Safety: Aka-Tramp

[Bob in Brazil]

This is a complaint about F-Boats- not DF's. But maybe it has application to DF's. I don't know because there are no DF's in Brazil to compare, I'm more interested in DF's- and most of all because they are both foldables.

Question: Does a gap and potential "trap" exist between aka and tramp on a DF, too??? Sounds serious.

Two examples (F-Boats)>>>

(1) A highly accomplished dinghy racer all his life, and professional guitarist says he "HATES" F-boats because of the gap between aka and tramp. He says it's "a design flaw due to folding considerations..... My left, guitar hand was f*&^*&d up for life, will never be right- because of it. I should have sued them. It changed my life, had to stop windsurfing since it aggravates the injury. And they haven't fixed this design flaw! They know about it and count their money while unsuspecting sailors rush to the mast to solve some important problem and wham!, their FEET SLIP DOWN BETWEEN THE TRAMP AND AKA, the skin comes off their legs and their hands slap down and fracture."

This one far worse, from a big F-boat fan who sails a Freydis 24' cat>>>

(2) "Tragic was the capsize in Long Island Sound of an F31 with jib down and most of the main down. They were trying to get the main fully down when the microburst hit the boat bow on. It seems a wave and the wind worked in concert to pick the boat up and it flipped end-over backwards. The skipper who was aft survived. The crew at the mast DIED, HIS FOOT CAUGHT AND HE WAS UNABLE TO SURFACE."

Comments?

Thanks, Bob

[Steve B.]

Don't sail anything.
Watch TV.
Die in your easy chair.
Regret having not lived.

Steve B.

[Bob in Brazil]

????

[Bob in Brazil]

Steve B.

Was mine the question of a wimp...?
Check with the ex editor of your Whidbey Island newspaper, Drew Kampion.

BTW, I'm looking for a 1200, but not in a hurry. Appreciate your help.
Thanks.

Bob

[Steve B.]

All I'm saying is what Mexican locals say about the holes and big height changes of the sidewalks in La Paz and elsewhere.


"Don't step there".

I didn't mean to start a war...

[Bob in Brazil]

Living 25 years in Brazil, 5 in Costa Rica, I gotta ask... If you like the regulation third world "Everytime is the first time" approach to pot holes, sailing, well, everything... how come you're still on Whidbey?

[Double Horizon]

In answer to the original question, The F-31 has very little flotation in the aft portion of the amas, which are very tapered. That may have been a contributing factor allowing the aft end of the ama to bury and that boat to flip over the aft quadrant in the micro-burst. The 920 would have been less likely to have flipped in that particular circumstance, however that doesn't mean a 920 can't flip.

I think what Steve is saying is that there are many types of hazards on ANY boat. Anyone could get snagged in a line, or get "boomed", knocked overboard by an unexpected gibe, or get caught in the traveler or crush fingers in a winch -- just to name a few.

[Bob in Brazil]

In answer to the original question, The F-31 has very little flotation in the aft portion of the amas, which are very tapered. That may have been a contributing factor allowing the aft end of the ama to bury and that boat to flip over the aft quadrant in the micro-burst. The 920 would have been less likely to have flipped in that particular circumstance, however that doesn't mean a 920 can't flip.

Sounds very possible. Both, in fact.

I think what Steve is saying is that there are many types of hazards on ANY boat. Anyone could get snagged in a line, or get "boomed", knocked overboard by an unexpected gibe, or get caught in the traveler or crush fingers in a winch -- just to name a few.

I agree. Risk management is a poor reason to just "watch TV"- an important part of boat handling. Steve, the fewer the risks the better, no? Or your preference for the La Paz approach: Don't fix. Warn others. Stick a leafy tree branch in the pothole, ama-tramp gap, etc...

[Steve B.]

I guess I was being a little too pithy in my original post.

BTW, I like living on Whidbey. Boat's at my own private dock in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains and the San Juan Islands are a daysail away.

I can be sailing in 5 minutes after the thought occurs to me.

We have no traffic to speak of and my wife of 40 years by my side has her own little piece of heaven.

What's not to like?


Steve B.

[Bob in Brazil]

Pithy's good. In fact, it's all good.

I entirely agree: A scenic, water wonderland.

I visited Drew, ex-publisher/editor of the paper (+ dozens of published books on surfing and waves), a Whidbey resident 25 years. In a Nat'l Geographic article about the area, he pointed out how rare it is to be able to live on an island, yet have efficient public access to a major, first world metro center like Seattle. Better than La Paz, I'd say.

Lucky you!