A brisk sail
- Thread starter Dennis Kitchen
- Start date
Thanks for the video. I was in a similar wind last weekend-white caps, 1-2 foot waves on inland lake. This is my first sailboat, first summer, so Im still pretty much a newb. I tried going into the wind with just the jib, but she was so unbalanced I could barely make any headway upwind. Just kept going perpendicular pretty much. I didnt try reefing the jib, which I should have tried. Ive got a roller setup.
As for using the main in such winds- I did it once about a month ago. Yes, it was reefed, and a challenge. But it was a huge chore reefing the sail in such winds, and then later trying to get it down and securely tied up when I was done. In such winds, I found it pretty hard to even keep the boat in a straight line into the wind while it was being reefed or secured.
Any tips for reefing and taking down the main in a good wind?
As for using the main in such winds- I did it once about a month ago. Yes, it was reefed, and a challenge. But it was a huge chore reefing the sail in such winds, and then later trying to get it down and securely tied up when I was done. In such winds, I found it pretty hard to even keep the boat in a straight line into the wind while it was being reefed or secured.
Any tips for reefing and taking down the main in a good wind?
Really you have to have crew or an autopilot and understand their limitations. Always be prepared to "hang on". I was very cautious to not let out much jib to begin with as it is tough to furl in high wind without letting it luff which this new heavy 110 jib is powerful and wants to shake the whole front end off the boat. Because the jib was sized right I can heave-to while reefing or striking the main. Get too much sail out in these conditions and you'll be trying to wrangle it with the boat on it's side and flogging canvas. Waiting too late to reef makes it difficult to dangerous. Actually on this day I left the dock with the reef already in the main.
Dennis
If confronted and sailing, head into the wind and douse the main while furling the jib in while under motor if possible At this point I will defer to others what thy think is best
Good tips. I need to try reefing the jib and going hove-to while working the main next time. Sounds more stable.
Same here. We heave to under the jib to reef the main, and we heave to under the main to hank on a different headsail.
Since there are two of us and we have an autopilot, we COULD reef under way, but we find heaving to is much safer and easier. We can take our time, get everything tidy, calm down and strategize before getting back under way.
Good points. I find that the 23.5 doesn't always heave to well under main alone. If all else fails as CD states motor into the wind while reefing just like your were setting initially. This keeps the boom in for making the reefing line adjustments easier with no load on the sail.
Dennis
Dennis
Please understand, I meant no offense. I was hoping to convey those words as mine by including them in the square brackets within the quote. I was just attempting to add a finer point to your quote merely to emphasize that the author of the post (from last year I believe) was proposing a feat far outside the design limits of the H23.5. You, kind sir, are always the polite gentleman and I will strike that remark immediately and beg forgiveness.
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We used to remark that the Mac would go 10 degrees, -right now- and then start to dig in. This was not so much to highlight the fact that the boat has a water ballast, but to remind ourselves that anything not nailed down was a candidate for lake fodder, or a wall ornament on the opposite side. This is not to take anything at all away from the design. In a lot of respects, this is a good design, as evidenced by the fact that there are so many.