YNZ Race Regulations Cat1-Cat5; Anomalies and concerns

[Jon 407]

Good point Ed, especially in your line of work and in our more extended event. But it can happen sailing to the start so complacencies or dangerous

“Safety is no accident”

[Deep Purple 530]

On 1/03/2019 at 12:31 PM, ex Elly said:

Lead lines got removed from the rules about 8 years ago. I was surprised there wasn't any outcry at the time.

Cheaper and lighter than a leadline.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/parts-accessories/fish-finders/listing-2599473309.htm?rsqid=1b86592db08d4a25988cff2e24436f7e-001

[harrytom 697]

On 21/04/2020 at 8:06 PM, Deep Purple said:

Cheaper and lighter than a leadline.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/parts-accessories/fish-finders/listing-2599473309.htm?rsqid=1b86592db08d4a25988cff2e24436f7e-001

Theres a catch to  those ,must be stopped and smooth water.Tried one out ,thought for the price cant go wrong.might be ok in a kayak.

[Deep Purple 530]

Not suggesting anyone uses it. Just to be cat4/5 compliant. 
 

I’m working my way through the list and ordering everything I need online. There sure is a lot of rubbish written there and unnecessary costs.

[Ex Machina 390]

When I  was looking for boat I had my eye on a few in Oz ,  all quick T yachts .   Two of them had fishfinder/chartplotters for plotting and GPS speed .

Way cheaper than a yachting specific plotter and they readily fit onto a swivelling arm bracket .

Our backup GPS for Cat3 is a Bad-elf pro but we leave it on full time and Bluetooth our phones to it . Makes plotting apps work faster (Cmaps and Navionics) especially in weak cell areas .

you are right about unnecessary costs and rubbish you end up with a boat full of plastic crap that mostly gets left at home for club racing . 
 

you will quickly find out your new boat is not phone friendly ! 

[Deep Purple 530]

I've put together this. The italics are my thoughts

 

 

 

Cat 4/5 Racing

A summary of the equipment rules

 

11.0 – Cockpits and Companionways

11.1

Companionway blocking arrangements shall be secure and operable from inside and out – Recommendation only

11.2

Companionway needs to be blocked off to level of deck. No instruction as to what “blocked off means” Words such as solid or waterproof are not mentioned but…..

11.3

All cockpits below main deck level must be “essentially watertight that is, all openings to the hull below main deck level must be capable of being strongly and rigidly secured. 

 

You need a solid, firm fitting washboard to deck level but not the rest of the companionway but see 13.09

 

13.0 – Flooding Prevention, Hatches, Windows, Bilge Pumps

13.01

The hull….. shall form an essentially water-tight unit and any openings shall be capable of being immediately secured to maintain this integrity

13.09

Companionway doors……. Must be able to be made strong and watertight. Rebates for slides must be particularly strong

 

This seems at odds with 11.1 and why are companionways mentioned here when there is a separate section on companionways and  blocking where it is a recommendation only.

 

13.14

One manual bilge pump

13.19

Two buckets

 

No issue there. From experience a scared man with a bucket can move water faster than any bilge pump if the boat interior lends itself to it.

 

15.0 – Masts, Spars, Rigging and Sails

15.11

Tools including hacksaw, hammer and drift

 

No issue there. Again, from experience. 

 

15.19

Sail repair kit. 

 

A  decent stash of sticky-back in a water-proof container should be enough surely.

 

16.0 – Accomodation

16.03

Toilet or fitted bucket

 

One of the buckets in 13.9 with a lid should do

 

16.04

Bunks

16.05 (M)

2 permanently installed bunks recommendation only

 

Reading that, 16.04 seems to override 16.05

 

16.13

Securely installed water tank

 

What is the point of this if you don’t have a galley. How do you get the water out?

 

17.0 – Safety Systems

17.02

2 fire extinguishers, total 4kg

 

I think overkill on a boat without cooking facilities but I can live with it.

 

17.13

Lifebuoy, drogue whistle and light

17.14

Heaving Line

17.15

Knife

17.29

Anchor and warp

17.33 (K) and 17.34 (M)

Grab bags – Recommended for keelboats only, compulsory for multihulls

17.35

First Aid Kit

 

No issue with any of these

 

17.17

Lifelines sizing – Recommendation only

17.25

Pulpits, bow and stern – Recommendation only

17.27

Toe-rails are compulsory or an extra lifeline

17.23 (K)

Jackstays on keelboats recommended only

17.28 (a) (M)

Jackstays on multihulls compulsory at Cat4

 

There is no clause that says you have to have lifelines or not but 17.17 suggests you don’t. There are a number of rules if you do have them. 17.25 under Pulpits, branches off into talking about lifelines again

 

18.0 – Communications

18.2 (ii) (K) and 18.2 (iii) (M)

Handheld VHF

 

No issue with this

 

18.3

Radio receiver capable of receiving weather bulletins

18.4

Category 5 must carry a handheld VHF OR a cellphone

 

I used to carry a little transistor but one day the inspector told me the VHF qualifies for that. This would only seem to be necessary under Cat5 without a VHF

 

18.6

EPIRB or PLB recommendation only

 

I think these should be compulsory in Cat4 overnight races

 

18.7

Flares under 3 years old but some under 5 can be carried in addition

 

I would prefer to see each type of flare have 50/50 mix between 3 and 5 years old if a PLB carried

 

19.0 – Navigation

19.01

Installed Compass

19.03 (b) (c) (f)

Charts, plotting equipment and manuals

 

No issue with any of these

 

19.03 (a)

Tide tables

Available on VHF and cellphone in most areas

 

19.04 (d)

Echo (Depth) Sounder - compulsory

19.04 (e)

GPS or Log – recommended only

 

 

A GPS is much more use than a depth sounder. No requirement for the depth sounder to be permanently installed

 

19.07 and 19.08

Navigation lights permanently mounted and wired

 

Permanently mounted must be for the duration of the race. Wired can only mean you don’t have to run cables and clips to use them for example wired could mean internally wired to removable batteries. There is no requirement for them to be fed by a 12v system, you could run wires to 3 cell battery pack. In my experience fixed nav lights are fraught with unreliability and modern removable options are much more reliable and give options for maintain the integrity of the system. Personally, I don’t like masthead lights at all. When sailing you are looking at the waves and horizon, not up in the air, and approaching the city masthead lights get lost in the clutter.

 

19.09

Fog Horn

 

I really can’t see why this is needed and question if they have ever been used

 

20.0 – Engineering

 

20.01

An engine - Recommended only

20.05

If you do have an engine it is recommended that it can push the boat at the square root of the waterline length in feet

 

Several other clauses effect if you have an engine and all are reasonable

 

20.13

Outboard fuel tanks and operating

 

There is no requirement for an outboard to have a separate fuel tank. Inbuilt tanks are fine, however topping them up must be able to be done safely without leaning way over the back. The outboard can likewise be removed if safe to do so.

 

20.14 and 20.16

Sea cocks and plugs

19.03 (b) (c) (f)

Charts, plotting equipment and manuals

 

No issue with any of these

 

22.0 Sail Numbers and Name

 

22.1

Sail numbers and name on the hull

22.4

Identification on equipment

 

No issues but note the name and sail number can be anywhere on the hull which can be the stern

 

TRAILER YACHT

Many events include keelboats, multihulls and trailer yachts in the same fleet. These are the variations to the keelboat/multihull rules which shows the people writing them don’t talk to each other much. Some of these are quite significant

 

7.09

Washboards or effective waterproof covers are permissible for companionways

7.09

Fittings bow and stern suitable for towing are required

9.01

Yachts shall carry a fixed or portable ladder for getting from the water

9.03

The yachts name and number shall be on the side only

9.05

You must carry a boathook

9.06

You must carry a towline twice the boats length

10.3

Navigation lights shall be fitted to and operational on all yachts sailing after sunset

Nothing about permanent or wired

11.4

Only one fire extinguisher needs to be carried

12.4 (a)

Large orange flag required for waving

12.4 (f)

No flares older than 3 years are acceptable

13.1 and 13.2

An engine must be carried in an operation position and must be at least a quarter HP per foot.

[Deep Purple 530]

5 hours ago, 44forty said:

you will quickly find out your new boat is not phone friendly ! 

20 years of racing multihulls prepared me well for that

[Jon 407]

22.0 SAIL NUMBERS AND NAME
22.1 Yachts shall clearly display in legible characters at least 50mm but preferably 100mm in size, their registered name on the hull and YNZ sail number on the mainsail at least.
 

This was pointed out to me doing boat checks for the RNI as per the 2017/2020 Safety regs 

Name must be on hull, sail numbers on mainsail only, the guy that pointed it out also said we had sail numbers on hull in the NoR so he added to hull (lucky he owns a printing company)

So if not stated in NoR then not required on hull

[Deep Purple 530]

9 minutes ago, Jon said:

22.0 SAIL NUMBERS AND NAME
22.1 Yachts shall clearly display in legible characters at least 50mm but preferably 100mm in size, their registered name on the hull and YNZ sail number on the mainsail at least.
 

This was pointed out to me doing boat checks for the RNI as per the 2017/2020 Safety regs 

Name must be on hull, sail numbers on mainsail only, the guy that pointed it out also said we had sail numbers on hull in the NoR so he added to hull (lucky he owns a printing company)

So if not stated in NoR then not required on hull

Oops, true, good spotting. Trailer yacht however must have the number on the hull sides (9:03)

[Jon 407]

Is DP a trailer yacht or a keeler with lifting keel ?

or do you want to play both games ?

[Deep Purple 530]

It is registered as a keelboat so that is what I will gear it up for. Near-sister 44Forty is registered as a trailer yacht but I think is gearing up under keelboat rules as well

[splat 57]

most regional council Navigation bylaws require registered number on hull also not sure if being a member of a "recognised body" eg. YNZ  exempts this requirement

[Vorpal Blade 89]

3 hours ago, splat said:

most regional council Navigation bylaws require registered number on hull also not sure if being a member of a "recognised body" eg. YNZ  exempts this requirement

I thinks thats more to take up the jetski types that infest the place over summer.

 

[splat 57]

29 minutes ago, Vorpal Blade said:

I thinks thats more to take up the jetski types that infest the place over summer.

 

Maybe up north... north is not everywhere

[Ex Machina 390]

56 minutes ago, splat said:

Maybe up north... north is not everywhere

 

1 hour ago, Vorpal Blade said:

I thinks thats more to take up the jetski types that infest the place over summer.

 

Think splat is referring to your boat reg number as displayed on your sails . It’s also meant to be on your hull 

[Deep Purple 530]

14 minutes ago, 44forty said:

 

Think splat is referring to your boat reg number as displayed on your sails . It’s also meant to be on your hull 

Only if you're a trailer yacht. Keel boats don't have to

[Ex Machina 390]

16 minutes ago, Deep Purple said:

Only if you're a trailer yacht. Keel boats don't have to

Well that’s just discrimination 

[Jon 407]

Must have name on hull 

Jetskis have to be registered and have number visible 

[Deep Purple 530]

There's quite a few material differences between the keelboat and trailer yacht rules. They obviously don't sit in the same room when putting them together.

I suspect the keelboat guys push the limits a bit more and the trailer yacht guys are mainly a bunch of Noelex 25 owners trying to hold on to their line honours victories

[splat 57]

18 hours ago, Deep Purple said:

There's quite a few material differences between the keelboat and trailer yacht rules. They obviously don't sit in the same room when putting them together.

I suspect the keelboat guys push the limits a bit more and the trailer yacht guys are mainly a bunch of Noelex 25 owners trying to hold on to their line honours victories

Originally , the KORC committee had a NZTYA rep sit with them to align/or resolve/guide such perceived conflicts in the regs ( makes sense No?)  As I understand it this was done away with during the last review.  The NZTYA regs in places are onerous and archaic in my IMHO particularly with respect to the faster TY's ; and especially more recent additions such as DP and FForty.  Although as a Cat 3/ Cat 2 keelboat owner a number of the regs impose significant ongoing cost which are a clear barrier to entry and participation.