[Rhodes22-list] Cockpit Cushions

[Bob Weber]

Tom, Welcome.  There is a solution to the cockpit cushion problem which I 
have on my list but have not done yet.  I think if you go to the archives 
you will be able to see pictures.  The short of it is a strap which is dead 
ended to the back rest in the rain gully and goes over the cushion and is 
fastened to the under side of the cockpit bench in the other rain gully.  
The person who did the pictures had quick release "twist type" fasteners 
which went thru eyelets in the strap.  I hope that made sense "worth a 
thousand words" comes to mind.  As far as knock downs.  Yep, I have personal 
experience with that.  It was the same senario as Slim just posted.  Sailed 
all night, great winds, enough to get me 6 miles from my dock.  Woke up the 
next morning to 25kts w/ gusts in the 30s.  The usually benign lake Carlyle 
looked like a cup of coffee and Cream on a paint shaker.  Like Slim I had a 
down hill ride all the way to the marina.  Unlike Slim I opted for two reefs 
in the main and no head sail.  For way toooo much wind down wind, I have 
learned that the head sail has a couple advantages.  1) You can release the 
sheet and the sail will spill wind (the main will only go out as far as the 
lower shoudes).  2) At the end of the sail you simply furl the sail instead 
of having to get the boat into the wind to drop the main (something my 5hp 
ob was not designed for).  Back to the knock down.  Well it was an 
exhilerating ride.  I had my gps on the seat in front of me.  Pegged at 6 
with occasional 6.5+ as I surfed down big brown breaking waves.  The gusts 
were all lifts and in order to spill wind I had to head up to about abeam of 
the big ugly brown waves.  I saw the gust comming and just started heading 
up when I took hold, picked my stearn up, rudder mostly out of the water, 
and started taking me straight down wind to near jibe orientation.  Before I 
could finish "Ooooooooh Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" the rudder caught a wave and 
I headed up got heeled by the wind and rolled by a wave.  The end of the 
boom made a powerboat like wake in the water.   And I was standing on the 
edge of the bench seat waiting for the boat to right.  It did, took about 4 
or 5 buckets full of water, nothing to worry about.  The big worry was that 
I still had 3 miles to go and my heart was racing, legs twitching, like when 
you see flashing lights in your rear view mirror.  I still had to fill the 
screaming wet banchie of a main sail and get off this god forsaken coffiee 
cup.  The rest of the trip was equally exhillerating but in a more negative 
sense and I still had to figure a way to turn the boat into this short, 
steep, 3 foot waves drop the sail, lash it and then turn tail under motor 
thru a narrow marina entrance.  Well I kept the boat off the rocks which is 
better that a brand new 32 foot did when its engine over heated on the way 
out to the harbor.  He landed right where I had planned to do my spin into 
the wind.  No pictures so I had to give the 1000 word account.

Bob Weber
Sv Ruba


>From: "tbrown202" <tbrown202 at sc.rr.com>
>Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Cockpit Cushions
>Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2005 11:44:33 -0400
>
>Hi all,
>
>     I purchased a recycled 1986 R-22 from Stan on 8/11/05 and have her 
>berthed on Lake Murry (Columbia, SC).
>
>     During our first few sails, with winds of 10-15, gusts to 25+, we had 
>a problem keeping the cockpit cushions, and those sitting thereon, in place 
>when the boat heeled.
>
>     Has anyone come up with a solution for somehow affixing the cockpit 
>cushions  to prevent them from sliding all over the place?  We purchased 
>these cushions new from Stan.
>
>     Would also be interested if anyone has every suffered a knockdown or 
>capsize in a R-22, and the conditions that caused same.
>
>         Thanks,
>
>             Tom Brown
>__________________________________________________
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