Why does a boat broach

Colgate suggests these guidelines: Let out the mainsheet immediately if the boat begins to round up into the wind; keep the boat as flat as possible in the water by having the crew sit on the windward rail; make sure you use the right size sails for specific wind conditions so as not to overpower the boat. On more sophisticated boats, such as those that carry additional adjustments for the rig, Colgate has these tips:.

If you're sailing in conditions that could force a broach - in rough seas or high winds - keep the backstay on downwind rather than letting it run free.

This bends the mast and depowers the mainsail by freeing the leech. If the boat has a boom vang, release the vang to stop a broach rather than easing the mainsheet. This is a quicker adjustment. It allows the end of the boom to ride up, forcing the top part of the mainsail, where most of the power is in the sail, to fall off to leeward first. Select a flat spinnaker for reaching conditions rather than the fuller sail you would tend to use while sailing downwind.

Keep the halyard tension tight to keep excessive fullness out of the sail. Mr Efficiency , Apr 17, Nicholas Brett Eklund, 36, of Greymouth, died after the metre wooden trawler Lady Anna, which he was skippering for the first time, capsized as it made its way into the West Coast town's port.

Milehog , Apr 17, Commercial offshore fishing is close to the top of the list of most dangerous occupations.

Water is certainly moving forward in wholesale fashion when the hollow wave breaks, and in the above pics it was the boat going broadside to that that finished it.

MikeJohns , Apr 17, Boat and ships can have a tendency to broach in following waves whether the water is moving relative to the hull or not, whether moving forward or aft relative to the hull. A broach can be the summation of several factors, not just one. So can sailboats too - when the rudder force gets too small due to aeration, excessive heel, too small rudder area, or whatever to counteract the forces and moments generated by the sails.

All correct indeed. But, the boat in the OP was neither a sailboat, nor a planing powerboat. It shows, imo, a boat which has broached due to wave action. I've often wondered if keeping tension on a large drogue would keep the hull lined up.

Even if the prop came out of the water the boat's momentum would maintain at least some tension. A drogue can be quite useful in a following sea, it seems it could be useful for landing rowing boats through surf if it works. Anyone tried it? Gib Etheridge , Apr 17, But as soon as the forces have become high enough to require additional use of the rudder, control is lost because the rudder stalls.

At that point everyone hangs on as the roll turns into a broach. Make sure the sheets get thrown off or eased out quickly as soon as the helmsman has more than one turn of wheel on.

Set your flattest spinnaker in heavier winds and sheet it well forward. Aft sheeting will help pull the stern around. Ease the spinnaker sheet out as a gust hits and the boat heels. As soon as the gust has passed, trim the sheet in again to keep power on.

If the boat has a bustle, you might want to have the boatyard fill in the bustle to provide smooth flow over the rudder blade. Back Explore View All. Back Types View All. Unpowered Boats Kayaks Dinghies. Personal Watercraft Personal Watercraft. Back Research. Reviews Boats Engines and Parts. How-to Maintenance Buying and Selling Seamanship. Back Services.

Boats PWCs. Boats for Sale View All. Or select country. Search Advanced Search. Personal Watercraft for Sale View All. Liked it? Share it! Facebook Twitter. The whole side of a ship; a simultaneous discharge of all the guns on one side. Broad Reach Broad Reach A point of sail where the boat is sailing away from the wind, but not directly downwind with the sails let out nearly all the way. Bulkhead An interior wall in a vessel.

Sometimes bulkheads are also watertight, adding to the vessel's safety. Cabin A room inside a boat. Buffer The chief bosun 's mate in the Royal Navy , responsible for discipline. If not, I'd be hurled sideways into the maelstrom and the rocks behind me. Neither the boat nor I would survive the pound ing. I'd anchored in the cove to escape swell s coming out of the north.

This is made more likely by the boat not having the bow trimmed up. Free surface effect due to water in the boat or shifting load.