Nope. It doesn't work like that. You would think it would, but it doesn't.
We had a dismasting on the bay (one of my students). It was caused by a
hairline crack. They were pounding up to the Golden Gate area from Alcatraz
on a typical 20-25 knot day in 3-4 foot chop. After the mast came down, the
boat was almost uncontrollable as it drifted back down hill. Finally, after
they cut away the mast, they were able to motor back to the slip, and
according to the crew who we interviewed, it was the worst part of the trip.
The boat was so unstable a couple of people got sea sick.

You said it yourself in your final paragraph... that is the definition of
instability.

In addition, if the conditions are bad enough to roll a boat, the mast would
act as a break when it goes into the water. This would actually slow the
roll effect.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"News f2s" wrote in message
...

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...

The boat becomes very much more stable, giving it an extremely rapid
natural rocking motion. If this is sparked off by waves, the boat is all
but untenable.

I think you mean "because more *unstable*" right? I'm not sure what would
have been worse... a washing machine with sharp objects or just an empty
washing machine with soft sides. I think I'd like to avoid both!

No, I meant stable! Take the top weight of the mast off, and the centre of
gravity of the boat drops down, so the righting moment goes up.

Add to that the fact that the mast's inertia has gone, and the boat now
reacts very much more quickly to any disturbance - then rolls back and
forth, one cycle every couple of seconds.

JimB