New Flyng Scot owner needs Help/Support

Submitted by parrotheadz on Wed, 06/08/2005 - 22:30
I just purchased Scot #5452 With the intention of sailing with my wife......however!!......We are both novices, I have about 40+ hour under my belt on larger keeled vessels 30'+ she has about 2 hrs on the Scot. She does not like when the boat is healed over. Does anyone have a number on the amout of degrees it can heal over before coming into "a danger zone of capsizing" in flat water, so I can save some face before she jumps off and heads for shore. I understand that it is a stable vessel and I have heard 15 degrees is a so called normal but I am wondering how close I can run safely in degrees and what the Maximum wind it can sustain smartly. I am not running a spinnaker at this time It is a loose factory type setup with schure Sails I have Gus racing sails but are hesitant to use them at this time Thanks for any info you can supply....Matt Flying Scot #5452
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Comments

An easy way to judge the angle is not to let a Scot heel more th

Submitted by Gallus 102 on Thu, 06/09/2005 - 06:37.
An easy way to judge the angle is not to let a Scot heel more than leveling the side decks. This works out to around 12-15 degrees. Ease off the sheets after that. I would strongly recommend not to cleat your sheets so that you can get rid of the excess energy quickly. Go to the 2:1 jib sheet--it's much easier to hold than a 1:1. An awful lot of the capsize stories have a cleated sheet or two somewhere in them, so don't retain that particulat keelboat practice. Be aware that a cleated jib can capsize the boat in a strong breeeze. You must ease the jib in order to bear off when the wind pipes up. Good Luck!

Another idea is to point the boat up towards the wind a bit when

Submitted by RandyWilliams on Thu, 06/09/2005 - 07:14.
Another idea is to point the boat up towards the wind a bit when you are going up wind. As you get quite close to the wind, the boat will level off.(If you are on a reach or going downwind and tip too much, point away from the wind). Randy Williams FS 3662 New England District Governor

The Scot is very very stable and will heel quite a ways before g

Submitted by Tripp on Thu, 06/09/2005 - 16:46.
The Scot is very very stable and will heel quite a ways before going over. (I assure you her freak out point is way before you're in danger) The important thing is (like said above) to stay on top of things before they get out of hand. Keep you hand on the mainsheet and be ready to uncleat it and ease it quickly if it gets uncomfortable. Also, as the boat heels in a puff it will want to head up into the wind. Don't fight this too much. The combination of feathering it up into the wind and easing the mainsheet will depower the boat and level it out nicely. Best of all, head out on mild to light air days so you can get comfortable with the controls and she can get comfortable with the motion of the boat. [8] FS4830

Thanks to all the responses.

Submitted by parrotheadz on Thu, 06/09/2005 - 22:08.
Thanks to all the responses. This weekend I will see what she can do (the Scot) in some moderate winds about 12mph with 21 mph gust in the Cape May NJ area and if it goes well maybe I can try again or sell one of them.... Flying Scot #5452

When we first got the Scot my wife got quite a bit scared in reg

Submitted by Claus on Fri, 06/10/2005 - 14:44.
When we first got the Scot my wife got quite a bit scared in regards to the heeling. It was part of my horrible sailing skills and part of her having fear. A week at Portage Yacht Club in Michigan cured us both. Now she loves to hike and has plenty of trust in her skipper. To answer your question, the boat can heel quite a bit. So much in fact that I once stood on my centerboard trunk until I got the main cleated, because everything else was vertical. [:o)] One could see the centerboard tip even in dirty water. How save it is at such a heel angle really depens on the momentum, wind and what you do to get out of the situation. In short I won't try it on purpose.

Claus FS5074 Ames, IA

I might suggest another approach to get over the fear.

Submitted by bobnew on Sun, 07/03/2005 - 14:06.
I might suggest another approach to get over the fear... Pick a warm sunny day with moderate breezes and go out to capsize on purpose. Leave all excess gear not required for safety ashore. You will find it is harder than you think to capsize it. Usually the boat will heel over enough to bring the rudder out of the water and she will round up into the wind, but it is no big deal if you do. Usually you must do something terribly wrong to capsize, as in having the jib cleated on the wrong side after tacking in heavy breezes. Assuming you are able to capsize on purpose, you are not in danger. You should be wearing pfd's. You should have uncleated both main and jib sheets as the boat was going over. Your instinct is to climb to the high side and you are right. One or both of you should quickly swing your feet over the side and stand on the centerboard. Lean back and pull on the rail or shroud. She should come back up with a minimum of water in the boat due to the design of the seats. Be ready, to swing back into the boat as it will begin to sail away from you if the sails fill. My point is to learn what to do if it does happen and learn that it is not a life threatening situation. There is a lot less fear when you are confident that you can recover the boat, and when you learn that it hard to turn it over. Get a copy of "Highlights of Scots n Water" from FSSA and read about heavy weather sailing and capsizes. It really is no big deal.... I've been sailing a Scot for close to 20 years and been over twice. One of those was on purpose as described above. Bob New FS 5143 Merritt Island Florida Fleet Captain Fleet 179

CHeck out the 15 Sep 04 messages further down this page with a l

Submitted by Bruce177 on Mon, 07/04/2005 - 21:53.
CHeck out the 15 Sep 04 messages further down this page with a link to a website about capsizing the boat on purpose and how to right her.It impressed me and gave me confidence also.[8D]