Inversion test

It has been awhile since my last post, but I had not done anything significant in the past weeks. I have taken the boat to the local lake for some sailing and swimming, but nothing worth reporting. I now have the opportunity to do some longer trips in the next few weeks and realize that I have never dumped then rescued the boat. So, yesterday after a nice rowing session, I put on my old paddling wet suit and did it! I first emptied the boat of everything, tied an empty four litre jug to the top of the mast then, while in the water, pulled on the halliard until the boat came over. I saw the mast would have kept on going under water, so I was glad I had tied on the jug as well as tied the mast to the boat. I was able to walk away from the boat and grab my camera for the above shots too. It took no effort at all to push the mast back into the air and once it was clear of the water, the boat righted itself. The water in the boat was not up to the top of the benches. I pulled the boat over again, but noticed it took more effort to pull it over when it was full of water. Curious. I thought it would be less stable. This time, I righted the boat by pulling down on the exposed dagger-board. Hardly any effort needed again. Repeated the test with the dagger-board on the high-side of the upturned boat. I had to reach higher, but certainly not a problem.
Once the boat was carrying all that water, I pulled down on the gunnel and easily pulled myself over the side. With all my weight on the edge, I still could not pull the gunnel under water, but it came low enough to allow me to pull myself into the boat. I could sit on one side of the swamped boat and still have a few inches of freeboard. The boat holds a lot of water and would have been impossible to empty with my kayak pump, so I used a bucket.
I dragged the boat onto the beach and opened the hatches to the water-tight tanks. I was very disappointed to see how much water had seeped into every one. I brought it home and have it hanging one its side. I used the garden hose to fill the tanks and could see the water on its way out. Today I shall seal with epoxy the few areas and the funny corners that I missed before.