this ordeala rescue craft will stand off, unable toassist, and totally occupied with this oneteam’s futile efforts to get themselves upand sailing.
An alternative to this scenario is for therescue craft to carry several sets of moor-ing tackle consisting of an anchor, anchorline and a large highly visible float.
When fatigue setsin, simply anchorthe downed boatand remove the peo-ple. With the crewsafe, the rescue boatis free to assist oth-ers. The anchoredboat can be dealtwith later on, eventhe next day. Severalboats were com-pletely lost inDurban due to therescue boats nothaving this mostbasic gear.
The Final AnswerWhile most sailors know their own limits,and will refrain from sailing when theyare not comfortable, being surrounded byother boats and good rescue equipment isarguably the safest way to get the sticktime to become proficient at high windsailing.
Everyone wants a regatta to work out; theRC wants to do a good job —and no onewants to take an undue risk. People areready to sail and, having often traveledlong distances, it’s always a let down whenracing is cancelled for the day. Durbanwas a great experience—but it could havebeen better if we had actually gone sail-ing. To be fair, one or two days reallywere too windy—but the rest wereentirely sailable. We spent a year antici-pating the big breeze and huge swells—truly epic conditions—only to sit onshore for most of the time we were there.Let’s not wait for a major disaster beforewe take more serious steps to ensure safety on the race course. }
Crew of “Carbonara” remove broken boom.
“We werelucky no one
died!”
SPRING 2001 15
to better focus on the mental aspects ofsailing fast and smart. Less has been writ-ten on specific sailing-related injuries andnew techniques for rehabilitation. Thisfirst installment of a two-part article willaddress shoulder injuries common to 505sailors, and will prescribe specific exercis-es targeted at rehabilitation and strength-ening. In the next issue of Tank Talk,Sailing Fitness Part II, I will address backinjuries.
As we age, fitness becomes a larger issue.With our membership having an averageage of over 40 years, it’s important thatpeople understand that most commoninjuries can be rehabilitated quickly in thecourse of the off-season, and in somecases, between regattas. It’s also importantto understand that many re-occurringinjuries can be neutralized completely,and those body parts made stronger thanthey once were with less effort than youmight imagine. If elite professional ath-letes in sports like skiing, football andhockey can come back from seeminglydebilitating and sometimes cripplinginjuries, sailors can too.
While I consider myself an avid sailor andfitness aficionado, I lack the professionaltraining necessary in the area of physicaltherapy. Therefore, I enlisted the help ofa licensed physical therapist, Brad Segree,to assist me in formulating exercise rou-tines that target specific muscle groups,and aid in rehabilitation and condition-
ing. Brad suggests that youconsult a physician beforeattempting strenuous exerciseif you are not accustomed tophysical exertion. Further-more, if you feel pain or dis-comfort while performing anyof these exercises, it’s impor-tant that you stop. Do not tryto “work through the pain.”
The Dreaded“RotatorCuff” InjuryShoulder injuries can occur from rapid,strenuous movements like pumping thespinnaker sheet or mainsheet on a windyreach. Violent and erratic movements likethese can impinge tendons in your shoul-der, and render that arm useless. The vastmajority of these are “rotator cuff”injuries. The rotator cuff is simply agroup of four muscles in the shoulder that helps lift your arm (see Figure 1). Themost common and least severe rotatorcuff injury is “rotator cuff tendonitis”(also known as “bursitus” or “impinge-ment syndrome”). Rotator cuff ten-donitis is an irritation of the cuff and ischaracterized by pain and weakness onthe top or front of your shoulder.Discomfort is predominantly experi-enced while attempting overhead activity.If rotator cuff tendonitis becomes
Notes from a
Gym RatB Y J E S S E F A L S O N E
Much has been written about the positive effects of physical fitness on
sailing performance. It’s well known that a good physical training
regimen will increase your strength and endurance and will allow you
▲ Figure 1: Locating the rotator cuff.
16 TANK TALK
chronic, this may lead to the more severe“rotator cuff tear,” where a hole actuallyforms in the rotator cuff tendon.
The good news is that although rotatorcuff tendonitis is somewhat debilitating, itcan be cured. The first step after injury isto rest the shoulder. The rest cycle maytake a few weeks, and you should definite-ly ice the area as much as possible. Anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen willhelp shrink swelling (consult your physician and drink LOTS of water whiletaking this medication). Mild stretchingand slow movements are part of the reha-bilitation process but don’t rush it!Listening to your body is key since youare the only one that knows the “goodpain” from the bad.
When the shoulder can again be movedwithout pain, you then need to strength-en it to help avoid re-injury. The fact isthat damage to the rotator cuff canbecome a vicious cycle if you don’t exer-cise, even with adequate rest. The reasonfor this phenomenon is that the acromionbone, the top bone in your shoulder,reacts to inflammation-induced pressureby making new bone—otherwise knownas a “bone spur”. That bone spur causesfurther pressure on the rotator cuff, andthe cuff gets more irritated. Strengthen-ing the rotator cuff is a scientificallyproven way to break this vicious cycle. Ifyou feel that your rotator cuff injury ismore than just mild impingement, Bradsuggests seeing a physician for an exami-nation that possibly includes an MRI anda referral to a physical therapist.
Basic StrengthTraining PrinciplesAmong the many benefits of strengthtraining, increased performance andresistance to injury are paramount. Oftentimes though, the quest for increased per-formance can cause injuries, so I con-stantly remind myself that I’m at the gymto enhance my sailing potential and notdetract from it by doing something stu-pid. Lifting too much weight or liftingwithout proper form is a sure way to keepyou off the water. My training credo is“don’t be stupid.” Consult a fitness pro-fessional if you need guidance with yourworkout.
Perhaps the most common injury-causingmistake is an insufficient warm-up. Likean engine, your muscles need to be warmto operate at peak safety and efficiency. Iadvocate that anyone attempting a stren-uous workout warm up sufficiently beforelifting by raising your heart rate andworking up an initial sweat. Five minutesat a comfortable pace on a bike, stair-climber, or rowing machine will do thetrick. Follow this with some lightstretching, and be sure to stretchbetween exercises and after working out.These same warm-up principles alsoapply to sailing. Too few sailors take thetime to warm up and stretch before head-ing out on the water. Most physical edu-cation professionals agree that cold, tightmuscles are the main reason for muscleand ligament tears. If you are just doingsome light training in your office or at
▲ Figure 2: External Rotation Exerciseusing elastic tubing.
▼ Figure 3: External Rotation Exerciseusing weights.
SPRING 2001 17
home, start slowly with resistance trainingand build up as your body gets warm.
Sailing-SpecificShoulder ExercisesThe following exercises will help youstrengthen the muscles that form yourrotator cuff, and possibly avoid injuringthem while sailing. These exercises aredesigned to replicate common upper-bodymovements while sailing the 505, exceptthat the movements of the exercises areperformed in a steady and controlledmotion rather than jerky and erratic.
1. External Rotation Exercises
According to Brad, shoulder rotations arethe best thing you can do to strengthenyour rotator cuff. Rotations of this typeare good for general conditioning orrehabilitation—just vary the resistanceand repetition accordingly. The posterioror external rotation (rotating away fromyour chest) are the most important sincethese muscles are usually under-devel-oped and heavily stressed while sailingbecause of the overhead pulling motionsinvolved. Anterior or internal rotations(rotating toward your chest) are not asimportant since these muscles tend to beworked frequently while performingmore traditional exercises like benchpress, push-ups, or dips. Anterior musclesare also larger and stronger, and not easi-ly injured. Figure 2 illustrates the externalshoulder rotation using elastic tubing.
➤ Anchor one end of the tubing to afixed point at about waist level
➤ Stand with the tubing at your sideand your hand furthest away from theanchor point gripping the handle. Thereshould be slight tension in the tubing.
➤ Place a towel between your elbow and waist on the side for the shoulderyou are exercising. This will force you to keep your elbow in and isolate the rotation.
➤ Rotate your arm in the horizontalplane moving through the full range ofmotion in a controlled, steady movementfor 15-20 repetitions minimum.
➤ Switch arms and repeat for 3 or 4 sets.
The nice thing about these exer-cises is that you can do them justabout anywhere with elastic tub-ing. For those desk jockeys in ourranks, 5 minutes each day duringlunch might mean the differencebetween sailing comfortably allseason, sailing in pain, or not sail-ing at all. Similarly, the same mus-cle groups can be worked withweights by laying on your side asin Figure 3.
2. One-armed Cable Laterals
The one-armed cable lateral(Figure 4) primarily works yourdeltoids. I like this exercisebecause it does a good job ofreplicating a sail pumping move-ment while minimizing thechance of injury caused by largelevers. Large lever arms are creat-ed when your arm is extended allthe way in front or to the side ofyour body (as with traditionalshoulder raises). The larger thelever, the more stress on yourrotator cuff. With the cable later-al, your elbow is always bentslightly and your hand is never faroutboard from your body effec-tively reducing the lever.
➤ Attach a handle to the lowercable and grasp with hand furthest away as with the shoulder rotation.
➤ Slowly raise the weight acrossthe width of your torso so it arcsacross your chest. The motionshould stop when your arm isextended to your side at headlevel.
➤ Squeeze your deltoid muscle for amoment or two before slowly releasingyour hand down to the opposite hip.
➤ Use a resistance that will allow you todo 15-20 repetitions for 3 to 4 sets witheach arm.
▲ Figure 4: One-armed cable lateral exercise. First, second and third position.
18 TANK TALK
As with the external rotations, you shouldconcentrate on correct form and steadymotion with this exercise. You can also dothis exercise with elastic tubing by tyingone end to the leg of a desk or some otherfixed object.
3. Shoulder Stretches
There are numerous shoulder stretchesthat physical therapists recommend fortheir patients. I think the three followingstretches are sufficient. The Tricep Stretch(Figure 5) stretches your exterior shouldermuscles. Simply cross your arm over yourchest, and gently pull on your tricep withthe opposite hand. The Overhead TricepStretch (Figure 6) works much the sameway, except your arm is placed behind your head. The Pectoral/Deltoid Stretch(Figure 7) stretches your anterior muscles.All stretches should only be performedafter warming up to avoid the risk ofpulling a muscle. Be careful not to pull toohard, and don’t use rapid, snapping or jerk-ing motions.
It’s important to note that over-stretchingthe shoulder muscles can have a negativeeffect since the shoulder is inherentlyunstable due to it’s extreme range ofmotion. The argument is a simple one; ifyou regularly over-stretch the structuresof the joint which help provide anterior
stability, the joint can becomeeven more unstable. Thisincreased instability then leadsto potentially greater jointmovement and increasedinjury risk. In extreme cases,this results in “instabilityimpingement” which is com-mon to baseball pitchers andswimmers.
Exercises toAvoidA number of old school exer-
cises are now deemed to be potentiallyhazardous to the shoulder joint. Theseinclude anything with an excessively widegrip or movement behind the head andneck. Such exercises include the militarypress, wide-grip lateral pull-downs,wide-grip chin-ups, flys, and wide-grip
bench press. These exercises put theshoulder at a mechanical disadvantage byplacing it under extreme external rota-tion, stressing the shoulder capsule andligaments. This contributes to rotatorcuff injury or anterior shoulder instabili-ty. From personal experience, I haveinjured my shoulders doing each of theseexercises in the past because I wanted tolook cool doing the muscle head routine.Being older and wiser now, I choose touse machines that do not require a widegrip or force an unnatural range ofmotion. For some of you, this may haveto be a lesson you learn on your own.
Listen to your BodyAlways remember that the purpose ofexercise is to avoid injury and enhanceperformance. Your sailing performancewill never be enhanced if you constantlyhurt yourself in the gym. Listen to yourbody, especially when it comes to theshoulders. If you feel a pain that isn’tnormal muscle fatigue, stop what you’redoing. Don’t try to power through thepain. The “no pain, no gain” credo prob-ably did more to kill personal fitness programs than 10 cent beer at fraternityparties. If the pain persists, remember theacronym RICE—Rest, Ice, Compress,and Elevate.
Final ThoughtsThe Internet has a tremendous amountof information regarding shoulder injury.Some of this information is a trueresource, and some are merely advertise-ments for wiz-bang shoulder therapy kitsor drugs. Ultimately, no single therapy,drug, or exercise will help you with reha-bilitation and strengthening. You mustcombine all the elements to be successful.
Look for sailing-specific back exercises inthe next issue of Tank Talk! }
▲ Figure 5: Shoulder Exercise, Tricep Stretch
▲ Figure 6: Shoulder Exercise, Overhead Tricep Stretch
▲ Figure 7: Shoulder Exercise,Pectoral/Deltoid Stretch
Feed Your Class. Submit to Tank Talk —
Putting the Craft in
WitchCraft
SPRING 2001 19
B Y G E O F F H U R W I T C H
The challenge to start WitchCraft Boats began when my brother, Tom
Hurwitch, got involved with a lengthy search for the “ideal” used 505.
Tom’s perfect boat was a fully competitive craft at a reasonable price.
Playing yo-yo with the big trucks.
He scoured the New England country-side to find the right candidate. Duringhis search, somebody put a bug in his earabout building his own boat. This mightbe easier than finding a good used one. Atthe time, the success of the 1998 HyannisWorlds contributed to an increaseddemand for used boats and the ensuingprice hikes. Tom found his ideal boat, an18-year-old Hamlin, as he began talkswith Buzz Ballenger about the moldsBuzz was looking to unload.
While Tom occupied himself withretrieving his Hamlin from the WestCoast, I found myself knee deep in dis-cussions with Buzz. (And I can tell younow without hesitation that finding agood used boat is far easier than buildingyour own.) Buzz wanted the Ballengermolds to go to a good home, ideally in theU.S. where a new company would utilizethem to make affordable 505s. I devised abusiness plan and sent it to Buzz forapproval. The plan was acceptable toBuzz and he agreed to give us his tooling.WitchCraft Boats was born on paper, buta geography lesson would ensue beforeour tooling would reach New England.
Road TripFrom our small-world New England per-spective, neither Tom nor I imagined thatSanta Cruz was a far drive from SanDiego. The source of the rental truck that
would transport themolds across thecountry was in SanDiego and the tool-ing was in SantaCruz. I paid for ourpoor knowledge ofCalifornia geogra-phy by spending thefirst day navigatingRoute 5 North forsome 500 miles.After spending thenight in the cab ofthe truck, I was ready to start loading themolds when Buzz arrived early in themorning. We began the process of load-ing one mold on top of the other, andthen loading both into the back of thetruck. In about three hours I was ready tostart the long trek back to the East Coast.
Luckily, the weather was perfect fornearly the entire drive across country.Initially, I was a little concerned shortlyafter heading out from Santa Cruz as Idrove up through Donner Pass. I passednumerous signs stating that I should puton tire chains, and then the dreaded,“Last stop to put tire chains on.” Afterconsulting the truck manual it becameapparent that I would have to purchasechains if I wanted them. I decided Ineeded to save the money and trust myyears of driving in the snow of Vermont,so I forged ahead without the chains.
Loading the molds.
20 TANK TALK
The risk paid off with a clear road.
I wish that this was the point where I couldtell you some amazing story about the tri-als and tribulations of my trip, but I can’tbecause it was uneventful. I spent each daydriving with the same truckers all the wayacross country except for a brief stop at mysister’s house in Aurora, Colorado. It wasa game I could play all day with thesetruckers. I could out climb them with mylight load, but when we got to the crest of
the hill the governoron my truck wouldlimit me to 65 mph,and the trucks wouldcome roaring past. Iplayed yo-yo withthem all day, every day.On the Witch Craftwebsite (http://www.witchcraftboats.com)you can see a few pictures of the truck at rest.
While in Aurora Imade some phonecalls and eventuallygot in touch with a
Ballenger enthusiast, Bill Green. Bill wasunable to show me his boat but he mentioned another Ballenger owner,Mike Goldstein, who was more than will-ing. Mike was in a graduate school program at Indiana University. He tookme through the boat and allowed me tophotograph it from stem to stern. Myintention was to see what a WitchCraft505 would look like if we were to produceone from the molds without any modifica-tions. It also served as a good referencepoint when construction of the first boatfinally began. The time spent in Indianawas invaluable.
Perfecting the DesignThe next stage in the creation ofWitchCraft Boats was a slow one. I wasstill living in Vermont at the time and wasin the process of finding a job. The boatbuilding finally took shape when I foundemployment and moved to Rhode Island.I immediately met up with Greg Ormondwhile he was working at Falmouth YachtClub repairing 420s and Optimists. Greg
had good qualifications as a builder withyears of experience at Vanguard RacingSailboats and Jibe Tech. Lars Guck andPeter Alarie had also worked with Greg,and they recommended I talk to him.
Shortly thereafter, Greg and I began aseries of mold changes. Greg was morethan up for the challenge, which was goodbecause we had plenty of challenges ahead.The goal of the mold work was to mod-ernize the look and functionality of theboat. Some of the changes made over thefollowing months included modificationsto allow easier vacuum bagging, adding awhole new transom in the enclosed style,moving the forward thwart vertically upand forward, lengthening the mast gate,and creating a new one-piece mast-stepand centerboard cap part. The most signif-icant change was to the rails. Feedbackfrom Ballenger owners described a prob-lem with delamination. After diagnosingthe problem, Greg and I changed thebonding style of the deck to hull joint sothat delamination would be eliminated.These initial changes were brought aboutthanks to all of the input from countless505 sailors who shared with us the “bestand worst” of what they had seen in otherboats and other classes. Ali Meller wasespecially helpful with his vast knowledgeof boat styles and function. It should benoted that WitchCraft probably maintainsthe second largest photo library of hull anddeck layout pictures in the 505 world.Many images were imported from the var-ious websites to discuss ideas.
After making these changes to the molds,we were ready to produce our first 505.The actual lay-up was quick and in twoweeks we produced the deck and the hullas well as all of the small pieces, such as thebulkhead and spinnaker tube. Greg creat-ed the lay-up schedule using his experi-ence building the International 470 andFinn for Vanguard. The real challenge wasputting the boat together.
Trial and ErrorWithout any assembly guidelines, Gregand I would sit for hours pondering howwe would piece everything together.Sometimes trial and error is the onlyanswer. Luckily, it became obvious where
The first WitchCraft under construction.
SPRING 2001 21
everything went and the assembly tookabout two weeks. We took our time inorder to make sure everything wenttogether smoothly. One of the most help-ful additions that this boat has is the useof Plexus. This adhesive is easy to use, butthe bonds are permanent, so we werecareful not to make any mistakes.Another benefit of Plexus over conven-tional bonding materials is its ability towithstand extreme elongation withoutfailure.
Tom, Greg and I like to talk about theconstruction of the boat because we spentso much time trying to make the idealboat. The goal of the company is to makea long-lasting yet inexpensive 505 thatwould allow more sailors access to theclass. It seems like an oxymoron to have along lasting and inexpensive boat, how-ever we think we have accomplished ourgoal. While the deck was off the mold butnot on the hull yet, Greg challenged meto flex the shear. It was impossible! Therewas no motion from the edge in eithertorsion or compression. I was impressed.That, coupled with Plexus, makes theboat bombproof! I suppose the ultimatetest will be to replicate the HowardHamlin “65 mph highway launch sce-nario.” To date, the owner of the firstWitchCraft 505 (USA 8737), has beenunwilling to allow his boat take part insuch an experiment.
Giving BirthDuring the mold reworking and just priorto the 505 MidWinters in 2000, I soldTom’s Hamlin (that’s what brothers arefor). Tom became the owner of the firstboat out of the mold and now has hissights set on another Kevlar version inthe near future. The first WitchCraft 505has been a success and we have not hadone structural issue with the boat. Theonly post-production hurdles we facedwere learning the nuances of rigging aboat without any reference material. Newboats will already benefit from some ofthe changes. These new changes includea fully integrated centerboard cap, for-ward and aft thwart and mast-step. Themast-step is also evolving. It will come off of the floor of the boat and will be
integrated into the forward bulkhead.This change will simplify the forestayadjustment system.
As Tom, Greg and I begin the process ofbuilding another boat for a customer, welook forward to continuing the relation-ship with the class as boat builders andsailors. Tom sailed 8737 at the 2001MidWinters with the owner of our newproduction boat, Darryl Dietz. Tom willalso be at numerous events this springand summer on the East Coast, and willhost the Falmouth Open in June. Thecomplete build process will be availablefor viewing on our web site, or you canemail us at [email protected] any questions that you may haveregarding WitchCraft 505s.
We are really looking forward to becom-ing more involved with the AmericanSection and working with others here inthe U.S. to improve upon design andfunctionality. We grow more excitedabout this class with every passing dayand we hope others will grow more excit-ed about our efforts to build competitive,inexpensive and durable 505s for manyyears to come. }
The goal of themold work
was to modernizethe look and
functionality ofthe boat.
22 TANK TALK
individual tastes. Take lots of pictures andask lots of questions. When you’ve pickedout the mast ram for you, the first step is
to assemble the necessarycomponents. This usuallyincludes a ram track, a car,a tube, and a deck fitting.You can fashion a ramfrom just about any appro-priate collection of parts.But if freelancing is notyour thing, mast ram kitsare the path of least resist-ance. The kit was certainlymy preferred form of rig-ging torture. Z-Spar, forexample, makes a kit thathas just about everything
you’ll need and will make your life aboutas easy as it is ever going to get. The fol-lowing steps describe the process I wentthrough adding a mast ram to my boat, aclassic Ballenger US 5816 named ‘TheWild Ride”.
STEP 1 – Gather theMaterialFirst, you need to obtain the right com-ponents. In addition to the Z-Spar kit,you will need the necessary rigging tocontrol your mast ram. I chose Technorafor the connection to the mast ram andprimary blocks and Samson Ultra Lite for
the control lines. Not wanting to runthrough all the engineering calisthenics, Ifigured that there was as much tension onthe ram as there is on the forestay, a rangeof 200-800 lbs. So size your line accord-ingly. Remember that you don’t wantmuch stretch in this line. I also selectedthe blocks, eyestraps, and stainless steelbolts for all the rigging and connectionsthat would be necessary. In fact, since Ihave to mail order parts, I ordered a fewextras because I still wasn’t sure howeverything was going to go together.
STEP 2 – EngineeringSome Solutions AnywayIt was apparent from the mast ram kit thatI was going to need some additional itemsto attach the ram to the boat. It was alsoimmediately apparent that 200-800 lbs. ofload would call for some pretty robustconnections. After many e-mails and dis-cussions with some fellow 505ers, I cameup with the additional items shown inPhoto 1. The top piece with the threescrews in it is a piece of stainless steel withtabs welded on for thickness and tappedfor #10 stainless steel screws. This piece isthe backing plate I used for mounting theram track to my mast. You could also usea thicker piece of stainless steel or alu-minum and tap it directly rather than thetab welds. Remember to match up the
B Y R I C K H . B L A S E
Photo 1: Additional Mast Ram Parts
RamThe Art of
Installing a mast ram is surely one of the most challenging 505
rigging assignments. But there’s no need to recreate the wheel.
So start out by studying other boats. Note manufacturers and
holes in the backing plate with the holesthat are already drilled in the mast ramtrack. Also be sure to size your screw headsto fit in the pre-drilled holes. Pictured inthe center is a rectangle cut out of 1/8''aluminum, which would be the base platefor the deck fitting. The two right anglelooking pieces are 1/8'' aluminum formounting on either side of the forwardbulkhead and bolt to the aluminum back-ing plate on the foredeck. Photo 2 showshow these would go together. The mastram bracket and backing plate go on top ofthe foredeck and the right angle aluminumbrackets fit underneath the foredeck oneither side of the bulkhead.
STEP 3 – Where Does It Go?Next place the mast ram track on yourmast and determine where exactly it willgo. I took measurements from my sisterboat 5818 courtesy of Stephen Long inChicago. A rule of thumb is center it overthe boom band, but this may vary fromboat to boat. On my boat this worked outto be 48.5'' from the mast step as you cansee from Photo 3. Notice that I zip tied thetrack to the mast to allow me to drill theholes in the mast without movement. Thisis important as the tolerances are quiteclose and you don’t want to have to forceit when it comes time to mount the mastram track
STEP 4 – Mounting theTrackOnce you have the mast drilled for themast ram track, the next step is to removethe mast heel plug so that you can slide thebacking plate up the mast for mounting.This was for me the most traumatic part,but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it wouldbe. I drilled out all the stainless steel rivetsthat held the mast heel on and it just sim-ply slid out of the mast as you can see inPhoto 4. Removing my heel plug meantalso removing the tang for the boom vang.It is a good idea to note how things lookbefore you dismantle it because you haveto get it back together afterwards. A sketchor a picture will work.
Once the heel plug is off, I dropped twopieces of waxed line down the top and bot-tom holes that were drilled for the mastram track. Again I was worried that thiswould be an impossible task, but it wasactually not that bad. I tied a small washeron the end of the line and dropped itthrough the hole to give it some weight.You will probably have to stand the mastup and maybe jiggle the halyards aroundsome to get the line to drop through, butpatience will prevail.
With the two, waxed lines that weredropped through the mast, I then thread-ed through the top and bottom holes ofthe backing plate as shown inPhoto 4. I attached a small washerto each of the lines. I pulled eachline evenly until the backing platewas inside the mast. Then westood the mast up. I then proceed-ed to carefully pull both stringsthrough the holes moving thebacking plate into place. Once thebacking plate was in place, I care-fully lined the holes up andthreaded the middle screw coatedwith locktite into the backingplate with the mast ram in posi-tion. Using locktite is prettyimportant, as you don’t want thesescrews coming back out or gettingloose on you. I didn’t tighten thisscrew at first but did put enough pressureon it to hold the backing plate. I thenpulled on the bottom string enough tobreak the knot and allowing the washer tofall out the bottom of the mast. Then Ithreaded the bottom screw with locktiteinto the bottom hole and tightened. Irepeated this same step with the top screw.Once all screws were in place and every-thing was lined up, I tightened them downpretty good. Make sure that the two wash-ers have fallen out the bottom of the mast.Then replace the heel plug and tang byrefastening them with stainless steel rivets.
STEP 5 – Prepare theBulkhead BracketsYou need to drill the bulkhead bracketsbefore mounting. I did this by clampingthe two brackets together and drilling
SPRING 2001 23
Photo 3: Track Placement
Photo 4: Removed Mast Heel
Photo 2: Foredeck Connection
24 TANK TALK
them for the bolts. Then I took one of thebrackets and centered it on my forwardbulkhead, holding it to the bottom of theforedeck. In this position, I then drilledthrough the holes in the bracket throughthe bulkhead. By mounting the bracketson either side of the bulkhead, I would bedistributing the horizontal load of the mastram across the bulkhead. I bolted thesebrackets in place with stainless steel boltsthrough the bulkhead and with the otherflat side fitting up against the bottom ofthe foredeck. These brackets are showndrilled in Photo 5.
STEP 6 – Mountingthe ForedeckBracketNext I sort of positionedthings together just to get anidea of where things weregoing to go. What I did wascarefully measure the loca-tion of the backing plateunderneath the foredeck andmark that on the top of theforedeck. Then I placed theflat aluminum backing plateover that position along withthe foredeck fitting of themast ram. I had to use 4.5''stainless steel bolts, as therewas an approximate 2'' fiber-glass rib down the centerunderneath the foredeck forreinforcement. I drilled downthrough the mounting holesof the bracket, through theflat aluminum backing plateon top, through the fiber-glass reinforcement under-neath and finally through theright angle backing plate Ihad just mounted on eitherside of the forward bulkhead.The way this worked outthere were two bolts throughthe forward bulkhead hold-
ing the two right angle backing platestogether underneath and two boltsthrough each right angle backing platedown through the top on either side of theforward bulkhead. It is important to drillstraight as I had some difficulty in making
sure that my alignment was correct.Fortunately for me it worked out, but takeextra care when you drill these holes.
STEP 7 – Sizing andMounting the TubingProbably what turned out to be the mostdifficult for me was sizing the tube. Youneed to position your mast properly withthe proper tension and measurementsaccording to your appropriate tuningguide. I neglected to check all these factorsand ended up cutting the tube length tooshort. I was able to obtain a new aluminumtube and re-cut it to the proper length.Once you have the tube to the properlength, you can carefully drill a holethrough the tube and the fitting. I used1/4'' clovis pins with rings to mount thetube to the fittings. This way you canremove the tube easily for travel. Theproperly sized tube, track, and ram car areshown in Photo 6. Now that the tube wasmounted, it was time to rig it.
STEP 8 – Rigging Your Mast RamI started by splicing Technora 12 on eachof the stainless steel loops on the mast ramcar. The ram down lead as shown on thebottom of the car was the easiest. The ramup control lead, which goes over the built-in block in the track and down through theinside of the track, was a little more diffi-cult. I threaded a small wire through thetrack and then attached a piece of string tothe wire. I pulled the string through andthen did the same thing with theTechnora. Again a little patience goes along way on this operation. While you’redoing this don’t worry about the mast carposition, because it’s not important yet. SeePhoto 7.
Once you have the mast ram mounted tothe mast and the foredeck the next issue isrigging. There are of course many solu-tions to this problem. After researchingthem all, I elected to put the ram up con-trol on the right side of the centerboardcase. The ram down control is led to bothtanks. Both ram up and down triple blocksare deadended on the mast step. Each
Photo 7: Ram Car Splices
Photo 5: Bulkhead Brackets
Photo 6: Mast Ram Mounted
triple block on top is connected to theTechnora leads from the ram car with acapture-pin shackle. Again this facilitatesremoving the rigging for travel. The ramup control goes through the mast step andis turned aft with a cheek block. There is acam cleat with eyestrap mounted on theside of the centerboard case where theram up is terminated. The ram down con-trol tail line ends in a single block. A lineruns through this block down to blocksmounted on either side of the mast wherethe small piece of wood support is shown.The line is then turned out to blocks onthe diagonal bulkhead and then turned aftto cheek blocks. You can see the termina-tion of these lines in Photo 8.
While my side tank rigging is not the best,it has to do for now. The ram down con-trols runs aft through the thwart, is turnedupward by a cheek block and terminates ina cam cleat and eyestrap on each side tank.
It is important to remember a couple ofthings when you are rigging. Make sureyou leave enough tail in each line for themaximum ram up andram down positions. Likeall other tank-to-tank con-trols, be sure to centerthem up prior to racing sothat they are even.
You can’t have enoughdiagrams, tools, pictures,blocks, wire, line, advice,props, alcohol, and otherassorted items that go withthis project. I hope thisarticle helps all of you whoundertake such a project.Please feel free to emailme with any questions atgrate1@ webciti.net. If you contact me inperson or by phone, please do not ask howmuch this cost in front of my family. }
SPRING 2001 25
A FEW POINTERS➤ Make sure you use stainless steel or aluminum for all your materialsincluding screws and bolts.
➤ Make sure that you position everything out so that you can reassure yourselfthat it will fit.
➤ Make sure your rigging is setup and tuned for your normal sailing range. Be sure that the ram has enough travel to fit this range.
➤ Where possible, be sure to bolt through material with adequate backing, as the forces on the ram are substantial.
➤ Some people like more mechanical advantage on the ram up and down controls. But I have no difficulty with my setup. Just remember to uncleat the ramup control when you want to adjust the ram down or vice versa.
➤ I had originally planned to run the corner swivel blocks in the diagonal bulkhead directly to the block on the ram down control. However this put a lot ofstress on the diagonal bulkhead, so I added the two swivel blocks in closer and itworks a lot better. So remember that if you want to lead these lines out to thetanks, you should have the initial down blocks pretty close to the mast step for better leverage.
➤ Some people like to use wire for the ram car leads, however the Technoraworks well for me. It splices easily and its only fault is chaffing. I plan on checking that out as time goes on.
➤ All the blocks and line I used are rated for a minimum of 500 lbs or more. You probably don’t want to drop below that.
Photo 8: Ram Control Lines
You can’t haveenough diagrams,
tools, pictures, blocks, wire,
line, advice, props,alcohol, and
other assorted itemsthat go with this
project.
26 TANK TALK
SPRING 2001 27
The finest gear available for performance sailing at competitive prices.Call TOLL FREE 1 (800) 354-7245 to order or go to
www.sailingproshop.com for a full view of what we have to offer!
A Division of Small Craft Advisories Sailing Centers, 1244 Pacific Coast Highway, Seal Beach, CA 90740
Aigle BootsThese are THE BESTboots made. Period.
RETAIL $109.95$89.50
GUL DrysuitThis front entry suit
with socks is the bestvalue on the market.
RETAIL $399$379
Magic MarinePro
HarnessRETAIL $145$134.95
Seitech dolly Dollies for your 505both new and used
available at competitive prices!
ExtrasportJoust
LifejacketsWe have the entire
line available.Call or e-mail us
for pricing. RETAIL $87.50$79.95
GUL BreathableSmocks
This smock is definitely the best
smock built. RETAIL $129$99.00
28 TANK TALK
RacingRacingYour Source
for 505Gear!
Call 1-800-BOATING forthe store nearest you or
visit us at westmarine.com
SPRING 2001 29
Skippers don’t have a crew; theyhave a partner. Of all my terrificpartners, I ought to mention Pip
Pearson first. Yes, that’s right, your ven-erable former president was once youngand dumb enough to like sailing withme. We first met in Australia at the 1966worlds. While I was struggling to agreat 27th place, Pip sailed with PaulElvstrom to a second, a second which,under most scoring systems would havebeen a first. That next summer, Pipcame via California to visit Paul inDenmark. He asked to visit us for twodays and stayed for two years. Hebecame a de facto member of our fami-ly. At weekends we sailed, on the way toa couple of North American Champi-onships among other things; during theweek he painted our house, then all mycolleagues’ homes, repaired all the leakypipes in our old house, tore out an oldkitchen and built a new redwood deck.All that was before 2 p.m. because atthat time he took the 5-oh down to PaloAlto Y.C. so that it would be ready for usto start sailing when I finished in theoperating room at three.
That was the time at PAYC when thewind really blew and we would sail untilthe boat or we broke or the gear was somessed up that we had to quit. We thenpacked up the boat, took it home andspent the evening getting her ready forthe next day. I put this in the past tensebecause PAYC got closed down by envi-ronmentalists who thought that all theseyachties were frightening away the yel-low tailed marsh warbler (or somethinglike that).
That pattern of training was one whichJay Kuncl, Steve Owen, Bertrand andCayard and everyone else who sailedwith me came to recognize. Come tothink of it, quite a number of my crewsfinished up living with us for the sum-mer. Surely that was because they were
sailing with me and had nothing to dowith our five teenage daughters. Rightafter the 1966 NAs at PAYC, theCanadians persuaded us to drive up toVancouver Island for the CanadianChampionship. Jenny, Pip and I piledinto a car, abandoned our kids to a babysitter and drove the 1000 miles to getthere just in time to race. We had a real-ly good shot of winning but I had to getback to work the following Monday so
we didn’t even sail the last race. We justmade the last ferry, then drove backthrough the night. You should under-stand that Pip has had ongoing eyeproblems. I didn’t really understanduntil later that at night he could only seegreat star bursts instead of headlights;he had driven half the distance!
Pip and I went to France (La Baule) forthe 1967 Worlds. He managed to stayalive while driving round Europe withIan Gray in a clapped out old car, crash-ing through railroad gates when theywere inconveniently closed and general-ly acting the way young Aussies tend todo when “doing” Europe. He picked upour first Parker in England and we drift-ed through a no-wind regatta coming toa not very respectable 35th out of 135.The sailing became irrelevant to theserious on-shore activities. It was wherewe saw our class President, Fred Garnerhoisted 15 feet into the air on stacked
tables and chairs while he waved achampagne bottle at the admiringcrowd. I think that he was about 75years of age at the time! It was followedby the Swedes carrying in a beach surfboat out of which popped an extremelyscantily dressed female (also waving achampagne bottle). That, too, was theregatta where Bob Miller (late tobecome Ben Lexen) and CraigWhitworth brought the first entirelyfiberglass Binks 505. Except it wasn’t!The French measurer insisted that theydid some very radical things to the hull,none of which helped its speed. It didn’tmatter to them because they had justcome from their successful attempt tomake Bob’s boat, the Contender, anOlympic class.
We were able to drive up and downCalifornia quite quickly because when-ever we were stopped by the CHP, Pipwould produce his Aussie passport,adopt an outrageous down under accentand claim that he was on the way backto Oz within the next two days. Everypatrolman just gave up. In the end, thegoing back in the next few days cametrue. Pip had been a “wetback” for twoyears when finally the immigration people caught up with him. A ratherominous phone call came in one dayasking if we knew where he was. Ofcourse, we told them that he had alreadygone back. That was to become truewithin a couple of weeks.
He came back a couple of years laterand we sailed together again in 1970and 1971. He took the boat toNarragansett Bay where we won theNAs. We also tried to start a sailingbusiness. We actually were the first U.Srepresentatives of Musto and Hyde!What a great might have been. Familymatters took him back to Adelaide butwe have no greater friend anywhere inthe world than Pip today. }
m e m o i r
Dreaming California B y D e n n i s S u r t e e s
Pip and friend at Worlds 2000.
30 TANK TALK
Re-introduces the $14,500 Complete-ready to sail
International 505 dinghyINCLUDES
■ Standard rigging package
■ Proctor D mast, Proctor boom and spinnaker pole
■ Guck, Inc. standard gybing centerboard and elliptical rudder
■ Kinder Industries covers—top, bottom and rudder bag
■ Ullman Dacron main & jib and chicken chute in your choice of color
Contact Geoff Hurwitch at (401) 862-1502 for details.
Some conditions may apply. All prices are F.O.B. WitchCraft, Bristol, RI
USSF Grant MoneyThe 2001 North Americans will be in Kingston, andorganization for this championship is well underway. Forthose of you competing for the United States SailingFoundation (USSF) grants, funding will be determinedsolely on the outcome of the North Americans ratherthan using the complicated ranking system. The top twoUS teams at the North Americans who are attending thePortugal Worlds will receive the funding.
Congratulations Team USA!Congratulations go out to the American Section’s topperformers at the 2000 Worlds. Team USA took 4 of thetop 10 spots, and 8 in the top 20. This stakes our claim asa legitimate powerhouse nation for windy 505 regattas.Mike Martin and Steve Bourdow dedicated their secondplace to the “Crew’s Union”. Howie Hamlin and PeterAlarie praised “Team Tuesday” for their 3rd place. The“Young Bucks”, Andy Beeckman and Ben Benjamin, finished 6th and the stalwart team of Bruce Edwards andDave Shelton finished 7th. Nice going guys!
SPRING 2001 31
It’s time for a course correction. At Durban last year, worldchampion Krister Bergstrom discussed the need to changecourses and race schedules at world events. The goal is to
make racing more fun and appealing to a wider cross sectionof sailors. I agreed. So I started an e-mail discussion with 505sailors across the globe and found virtually unanimous support, including amens from Chris Nicholson, Ian Barker,Ian Pinnell, Ebbe Rosen, Holger Jess, PaulYoung, Peter Alarie and many more.
Here’s what we advocate. Start with a NewCourse: Windward, leeward, triangle,windward, leeward, finish on the run. Usean offset mark for the runs at each weath-er mark to avoid congestion and a gate atthe leeward mark to prevent parades. Other proposed choices:
➤ New Worlds Format: Two races per day. One on the last day. Seven day series with 13 races total.
➤ Drops: One drop after 4 races (as now) and 2 drops after 9 races.
➤ Scoring: Low point score, instead of Olympic.
We should put the new format in place atthe upcoming Portugal worlds. Thesechanges are not unique, virtually all inter-national and Olympic classes have adopt-ed similar formats. The existing world’scourse has too many upwind legs, whichputs too much of a premium on upwindperformance. This requires big crews, years of experienceand hours of two-boat tuning. It also reduces the number ofpotential crews and discourages newcomers. Peter Alarie, mycrew in Durban, was too small at 5'10'' and 205 lbs! Thereare simply too few sailors who are big enough to sail com-
petitively on a 505. The problem got even worse when waterbottles were made illegal. For the good of the class andgrowth, we need to make the changes to allow lighter crews toremain competitive.
A downwind finish makes it easier for the race committee.They do not have to move after the finish and the next race can
start more quickly. To us, the fun down-wind starts at 12 knots when the pole is onthe headstay and the crew is on the wire.Wire running is more of a gas for the crewthan reaching, more tactical, less of aparade, has more lanes and often is fasterthan a main flogging on a tight reach.
Having two races a day is also a better wayto go. It gives you more races to figure outthe conditions and get in stride. We traveltoo far and spend too much money to sailonly one race a day. Having more races putsless importance on sailing the pre-world’s,and maximizes time sailing at the worlds.There is no reason to use Olympic scor-ing. It is difficult for everyone and makeslittle or no difference in the end. Theydon’t even use it at the Olympics anymore.
As Chris Nicholson says, “There is noquestion these changes are absolutely necessary, let’s not draw out the debate,make these changes now. It will only makewhat already is a great class, even better.”Our current world’s format is only a
guideline. The class officers can enact these changes for thenext world’s. So let’s encourage them to do so. There is nodownside to trying this out. After Portugal, we can debate andmake changes based on class preference. E-mail the class officers and encourage them to make the change. }
o p i n i o n
Course Correction B y H o w a r d H a m l i n
We travel too far and spend
too much money to sail only
one race a day.
The Magazine of the 5O5 ClassAmerican Section
607 Bennington LaneSilver Spring MD 20910
➤ New EnglandTim Collins(H) 401-254-9668(W) 508-746-5120 ext [email protected]
➤ East CoastMacy Nelson(H) [email protected]
➤ MidwestGraham Alexander(H) 614-861-1491(W) [email protected]
➤ RockiesKem King(H) 303-795-6506(W) [email protected]
➤ West CoastDave Shelton(H) 831-454-0785 (also fax)(W) [email protected]
➤ Pacific NorthWest Paul Von Grey(H) [email protected]
505 REGIONAL CONTACTS
ADS: TANK TALK, JANUARY/AUGUST, 1979
B ac kTi m eTwo decades have gone by since Hamlin and Lindsay
splashed on the 505 boat building scene. Too bad you
can’t get these boats today at 1979 prices.