We drilled a hole in the
bottom of the boat and let it fill. The boat has built-in solid foam
flotation to keep it afloat in the event of damage. It won’t sail well when fully flooded,
and it will be unstable, but it beats swimming. Most competing boats do not offer
this essential safety protection, and their heavy keels can pull them
straight to the bottom. Don't get a boat without solid flotation!
The relatively flat bottom required for high speed powering creates
a very stable sailboat. This photo shows 180 pounds on the rail with the water ballast tank empty. Other boats would show some serious tipping, .
The 26 is self righting with the water ballast tank filled. This means that the boat will return to an upright position after being pulled over on its side with the sails in place. It takes 130 pounds at the masthead to hold it down as shown in this photo. When released, the boat snapped back to an upright position in less than one second.
We do not consider the boat to be
self righting with an empty tank. A
ballasted sailboat is very much like the inflatable toy with a weight in the
bottom that kids use as punching bags. The weight makes the toy return to
vertical after it is poked. Notice that the hatch openings are well above the waterline, so water is not entering into the cabin. (When the
water is rough, it is best to keep the hatch closed to prevent water from getting into the cabin if the boat takes a severe knockdown.)
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- The roller furler allows the size of the jib to be controlled from the safety of the cockpit. In this photo, the jib has been rolled in to about 1/2 of its normal size, and the mainsail has been reduced by 40%. This is essential for sailing in high winds, and great for learning to sail in normal winds. When the wind blows hard, the boat will sail faster with reduced sail area.
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- For really lazy sailing or for
sailing in high winds, you can use the mainsail alone. You lose some speed,
but the boat will handle very well. The mainsail has a set of reef points
that will reduce its area by forty percent. This is essential for sailing in
high winds, and great for learning to sail in normal winds. In really heavy
winds, the boat will actually sail faster with a reefed mainsail. Reefing is
quick and simple. The rotating mast makes the mainsail far more effective than the
mainsail on a conventional rig.
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- The cockpit is self bailing. The
cockpit floor is above the water level, and any water that comes into the
cockpit simply drains out through the open transom. This is both a
convenience and a big safety factor. (A swamped boat is no joy, and having
to bail out a cockpit full of rain water is no fun either.)
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- The steering seat hinges up and out
of the way to allow for easy boarding while the boat is in the water or on
its trailer. This is a lot easier than climbing up and over the relatively
high side in order to get on or off the boat. In the down position, it makes
a comfortable steering seat for the captain, and helps keep the crew from
falling off the rear end of the boat.
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- The 26 has hatches that can be
secured to keep water out of the boat. The most seaworthy object is an empty
bottle with the lid screwed on. We have come pretty close to this concept
with the 26. Most small powerboats are open to the sea and totally
unsuitable for offshore or rough water operation. Also, there are no thru
hulls below the waterline that might allow water leaks into the interior of
the boat.
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- The 26 has two engines, the sails
and the motor. If a conventional powerboat’s engine quits when you are
away from land or in a remote part of a lake, you are stuck there until
outside help arrives. In many cases, attempts to start the engine drain the
batteries so even radio communication becomes impossible. With the 26,
simply raise the sails, and head for home. There are calms now and then, but
there will always be enough wind to get you on your way.
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- Other safety features include non
skid deck surfaces, bow pulpit, cockpit rails and strong lifelines.
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