Rookie education

[CapnGL]

Don't laugh... Posting for other newbies...

So I was advised to sail with one sail to see how the boat will react.... Then sail with the other single sail...... I did this and almost got into trouble. If I hadn't had a motor it would have been sad. So I only put up the forsail and motor out into the bay....., of course the boat really wouldn't street as it more or less just pivoted around the dagger board..... Once I used the motor to get some speed and got a decent sail shape we were able to sail but taking and turning around to the use of the motor...... No more single head sail for me....I would assume tho that a single mainsail would work much better.... Lesson from a rookie.
Cheers

 

[Meriachee]

A 26 will sail with either sail, but as I recall, I've never been on a boat that did it so badly. The only other scenario that is equally poor is trying to beat physics and sail it with an empty ballast tank.
Use it as designed, and enjoy what it does.

 

[justsomeguy]

No more single head sail for me....

Sorry to hear this. You'll be missing out on a lot of nice downwind experiences.

 

[CapnGL]

Ballast was full...

 

[CapnGL]

Didn't try down wind.....only close haul. So when I'm more competent I'll drop the main on a run and give it a whirl...

 

[montigre]

If you get caught in a hefty downwind blow, you may want to drop the main and sail with either a storm foresail or highly furled foresail to give the boat a little more stability. Can also furl the fore and go with a highly reefed main. Both ways can and do get the job done. ;-)

 

[CapnGL]

Thanks for the responses and advice... Even tho I'm struggling at times it's still a gas.

 

[BudGates]

Once I used the motor to get some speed and got a decent sail shape we were able to sail

Instead of trying to get your speed up with the outboard start from a beam reach and turn down wind to a broad reach until you get moving. You should then be able to slowly head up as you gain speed.

If tacking is a problem try gybing. Just be careful to perform your gybes properly.

 

[walt]

Also.. keep in mind the forces going on. The underwater shape and foils create a underwater center of effort. If the sails push (or pull) is in front of that underwater CE, the boat will tend to turn downwind. If the sails push is behind that underwater CE, the boat will tend to turn upwind. You are of course countering this tendency with the angle changes to the rudder so that you can go in the direction you want. The rudder of course has to have water flow past it in order to create the force to balance things (boat must be moving).

But consider what those different sail configurations do. Jib only move the sail CE way forward which would tend to want to push the boat downwind and this is called a "lee helm" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_helm

With the main sail up only, you have moved the sail CE way back and now the tendency is for the boat to head up into the wind. This is called a "Weather helm".

You can of course sail with either the jib only or the main sail only because you can counter the offset force with the rudder - but you are working the rudder harder which generates some drag. Lots of people sail with just the jib or just the main all the time.. Generally not as fast but you can certainly do it. In higher winds, you can run into some additional problems when you have the large imbalance from using only one sail. You want some weather helm (sail CE slightly behind the boats underwater CE) so that if things get hairy from a wind gust, the rudder stalls and the boat will safely round up into the wind. Scares you.. but its safe. If you sail on the main only, you have the sail CE max backwards and the boat has a higher tendency for this roundup.. Very annoying.. but generally safe. However, with just the jib, and the sail CE moved way forward, boat is not as good at self correcting for dumb things you are doing and you are more likely to have a knockdown or other not so safe things. Good news is your boat (26D) is very tolerant of knockdowns by design.

 

[CapnGL]

Lots of helpful info... I did learn a lot so the bottom line is it was successful outing. We stepped the mast, launched, and reloaded the boat faster than last time....so there is visible progress....

cheers

 

[JennyLove]

Run jib only and practice letting it out 30% until you get more comfortable, start beam and turn broad then she will start talking too you.

 

[Meriachee]

Careful with that. The 26 can be a very odd ride without the main to balance things out.

 

[Knuttle]

You will never get the speed with one sail as with two, because as said above it is a matter of balance. I would recommend that you get and STUDY a good book on basic sailing.
Here is the first of several videos on the basic of sailing

There are several videos.
One other things you loose with one sail on a boat like the Mac is the effect that jib has on the main. As the wind speeds up passing between the jib and the main, the main produces increase lift, or forward motion.
Lastly I would recommend that you forget you have an outboard motor and learn to sail the boat with the SAILS. Not counting the people who race, I could always tell if the person in the other boat depended on his sails or his motor. I could walk all over those that depended on their motor. It was fun overtaking them. When they did not know how to adjust their sails for maximum speed, they would change course, start their engines, and pretend they were going else where.