Dart 15 Forums

Ian wrote:

Having recently joined your ranks as a new Dart 15 owner.... well... it's quite old and second hand to be precise, (come to think of it, that goes for the owner too!) I have a confession I feel I must share with you. On my inaugural sail at the weekend, I was guilty of the heinous crime of managing to invert the thing on a rather over enthusiastic gybe. I know this may be difficult to believe to you experienced types but in a rather half-hearted attempt at my defence, I would say that the only cat I'm used to (a few years ago now,) is crewing on a Tornado. Therefore to say I was taken a little off guard by how quick these boats can turn and tip when there's a bit of a blow, is a lesson I can say I have learnt rather quickly ....... oh whilst in self-deprecating mode, did I mention this performance was right in front of the club house - classy, eh?!) Not that I'm planning on doing this regularly, but a question: Has anyone ever aided the mast's flotation via, say a foam filled top section - I only wonder, as I was amazed how quickly it went from a simple capsize to a complete inversion? (Without, I thought, much assistance from myself) I did notice that the weld on the top of the mast isn't watertight, but I would be surprised if that made much difference? Any thoughts - or is it simply down to getting off the thing as quickly as possible to avoid pushing the leeward hull down?

Jonathan replied:

Hi Ian,

Welcome to the Dart 15 community!

I'm not an expert, but it is quite tricky to keep a Dart 15 on its side - they usually invert. The masts come in two flavours - split for car topping, or one piece. Both types are supposed to be sealed, which should help to right the boat.

The split masts have a hollow jointing section that can fill with water. Bob recommends filling the hollow part of the jointing section with expanding foam filler to keep the water out (stand the mast section up against the side of the house and fill it from an upstairs window seems favourite - avoiding spilling the foam down the side of the house, of course .

The Dart 15 is quite stable, although as you found they do gybe quickly! Trick is to bring the boat almost to the point of gybing and then momentarily pause before gybing through a small angle. As you gybe grab the main sheet falls between sail and traveller, and pull it across - you can then stop it banging across and you're in control. Doing that way also will prevent breaking a batten if its really windy.

The main tip to getting it up again is to let the wind help - get the windward hull up first. Its easier to right with some wind blowing. And if you find the righting lines not much use, use the main halyard passed round the windward hull instead.

Cheers,

Jonathan

Ian replied:

Thanks Jonathan, I shall try the foam idea (the mast is a two piece).

Having just caught up on previous messages posted on this website, I see this subject has come up before, therefore, apologies for the duplication.

By the way, I should have said that despite the obvious learning curve required, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I was out. I'm so pleased I made the purchase from this very website (thanks Gordon) and can see why you lot are so enthusiastic about them. A convert, if ever I heard one!

Cheers,

Ian