Keeping Head to Wind When Dropping Sail

[DBthal]

It's been a bit quiet on the Trailer Sailor forum lately, so I've been browsing other sites.

I came across an interesting topic on the Com-pac forum about keeping a small sailboat headed into the wind when raising/lowering the mainsail.

https://cpyoa.com/forum/index.php?topic=12638.0

The following tip was included that was new to me.

You cannot view this attachment.

Sounds interesting. What do you think?

Dan

[Straander]

Huh. May be worth a try. Would need to let the mainsheets out a little so the boom has some actual arc to swing in..
"Works best if you have a motor" - I dont see how it would work at all without a motor. Especially if you're raising/lowering the main.

[pgandw]

Worth an experiment on most sloop-rigged trailer sailers - "heave to".  Put jib up, sheet jib tight to windward.  Tiller to leeward - I have a tiller clutch to hold it there.  Boat just sits there in most wind conditions, with a dead space behind jib to make hoisting/dousing main relatively simple.  No motor required.  Main sheet is loose to allow main to luff.

Works very well on my 19ft ODay (Stuart) Mariner.  Saved me from having to buy new halyards and route them to the cockpit for single handing.  I heave to, stand on the centerboard trunk with the hatch open so I can reach the mast.  Need a foot or two of centerboard to prevent sliding sideways (Mariner CB retracts fully into trunk).  I installed a jib downhaul to get jib down when I want to.

Heaving to gives me time to grab a beverage, get the motor going, tilt the motor up, etc.

Not saying all sloops can do this, but many can.  Nothing to lose by trying it out.

Fred W
Stuart Mariner 19 #4133  Sweet P
Yeopim Creek, Albemarle Sound

[Brian N.]

Interesting. I'll give it a try in about 5 months!. Might require some MacGyver type attachments to boom end and tiller.

[Quantico Frank]

Fascinating. I cheat by using my tiller pilot and motor to keep me heading into the wind for raising or lowering the main.

[Riggerdood]

I'm with Fred, in that I almost always raise/lower the main while hove to. Occasionally I'll do it like Frank, while motoring with the autotiller on.

[Brian S]

I'm 100% on the www.wavefrontmarine.com Tiller Clutch. Easily allows you to fix the tiller in position so you can run around and do stuff, such as hoist the main, douse the main, etc. With balanced trim and the Tiller Clutch, I can even go below and throw together a sandwich. Engages or disengages with a light flick of the lever, but can also be slightly disengaged to adjust along the control line. I disagree with the illustrations showing routing of the control line like a W shape. The control line attaches in 2 points. The more acute the V shape of the line based on attachment point, the more slack the line will get as the tiller moves off the centerline. The more shallow the V, to the point where it attaches to the boat where the clutch position of the tiller might touch the coaming or attachment point at maximum arc, the less slack the control line will get. However, that attachment point would take up seating room in the cockpit. Most small boats I've seen such as my O'day, Precisions, Catalina 22s, can probably get by just cleating the control line to the stern quarter mooring cleats. One way to lessen slack in the control line is to add a length of stout bungie in line on one side of the control line, to give it some pre-load. Then when the line goes a little slack, the pre-load in the bungie takes up the slack. It should be a pretty robust bungie, or else the tiller and pull it off course on that side's tack.

I am 100% opposed to the Davis Tiller Tamer. It uses a knob to adjust a clamp on the control line, increasing or decreasing the friction. I found it to be WAY too fiddly.

[Bruce Mason]

Please note that Andre was talking about his catboats, he has a Horizon Cat and a Picnic Cat. No jib, heaving to is not an option.

Earlier in the CPYOA thread there's discussion on setting up the Tiller Clutch control line so it stays equally tensioned throughout the swing of the tiller.
https://cpyoa.com/forum/index.php?topic=12638.0

[DBthal]

It's good to see some discussion on the forum! 

As Bruce mentioned, I did find the quote in the catboat section of the Com-pac forum.  So, no jib for that crowd.

I've always used my Tiller Clutch (with bungie on each end of the line to keep the tension) while motoring into the wind to raise my mainsail. However, the very light 750 lb P-165 is super sensitive to weight shifts. When I make the slightest move towards the mast, my 190 lbs changes the balance on the boat and it starts turning. I've got to be quick.

It's funny how I can get into certain habits and not see the obvious. I heave to when reefing the main all the time. Never thought about heaving to when I want to fully raise or douse the mainsail. Makes perfect sense. I'll give it a try.......... In about five months.

I might also try the bungie boom to tiller trick, just out of curiosity.

Dan