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 Post subject: AMAS BAR
PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:12 pm 
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Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:47 pm
Posts: 1
My friend Peter Muhl and I are co-owners of a Tandem Island and are having a blast. Last week we went to Lake Ontario and found some great winds 10 to 15 mph and 5 foot waves. The bolt that is on the bar to hold out the amas had broken and we ended up capsized a few miles from shore. we were unable to right the boat and ended up pulling it to an island where we were able to temporaraly fix the problem with some elastic rope we had. these bolts are made of plastic and I assume that they are sheer pins whereas Peter thinks that we can improve on it. The following day, we went to a hardware store and replaced these bolts with 1/4 inch steel bolts. Are we at risk of major damage with these steel bolts? By the way, during this capsizing, we lost a hat, sun glasses, our Hobie water bottle and some drinks that were in a cooler on the back of the boat.

Kim Cunningham and Peter Muhl from Ottawa Canada


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 Post subject: Re: AMAS BAR
PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 1:14 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 12:44 pm
Posts: 15026
Location: Oceanside, California
KIM CUNNINGHAM wrote:
we went to a hardware store and replaced these bolts with 1/4 inch steel bolts. Are we at risk of major damage with these steel bolts?


Possibly. The plastic ones are designed to shear if the ama is impacted in a way that might cause worse damage. Should not fail in normal sailing conditions.

You risk is a collision of some kind or impact on the beach that "could" damage another part on the boat.

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 Post subject: Re: AMAS BAR
PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:32 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
KIM CUNNINGHAM :
I strongly advise you to put the plastic bolt back in. If you ever run into a dock or pier, or just an awkward beach landing, you will for sure do damage something else if the bolt is not allowed to break. I have broken several bumping into docks, and over achieving helpers but have never broken one while under way. If you go to the post (The ultimate Tandem Island (hydrofoils,Spinnaker,jib,etc) ( viewtopic.php?f=69&t=33720&start=45) on page 4 there is an explanation on how to rig a safety rope that prevents the AMA's from folding in while underway, yet if you happen to hit a dock allows the sheer pin to break and prevent further damage. This simple rope only takes 30 seconds to install when setting up the boat, but it will for sure prevent any accident like you experienced from ever happening again. I use 1/4 inch dia stretchy nylon rope which work like a shock obsorber and is tied around the strongest point on the boat (the area around the mast is the strongest area on any sailboat). If I'm just going out in light air I don't bother putting it on, but any conditions or distance that is questionable or risky I install the safety rope. Like I said it is not intended to prevent the sheer bolt from breaking in the event you bump a dock or another boat, but will keep the AMA from folding in while sailing (turtle time), so you can safely furl the sails repair the broken pin then get back underway quickly. TI's come with a spare plastic pin right on the same bar right next to broken one. On the newest models they eliminated the plastic nut and replaced it with a cotter ring so if you forgot to pack your pliers (like I did) you don't have to use your teeth to get the replacement bolt unscrewed. To my knowledge you are only the second person to turtle a TI in over a year, the other guy had the same situation, He later thought possibly his sheer bolt was already damaged when he went out that day but didn't know it at the time.

Perhaps someone on the Forum can video themselves tipping and righting a TI and share it with the rest of us. I think someone posted that it is easiest if you fold one AMA in and bungy or tie in, then climb up on that AMA (obviously up onto the bottom of the overturned boat) grabbing onto the keel board then lean back and the boat slowly tips back up and over (being careful the boat doesn't hit you as it comes down , If the center board is on the wrong side and you can't reach it you can also throw the long sail line (the big black rope used to control the sail from either seat) over the bottom of the boat and use that to hold on to while you flip the boat (acts as a righting line). I have not tried it.
Hope this helps
Bob


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 Post subject: Re: AMAS BAR
PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:03 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 2:31 pm
Posts: 3068
Location: Kailua 96734
Kim, Welcome, and good job with the recovery.

With a righting line and a little practice, I'm sure you and your friend could have brought her back up. There are many threads here outlining how to do this, and it's described in your user manual.

But one of the safest things you could do right now is put tramps on the TI. These will keep the Akas from folding in - even if the Aka brace becomes unhinged. If you ride the windward tramp in high winds, you'll prevent the boat from heeling over. You'll enjoy the heck out of them too.

Being caught broadside from a wave is always a risk though, regardless of how your TI is rigged. Steep shorebreak is usually what I watch out for.

I would reinstall the plastic shear pins and give tramps a try.

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