Any Book Recommendations For Solo Sailing?

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Jun 3, 2004
418
Island Packet Island Packet 29 West River, MD
I'm looking for books about single handed sailing. Particularly about how to successfully single hand a boat for cruising for a few weeks. Techniques used. Gear. The do's and the don'ts. What works and what doesn't.

Any recommendations?

Thanks.
 
May 24, 2007
185
Beneteau 352 Milwaukee, WI
More info ... ?

Most books written about solo sailing cover sailors that have done circumnavigations.

Solo cruising ... Coastal, where you will anchor/dock every night or passages where you sail non-stop for days at a time. Size & type of boat will influence the equipment that you will need/want.

Where/when and aboard what type boat do you plan to sail?
 
Jan 10, 2009
590
PDQ 32 Deale, MD
I have cruised single handed (or with small children, which is a more difficult variation sometimes!) on several boats, and many of the details are boat-specific. Single handed day-sailing should iron much of it out. It will also help that the Chesapeake is a pretty straightforward venue. Often the trickiest part is docking between the pilings, if it is a marina in a tidal current; instead, consider anchoring out or tieing along side, either of which is easier for the single hander.

I liked Tristan Jones "One Hand for Yourself... ", but remember too that he is a bit of a story teller. Still, he has a lot of good sense.

The most important lesson when single handing is to plan and to be patient. For example, if you are going to dock, circle by the dock first, make a conservative plan, get all of the lines and fenders deployed while circling in a safe area, then procede. Know your limits; if the current is too much, bail-out and anchor somewhere safe. Marinas will often send line handlers if you ask, but don't rely on them too much; some are good and some are green. Always have an anchor ready to go when near a harbor; engines fail and when alone you need to be able to park, to sort things out.

The sailing itself is generally simple. Work out the navigation before you start. Be conservative with reefing and weather. Use a harness and jacklines.

There is also information posted to my blog (below) and much more, of course, in my book:
http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/search/label/Circumnavigation Guide Summary

The Chesapeake is great cruising ground for the singlehander; lots to see and generally straight forward. I'm sure you'll have a great time.
 
Jul 29, 2010
29
Irwin 25 NC
This is a great blog where the author tells of his sailing/boat building stories of a smaller John Welsford-designed Pathfinder 17' sailboat. I think he does a great job of both writing and photographing his adventures. He discusses gear, navigation, trip planning and sailing single handed quite a bit. Its a good blog to read over the next few weeks.

http://logofspartina.blogspot.com/

hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have.
 
Jun 2, 2004
5,802
Hunter 37-cutter, '79 41 23' 30"N 82 33' 20"W--------Huron, OH
I nearly always single-hand. And I have very few aids with the important exceptions of a good chartplotter and a wheel pilot. My windlass is manual and only the jib sheets and mainsheet are in the cockpit. Consequently I sail very conservatively, always aware of weather and anchoring in the best quiet holes, no wind and no currents.

Two other accessories are the furling jib(yankee) and lazy jacks. When my crew went home at Chesapeake City in the canal I spent time sailing alone in the upper Chesapeake and eventually to Annapolis. It was my first time in the bay and a great experience, there are so many deep creeks where you can anchor in complete safety and solitude. Sometimes alone is the best.
 
Nov 8, 2007
1,590
Hunter 27_75-84 Sandusky Harbor Marina, Ohio
Singlehanding

Excellent posts so far.

I would add:

- Leading lines aft to the cockpit so you can hoist and control sails from the cockpit.
- Butt-steering. We have a tiller, and I can steer the boat with my butt on the tiller while handling the lines and facing forward.
- Auto-pilot, or, at least, a tiller tamer. These allow you to leave the cockpit when you have to to get ready to anchor, or do some other business forward, or below.
- Heaving to. Learn to heave to. This works for a rest in rough weather. But it makes it very easy to reef the main if your reefing lines don't come back to the cockpit.
- Lazy jacks will lt you just drop the main and forget about it until you are anchored/tied to the dock.
- Learn to dock on a spring line. This will let you dock in most situations without any help. You can control the position of the stern with your rudder against the spring line until you are ready to hop ashore.

Try all this stuff day-sailing, and you will think of more. The bst advice so far is to plan ahead, and include contingency plans!
 

zeehag

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Mar 26, 2009
3,198
1976 formosa 41 yankee clipper santa barbara. ca.(not there)
tie onto the boat when doing stuff away from helm, and at helm-- whenever outside ..
i got accurate enough with my docking that i could grab both bow and sternh lines as i stepped off my ericson and tied with 2 spring lines to dock. loved watching old grouchy male types shock out as they watched-- LOL.
havent tried the formosa yet--should be interesting. wonder who i will be able to spear with my sprit.....:eek:
 

txjim

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Sep 4, 2007
154
Hunter 170 Grapevine Lake, TX
A must read before you head out...

http://www.amazon.com/Avoid-Huge-Sh...4336/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293050842&sr=8-1


Don't believe me? Be sure to check out the user reviews! One example...

"This is a must-read for anyone who encounter huge ships daily and do not want to get run over by them. I found this book extremely helpful. To this day, I have never been run over by a single huge ship!! "
(Sorry, I've been waiting for a chance to list this for a couple of weeks now... :D)
 

zeehag

.
Mar 26, 2009
3,198
1976 formosa 41 yankee clipper santa barbara. ca.(not there)
http://www.amazon.com/Avoid-Huge-Sh...4336/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293050842&sr=8-1


Don't believe me? Be sure to check out the user reviews! One example...

"This is a must-read for anyone who encounter huge ships daily and do not want to get run over by them. I found this book extremely helpful. To this day, I have never been run over by a single huge ship!! "
(Sorry, I've been waiting for a chance to list this for a couple of weeks now... :D)
rofl---perfect!!!! goood work!!
 
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