Conference unifix::sailing

re: .0

      The sling shot cited above can usually be found by mail order in
      most glossy sail magazines by the name of A.P.Y.C. or Anti Pirate
      Yacht Cannon. It is a sling made from surgical rubber that attaches
      between the forestay and mast/shrouds etc. It comes in several
      sizes, to allow for differences in the J dimension.

      If you want I'll go try to find an ad for it.

      /jim    

    That contraption is called a "funnelator".  We used to use them on
    other sailboats all the time, then graduated to using them on the
    neighbors, close friends only (-;.  I didn't know you could BUY one,
    though.  Haven't shot one in years now.
    
    The ones we used consisted of a very large funnel to which were
    connected two lengths of surgical tubing, each about 6' long.  It
    takes a VERY strong person to pull the funnel back and two more
    to hold the ends of the tubing.  Result:  You can shoot a water
    balloon 300 yards with an amazing degree of accuracy!  If you're
    in the middle of a bunch of boats, the balloon goes so far that
    the victims have NO IDEA where it came from.  It never occurs to
    them to suspect a boat so far away.
    
    Believe me, the things are really fun.  But I wouldn't spend the money
    to buy one unless they're awfully cheap.  I don't believe I've ever
    paid more than $5 for the ingredients to make one. 
    
    						Pat

    The classified of Yachting has several "cannons" ads.  I wonder
    if this would be an approved tactic at Newport?
    
    JDS
    

       Winger Sports Ltd.
       1306 W. Cty Rd. F., Suite 110
       Arden Hills, Mn. 55112
    
       612-633-4016

Re .2:

I got my batchelor's degree at Stevens Institute of Technology, on the
Hudson River in Hoboken, NJ.  Someone told me that once a Russian ship
was spotted in the river, and that a 7 man funnelator team on Castle
Point managed to hit it with an egg on the second try.
				/AHM

    They really do exist!!
    
    I saw one in use yesterday, just south of the Long Island bridge.
    The crew of an 18-20' open cockpit daysailer was attacking a 30'
    sloop. They were using 6" blue rounds but fell way short on the
    two rounds we saw them get off. The rounds couldn't have traveled
    more than 100'. Biggest problem seemed to be that they didnt have
    a permanent mount. They had a person on each end and a third pulling
    the shotholder back. The third person was leaning back so far she
    almost fell out of the boat!! I think you need a very beamy boat
    to fire broadsides very far. 
    
    And I used to think the greatest danger in Boston Harbor was from
    poorly handled powerboats!!
    
    Ed

        Re: .-1
        
        Yes, they really do exist - I spent last Saturday night being
        shelled by the crew(s) of a four boat raft on Lake Champlain.
        
        It seems that we were anchored for the evening in a small cove
        and (through some very mysterious circumstances) we found
        ourselves to be possessed of a package of bottle rockets.
        Rather than risk carrying these devices back to land we decided
        to devise a launcher out of an empty beer can (which we somehow
        also had along).  Just about the time we exausted our supply of
        explosives I began noticing splashes in the water all around us
        and an occasional "Thump" against the hull.  This went on for
        thirty minutes or so during which time our assailants threatened
        to keep it up all night unless we joined their raft.  They
        eventualy tired of the game and sent over an emissary to repeat
        their invitation and offer any apologies that might be necessary.
        
        Before you rush out to buy one, however, you might consider what
        it would feel like to stop a water filled balloon with some part
        of your body.  Certain members of my college freshman class could
        put a water balloon through a window pane with just such a
        device.  It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the Coasties (and
        the courts) take a very dim view of this whole "game", provoked
        or otherwise.

    I was rafted up with another boat who was using one to shell a crew
    member that was out in a windsurfer.  They really go far, but the
    balloons themselves are special.  Ordinary balloons do not break
    all the time.  These are special thin-skin jobs that are "guaranteed"
    to break.
    
    Rick
    

Say you HAVE to wear glasses - almost blind without them.  Say you
get hit in the face with one of these balloons.  Your glasses will break,
or at least get knocked off your face and possibly over the side.  You
are now helpless.  You can't see to steer your boat, or drive your car
home.  Lawsuits come to mind.

    RE: .9    I HAVE to wear glasses. There are much more likely occurences
    on a sailboat which can remove them than a water balloon in the
    face.  A luffing headsail comes to mind.
    
    Most full time glasses wearers I know wear restraining straps of
    one sort or another.  Also, all prescription glasses must be
    shatterproof (as in plastic or safetyglass) as far as I know.
    
    Who ya gonna sue when the jibsheet slaps you, New England Ropes?

    Walt

      Associated Press Tue 21-OCT-1986 11:36                   
      BRF--Balloon Assault 

              Men Get Probation In Water Balloon Assault On Woman
      
      GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (AP) - Two men have been placed on nine months'
      probation for launching a water-filled balloon that knocked a woman
      down. Police said the men used a slingshot-style launcher to propel
      the balloon at 32-year-old Paula Wahr of Spring Lake during a
      festival Aug. 2. 

      The balloon launchers, which sell for about $25 at area stores, use
      surgical tubing and nylon material to propel water-filled balloons at
      high speeds and long distances. Several local merchants stopped
      selling the devices after reports of similar injuries. 

      Jeffrey H. Travis, 23, and James R. Krug, 24, both from the Grand
      Rapids suburb of Wyoming, pleaded no contest last month to aggravated
      assault charges. In additition to probation, District Judge Richard
      Kloote on Monday ordered each to perform 50 hours of community
      service and pay court costs and the woman's medical expenses. 

    I don't think I'd be too amused to have someone let one of these
    things loose at me or my boat;  without warning, I think it's called
    simple battery; with warning, I think it's called assault and battery.
    
    J

    I thought this discussion had died a peaceful death ... but now
    that jp reminds me:
    
    Wasn't it just a month or two ago that Soundings carried an article
    about a court case where couple of guys were found liable for damages
    incurred this very way?

    I'm super-sensitive to this issue which is why I haven't contributed
    before now. But...
    
    <FLAME ON>
    As someone who has had to live with 20/400 vision in one eye because
    of this type of prank when I was 12 I have little patience with any
    'rocket scientists' or 'rhodes scholars' out there who think this
    activity is fun.
    <FLAME OFF>
    John_R