First Capsize in our Goat Island Skiff

Our first capsize!
Please ignore the crappy reefing of the sail. We hadn't had to do that in a while, so I kinda forgot the proper way. Looks horrendous though.
Weather was way windier than projected and it seems we got a death roll going downwind in a cove on a large lake. Good learning experience!

[@vickibrougham956]

Oh that looks cold.

[@BUENOSAIRES4K]

salvó primero al firulais !!! : P

[@Aaron.deRuiter]

Good to see the dog made it!

[@suhmoonwook254]

Well done 👍 Thank you for sharing valuable experience 🙂

[@jwboatdesigns]

Absolutely classic downwind roll over to windward. Lesson one, dont let the yard on a standing lug go forward of 90 degrees, if you do the thrust vector of the sail goes across the boat and the boat will roll to the side away from the sail. So, round up slightly, maybe 20deg off straight downwind, sheet on a bit and tack her downwind. There are other ways, sailing by the lee being one but that takes practice and skill, concentration and really accurate steering and sheeting.

[@buckmudflap2346]

I've learned a lot about sailing downwind in the last 24 hours thanks to the facebook group. Definitely gonna tie a knot in the sheet to limit how far the boom can go.

[@EnricoFranconiPolisportiva]

eh! A runaway goat! Good job guys. I hope the water was not too cold. Thanks for sharing.

[@buckmudflap2346]

yea, we were planning on going swimming anyways

[@robhazard9173]

On my Goat I found that boxing the center thwart in with plywood and a couple plastic hatches added enough buoyancy at the sides so that she could be righted and sailed away without bailing. That simple change made me much more confident in her.

[@JustinWimpey]

Time to add a drain hole in front of the rear bulkhead.

[@buckmudflap2346]

i know you have one on yours, but what's the best way to add one that mounts flush with the bottom?

[@JustinWimpey]

@@buckmudflap2346 drill a hole slightly bigger than the plug in the bottom. Stick the plug though, it'll jut out a bit on the bottom. Use a thin flexible cutoff saw to trim it flush with bottom, I stick a weight on top to hold it down first. Lightly sand the ply around the hole. Coat the plug in mold release wax. Use packing tape on the bottom of the hole to make it flat, put in some epoxy with silica dust (or whatever you used) and push the plug in against the tape. Done. Clean it up after it dries, and be sure and mark the plug and the bottom to clock them so it's flat every time you install it.

[@NA-su3jk]

Awesome. Hope you do a full Monday morning about lessons learned video on this … but like spell it out for us noobs? Also what u decided to do to improve draining - in the water after a flip and once on shore, some special scuppers or valves maybe, for bilge remnants? I one day hope to build something similar but wonder if the design can take wider (5”) glassed-in seating flush with side rails and a glassed-in higher floor, at about water level, to make it self draining? I am sure I am missing something but that’s the thought…. Thank you.

[@Antipodean33]

At least you've got a bailing bucket thats big enough

[@mikefule330]

Oops. Going over the "wrong way" like that is the worst. The horrible moment when you know there's nothing you an do because she's past the point of no return, and that what follows is a long session of hard work righting the boat, climbing aboard, and baling. Baling a boat in conditions that were bad enough to cause a capsize can be a wobbly experience. Racing sailors with self draining cockpits don't know they're born!