@Charlie Jones s/v Tehani on solo sailing at the helm. I did that for a couple of seasons after I bought my boat. Sitting in the cockpit you get pretty good and steering with you foot on the wheel. Then I bought the AP and after the install in made solo sailing for more than 5 hours a more pleasant experience. I can step down in the cabin and take a moment with out the fear that the boat is going to go off on a wrong direction. You point and it goes.
A jib downhaul takes a lot of stress out of single handing with a hank on jib and it is cheap!
OH Yes-I would never have tried the gulf crossing without one- 32 hours offshore, sleeping in 20 minute stretches. I have a tiller pilot on both my boats. Long distance it's the only way to go,
It is now an essential tool while single handed sailing, on board. Can I go with out it ... yes. Do I want to? No. Not on a 35 foot boat.
Isn't it like that for everyone!?! The truth is that EVERY Captn in the gallery knows what will happen before it does. It's just mitigating and mitigating until all is secure.Reminds me of Slocum's account of his first time docking the Spray.
"The bay was feather-white as my little vessel tore in, smothered in foam. It was my first experience of coming into port alone, with a craft of any size, and in among shipping. Old fishermen ran down to the wharf for which the Spray was heading, apparently intent upon braining herself there. I hardly know how a calamity was averted, but with my heart in my mouth, almost, I let go the wheel, stepped quickly forward, and downed the jib. The sloop naturally rounded in the wind, and just ranging ahead, laid her cheek against a mooring-pile at the windward corner of the wharf, so quietly, after all, that she would not have broken an egg. Very leisurely I passed a rope around the post, and she was moored. Then a cheer went up from the little crowd on the wharf. "You couldn't 'a' done it better," cried an old skipper, "if you weighed a ton!" Now, my weight was rather less than the fifteenth part of a ton, but I said nothing, only putting on a look of careless indifference to say for me, "Oh, that 's nothing"; for some of the ablest sailors in the world were looking at me, and my wish was not to appear green, for I had a mind to stay in Gloucester several days. Had I uttered a word it surely would have betrayed me, for I was still quite nervous and short of breath."
That is NOT a topping lift- that's a dangerous cheapie way to hold up a boom. When I was working with the sailboat shop, we cut those off any used boat, and rigged a proper topping lift. They are dangerous when single handing. Here's a reason. Sailing a san Juan 21, forgot to unclip the wire. Wind gusted, caught me abeam and before i could do anything,water was coming over the coaming. COULD NOT uncliip the stupid thing and let the main sheet run.
Secure the main to the boom with bungies, sail ties or short pieces of line. When you're ready, you undo them. If I'm in high winds I'll often pull on the halyard, remove one, pull some more, remove the next, etc. Keeps things from flapping around to a degree. I prefer to have a little bit of wind on the sails instead of being totally in irons. It keeps the boom and sail from flapping around. If there's enough free space around the boat I can pull the main up in most conditions regardless of the wind direction. You of course dont want your boat to start healing as soon as you pull it up. Don't forget to keep your outboard running in neutral while raising the main.
