Angle of heel

[Danny Arditti]

I'm a new sailor and I'm doing pretty well. I have a swing keel Catalina and sometime I get outside with 15 to 25 knots.Is any risk the boat heeling more than 30 grades?I'm afraid with the possibility of capsize.Thanks

 

[Campy]

Angle of heeling over

"Don't go that far over, your boat will slow down and you'll loose rudder control. Slack off on the main sheet and adjust your head sails to allow no more than 20 degrees of heel."That's what I tell my girls and they don't believe me either! I've had my 33 past 30 degrees over in about 30+ knots of wind, sailing was very exciting for me, not for my wife. IF YOU ARE STUPID ENOUGH TO BE OUT IN THAT KIND OF WEATHER, REMEMBER TO LOCK YOUR LAZARETTES (SEAT LOCKERS) IN THE COCKPIT CLOSED AND KEEP AT LEAST TWO HATCHBOARDS IN! If you do get knocked over you won't ship to much water in and create an irreversible condition.Please reef early or stay home!Campy

 

[tomD]

go to the rail

Have raced my C-22 with full sailplan in 25-30 knot winds and have "lost it" a couple of times: specifically there was so much pressure on the mainsheet cleat that I could not release it (close-hauled). what happened next: the C-22 laid over hard and then rounded up to wind. We were standing on the inside of the cockpit seats, hanging onto the high side. We shipped about 2 cups of water. Sailing oversailed is fine when racing with a crew that's alert and experienced. You find out that the C-22 is pretty forgiving of idiots and cowboys.Good seamanship would suggest you put in a reef on the main at about 15 knots of wind with a 110 jib, that will take you to about 25 knots, then lower the jib and sail reefed main only to 30 knots. This presumes just waves but no seas. While we did drive the hull to 7.6 knots instead of 5.8 hull speed, we did it with a huge strain on the rigging and reduced safety for the crew for little ultimate gain in speed--since our broaches took time to recover from and overall we got a third out of the race.Not reducing sail area with increasing winds is the main factor for unhappy crew and passengers--save it for the race with a cowboy crew.

 

[Dan]

Technique

Other things to worry about in heavy air: Swing keel lodges back inside trunk when heeled too far; chain plates pull from bulkhead; your sail gets torn; etc. Learn to depower by easing the main, reefing, etc. Mainly, though, at that much heel, your boat is performing poorly and in danger of equipment failure long before she'll capsize. I'm all for you sailing in heavy air, just don't fall in love with the excitement of heeling. It slows you down.