I would love to hear from anyone who has made this journey.
The time, effort and cost are my considerations.

Hi BB,
What are you wanting to achieve mate, ie: are you looking to scale up in your compliance requirements? If so, the numbers go the opposite way. This is an extract from Aus Sailing Special regs Part 1 that describes the categories. ..

2.01.2 Category 1: Offshore races of long distance and well offshore, where boats must be self-sufficient for extended periods of time, capable of withstanding heavy storms and prepared to meet serious emergencies without the expectation of outside assistance.
2.01.3 Category 2: Offshore races of extended duration along or not far removed from shorelines or in large unprotected bays or lakes, where a high degree of self-sufficiency is required of the yachts.
2.01.4 Category 3: Offshore races across open water, most of which is relatively protected or close to shorelines.
2.01.5 Category 4: Short offshore races, close to shore in relatively warm or protected waters, normally held in daylight.
2.01.6 Category 5: Races with limited rescue availability, in protected waters, in daylight hours or in sheltered waters at night.
2.01.7 Category 6: Short races close to the shoreline in protected waters, in daylight hours only and with effective rescue availability.
2.01.8 Category 7: Short races in sheltered waters, in daylight hours only and with effective rescue availability. Boats not complying with 3.01.3 are not required to carry buoyancy.

A generalisation is that you want a minimum of Cat5 for inshore sheltered waters stuff, and a minimum of Cat3 for offshore coastal work. it starts getting a bit onerous at Cat 2, but Cat 3 is pretty easy.
One observation I would make, is getting your boat up to scratch to meet a category rating is worth it. We all get lazy and I've always found the rating system to be a worthy process for keeping your boat up to the level it should be at.
You'll be surprised at the little things the equipment audit forms will tease out that you don't normally think of.
Cheers!
SB

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shaggybaxter said..
Hi Serb,
What are you wanting to achieve mate, ie: are you looking to scale up in your compliance requirements? If so, the numbers go the opposite way. This is an extract from Aus Sailing Special regs Part 1 that describes the categories. ..

2.01.2 Category 1: Offshore races of long distance and well offshore, where boats must be self-sufficient for extended periods of time, capable of withstanding heavy storms and prepared to meet serious emergencies without the expectation of outside assistance.
2.01.3 Category 2: Offshore races of extended duration along or not far removed from shorelines or in large unprotected bays or lakes, where a high degree of self-sufficiency is required of the yachts.
2.01.4 Category 3: Offshore races across open water, most of which is relatively protected or close to shorelines.
2.01.5 Category 4: Short offshore races, close to shore in relatively warm or protected waters, normally held in daylight.
2.01.6 Category 5: Races with limited rescue availability, in protected waters, in daylight hours or in sheltered waters at night.
2.01.7 Category 6: Short races close to the shoreline in protected waters, in daylight hours only and with effective rescue availability.
2.01.8 Category 7: Short races in sheltered waters, in daylight hours only and with effective rescue availability. Boats not complying with 3.01.3 are not required to carry buoyancy.

A generalisation is that you want a minimum of Cat5 for inshore sheltered waters stuff, and a minimum of Cat3 for offshore coastal work. it starts getting a bit onerous at Cat 2, but Cat 3 is pretty easy.
One observation I would make, is getting your boat up to scratch to meet a category rating is worth it. We all get lazy and I've always found the rating system to be a worthy process for keeping your boat up to the level it should be at.
You'll be surprised at the little things the equipment audit forms will tease out that you don't normally think of.
Cheers!
SB

Thanks a lot shaggy.

Ooops ,just ticked off Cat. 5 audit report. Fail,fail ,fail. Off to W'worths .

Thanks, BB x 2 and SB. The list of things to do just got longer but for a really good reason. Audit forms now bookmarked in the browser. Complacency is insidious.

K.

When I did my first Cat2 audit, I got pinged on two issues;
3.20.1: 2 manual bilge pumps; 1 above, 1 below operable with boat/seats shut; permanent discharge pipes.
I only had a manual bilge pump operable from the cockpit (the one below was electric). Finding the right out of the way spot and still being able to sit there and use it, and installing the discharge pipes and drain neatly was a bit of a challenge.

3.11: Keel stepped mast; heel securely fastened. (required even for Cat 3)
As I had a deck stepped mast, we had to fit a tether from the mast heel to the heel plate. Thankfully both had purpose built pad eyes for it, I just hadn't realised that's what they were for .

Both made a lot of sense when I stopped to think about it!

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shaggybaxter said..
When I did my first Cat2 audit, I got pinged on two issues;
3.20.1: 2 manual bilge pumps; 1 above, 1 below operable with boat/seats shut; permanent discharge pipes.
I only had a manual bilge pump operable from the cockpit (the one below was electric). Finding the right out of the way spot and still being able to sit there and use it, and installing the discharge pipes and drain neatly was a bit of a challenge.

3.11: Keel stepped mast; heel securely fastened. (required even for Cat 3)
As I had a deck stepped mast, we had to fit a tether from the mast heel to the heel plate. Thankfully both had purpose built pad eyes for it, I just hadn't realised that's what they were for .

Both made a lot of sense when I stopped to think about it!

I still have to secure my mast - do you just need two saddles/U bolts and a wire or line between them? What size saddles and line were acceptable in your case?

And since the rule clearly states "keel stepped mast" why did you have to do anything when yours is not keel stepped? How can a club or auditor just over-ride the clear English of the rule?

Hi Chris,
57mm padeyes and 10" strop of 16 mm dyneema.
I agree the wording leaves a lot to be desired. Both auditors explained it as either:
- keel stepped; or
- heel securely fastened.
The idea is if you lose the rig on a deck stepped mast you don't want the heel of it flaying about when the rig and sails is most likely in the water. Would make unpinning/cutting away the shrouds interesting!
I don't know if a keel stepped mast needs to be the same, or if they are by design secured anyway, it's been a while since I've looked at one.

Bundeena,
my opinion is, and this is only my opinion.
Any boat doing anything like offshore sailing should be Cat 4, at least. If you look at the Cat 4 requirements there's nothing there that you wouldn't or shouldn't have for safe coastal work.
Best bet is, download a copy of Racing rules of Sailing , Special Regs 2021-24, see the YA website. Print off a Cat 4 form from either CSC RMPH, go down to your boat and see how you measure up. You might be closer than you think. From there you could get an idea of cost to achieve Cat 4.
Another option would be give the Safety Officer of your club a call and discuss having an auditor have a look over your boat.
I hardly ever race my boat but I keep her at Cat 4 because I believe this is the minimum standard you should have for a boat that may do the occasional coastal passage.
Mike

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Magpiemike said..
Bundeena,
my opinion is, and this is only my opinion.
Any boat doing anything like offshore sailing should be Cat 4, at least. If you look at the Cat 4 requirements there's nothing there that you wouldn't or shouldn't have for safe coastal work.
Best bet is, download a copy of Racing rules of Sailing , Special Regs 2021-24, see the YA website. Print off a Cat 4 form from either CSC RMPH, go down to your boat and see how you measure up. You might be closer than you think. From there you could get an idea of cost to achieve Cat 4.
Another option would be give the Safety Officer of your club a call and discuss having an auditor have a look over your boat.
I hardly ever race my boat but I keep her at Cat 4 because I believe this is the minimum standard you should have for a boat that may do the occasional coastal passage.
Mike

Thanks all

Just wondered what people do for an alternative steering on a tiller boat?

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Madmouse said..
Just wondered what people do for an alternative steering on a tiller boat?

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Madmouse said..
Just wondered what people do for an alternative steering on a tiller boat?

Some discussion recently in this thread www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Sailing/General/Emergency-rudders-and-tillers-

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Madmouse said..
Just wondered what people do for an alternative steering on a tiller boat?

We carried a piece of wood the same length as the tiller. Holes drilled in it with bolts and nuts in a ziplock bag tapped to it. The idea was if the tiller broke we just unscrewed it and bolted the new one on.
Dependes on your set up. If you have a cap fitting that goes directly onto the top of the rudder stock you may want to think about a spare. In this situation you can think about having a new stronger one made that has a lot less chance of breaking and keep the old one, as kind as it looks ok as a spare with emergency tiller. Then you have both, a tiller and cap fitting. You should keep spares of any bolts or screws that are need for the job in a ziplock bag.

Why do you want to do it?
If it for fun racing at your local club get your club to change its rules.
It is just bull**** which is killing keelboat racing.

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tarquin1 said..

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Madmouse said..

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Just wondered what people do for an alternative steering on a tiller boat?

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We carried a piece of wood the same length as the tiller. Holes drilled in it with bolts and nuts in a ziplock bag tapped to it. The idea was if the tiller broke we just unscrewed it and bolted the new one on.

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Dependes on your set up. If you have a cap fitting that goes directly onto the top of the rudder stock you may want to think about a spare. In this situation you can think about having a new stronger one made that has a lot less chance of breaking and keep the old one, as kind as it looks ok as a spare with emergency tiller. Then you have both, a tiller and cap fitting. You should keep spares of any bolts or screws that are need for the job in a ziplock bag.

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Thanks but l was thinking more if the rudder itself was damaged/lost.

It relates to the alternative steering methods q in the regs.

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shaggybaxter said..
Hi Chris,
57mm padeyes and 10" strop of 16 mm dyneema.

Could you please perhaps find and post a picture of this sort of setup as I think I will do this to mine.

Presumably the idea is that if the mast falls down the base plug will be jumped and/or tear out the bottom of the mast up to a hight of maybe maybe 50 mm. This solution is however asking a lot of the padeyes and a few screws/self tappers given the leverage involved.

Damn! Name brand ones are expensive too.

Hi all, this is only really for the racer out there who needs to be audited rather than someone who just wants to know what is recommended.

I just want to remind everyone that since changes made by AS a few years ago, AS consider the Special Regulations (or Safety Regs) to be a live document. This means that they can and will change over time. The regs first issued as the 2021-24 Special Regs have been updated I think twice already and there's some more changes coming through with regard to tethers before mid year.

I'd say to check the website before getting audited rather than referring to a PDF as you might not have the current version with a PDF. Keep a PDF copy on your phone to satisfy rule 4.10.3.