Today I had the O22 out, and when coming up a gust of wind pushed her way over. I am happy to say that the righting force kept it from tipping, although it certainly seemed like it was going to! A scary thing! I have a question, what do you fly when it is prone to gusts? I dropped the jib to give myself less sail area. What does everyone else do? Drop the jib or the main? It wasn't windy enough to reef in the main or anything, but it was gusty. I'm glad I got out of the water when I did. Fifteen minutes into getting her all taken down to trailer it back to where I store it, the winds kicked up to about fourty five miles an hour. It was tossing stones into the air from gravel driveways. I had a bird flying into the wind get blown backwards past me. Interesting time... Josh
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Steve Growcock
Hi Josh - response to buried rail
Hi Josh: Nothing like a gust to get the blood circulating again or to change your drawers!! What size foresail were you using? The general rule of thumb is to lower the main and sail with the jib. The jib provides most of the power. When sailing, my lovely wife gets a bit skittish when the boat starts to heel a bit. So on puffy days, I keep a hand on the mainsheet ready to dump the mainsail at any time. One particularly blowy day, I did reverse the sail drop and left the main up. The boat sailed just fine, not very exciting, but it was nice not having to sheet the jib over when tacking. Steve!
Hi Josh: Nothing like a gust to get the blood circulating again or to change your drawers!! What size foresail were you using? The general rule of thumb is to lower the main and sail with the jib. The jib provides most of the power. When sailing, my lovely wife gets a bit skittish when the boat starts to heel a bit. So on puffy days, I keep a hand on the mainsheet ready to dump the mainsail at any time. One particularly blowy day, I did reverse the sail drop and left the main up. The boat sailed just fine, not very exciting, but it was nice not having to sheet the jib over when tacking. Steve!
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proto57
I drop the jib
I drop the jib, and that works really well. The boat will still point and tack easily. I've heard the advice about keeping a foresail up, and dropping the jib... but I consider this dangerous, as it moves the center of effort forward, making the boat prone to broaching. And I've seen single-handers out there, foresail alone, struggling on a gusty day with there foresails. But the main alone is self tending, and also, easier to get to for dousing from the cockpit. Rich.
I drop the jib, and that works really well. The boat will still point and tack easily. I've heard the advice about keeping a foresail up, and dropping the jib... but I consider this dangerous, as it moves the center of effort forward, making the boat prone to broaching. And I've seen single-handers out there, foresail alone, struggling on a gusty day with there foresails. But the main alone is self tending, and also, easier to get to for dousing from the cockpit. Rich.
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Josh
Exactly...
With using the main, it's easier to let someone else (i.e. my brother) control the boat while I'm doing other things. The main is able to control itself, where the jib requires some skill. I'm sticking with the working jib right now for size, still learning and don't want to have too much sail to contend with! Josh
With using the main, it's easier to let someone else (i.e. my brother) control the boat while I'm doing other things. The main is able to control itself, where the jib requires some skill. I'm sticking with the working jib right now for size, still learning and don't want to have too much sail to contend with! Josh
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Stu Timm
Big Winds and Little Boats
Hi Josh; Been there, Done that! I was caught in a squall line gust front that layed me over on my starboard beam for an agonizingly long 10 seconds. In heavy winds, the boat (ODAY 22) can easily get overpowered even with a working jib, unless you have crew weight and a dedicated jib trimmer to balance things out. I sail solo, so I douse (furl actually) the jib when the winds get gusty. If the winds still persist, then releasing the main (as I did in the storm) will ease the strain on the boat. In moderate gusts with both the jib and main flying, I found that de-powereing the main helped keep the boat flat, HOWEVER - in most instances, I had to adjust the jib as well. The O'Day 22 is a light boat and has little mass and wetted area up forward. Most of the hull on the '22 is aft by the mainsail and cockpit. I found that sailing under main alone is OK, but leeway is noticable. I have a centerboard model and to keep on the layline, one needs hull speed! The main usually did not give me enough hull speed to stop the leeward slip. Hope this helps! Happy Sailing! Stu Timm "Karakahl" 1979 O'Day 22 CB Centerport, LI, NY
Hi Josh; Been there, Done that! I was caught in a squall line gust front that layed me over on my starboard beam for an agonizingly long 10 seconds. In heavy winds, the boat (ODAY 22) can easily get overpowered even with a working jib, unless you have crew weight and a dedicated jib trimmer to balance things out. I sail solo, so I douse (furl actually) the jib when the winds get gusty. If the winds still persist, then releasing the main (as I did in the storm) will ease the strain on the boat. In moderate gusts with both the jib and main flying, I found that de-powereing the main helped keep the boat flat, HOWEVER - in most instances, I had to adjust the jib as well. The O'Day 22 is a light boat and has little mass and wetted area up forward. Most of the hull on the '22 is aft by the mainsail and cockpit. I found that sailing under main alone is OK, but leeway is noticable. I have a centerboard model and to keep on the layline, one needs hull speed! The main usually did not give me enough hull speed to stop the leeward slip. Hope this helps! Happy Sailing! Stu Timm "Karakahl" 1979 O'Day 22 CB Centerport, LI, NY
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Jon Korda
For windy conditions, I keep the headsail!
I like to push my Oday 25 hard. I realize the 22 may not have as much ballast, but I fight the tiller less by keeping the headsail up and dropping the main in heavy wind. I do have a furler and adjust as needed. Interesting to see that some of the other replies liked to drop the jib.
I like to push my Oday 25 hard. I realize the 22 may not have as much ballast, but I fight the tiller less by keeping the headsail up and dropping the main in heavy wind. I do have a furler and adjust as needed. Interesting to see that some of the other replies liked to drop the jib.
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Josh
Jib vs. Main
I think the reason for dropping the jib in my case is that it's easier to handle the main then the jib, I'd wager others feel the same. I don't have a furler, so it's easier to control the main with just letting out the sheet or pulling it in. The jib requires me to release one sheet, jump to the other side, and tighten up the other. As I'm still learning I don't have it down to the point that I'm fast at it. I might try it with just the jib next time, but the main was enough for me that day! Definately thinking about doubling up the lifelines as well! Josh
I think the reason for dropping the jib in my case is that it's easier to handle the main then the jib, I'd wager others feel the same. I don't have a furler, so it's easier to control the main with just letting out the sheet or pulling it in. The jib requires me to release one sheet, jump to the other side, and tighten up the other. As I'm still learning I don't have it down to the point that I'm fast at it. I might try it with just the jib next time, but the main was enough for me that day! Definately thinking about doubling up the lifelines as well! Josh
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proto57
It's a safety issue
Jon was surprised that some would drop the jib... but I feel it is a safety issue. If you have only a headsail up, the boat will be un-balanced unsafely, with the CE (center of effort, or: the center of the area the wind acts on) foward of the CLR (the center of lateral resistance, or: the center of the area of the underwater profile, as seen from the side view). If you let go the tiller, where will the boat turn? The front will push off downwind, of course... and now you are broaching. But a safely un-balanced boat is one which will turn upwind with no-one at the controls. For this, you would need the CE aft of the CLR... and this means "main only". Of course the other reason has been discussed... the main is self-tending. Rich.
Jon was surprised that some would drop the jib... but I feel it is a safety issue. If you have only a headsail up, the boat will be un-balanced unsafely, with the CE (center of effort, or: the center of the area the wind acts on) foward of the CLR (the center of lateral resistance, or: the center of the area of the underwater profile, as seen from the side view). If you let go the tiller, where will the boat turn? The front will push off downwind, of course... and now you are broaching. But a safely un-balanced boat is one which will turn upwind with no-one at the controls. For this, you would need the CE aft of the CLR... and this means "main only". Of course the other reason has been discussed... the main is self-tending. Rich.
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Stu Timm
Single Handed Jib Tending
Hi Josh: In my 22, which I sail solo most of the time, I can tend the main and jib fairly decently. The main needs little work when tacking but the jib can be done with three hands! I am a former Laser sailor and the teeth come in handy when tacking! What I do on the O'day 22 is after tacking, I set up two turns of line (jibsheet) on the lee side winch (the one just used on the previous tack). That way when I tack again, all I have to do is pull the jib sheet in and add a turn if needed. I then do the same for the other winch, always leaving the sheet ready at the winch. I also use my knee to kind of guide the tiller around as I an tacking while my attention is on the headsail and the windex. I am still trying to perfect the maneuver some and I've got a long way to go! Unless your reach is short, you should be able to tack the boat from the seated position without having to get up and shift during the middle of the maneuver. I guess it all comes down to personal styles. Happy Sailing! Stu Timm "Karakahl" 1979 O'Day 22 CB Centerport, Long Island
Hi Josh: In my 22, which I sail solo most of the time, I can tend the main and jib fairly decently. The main needs little work when tacking but the jib can be done with three hands! I am a former Laser sailor and the teeth come in handy when tacking! What I do on the O'day 22 is after tacking, I set up two turns of line (jibsheet) on the lee side winch (the one just used on the previous tack). That way when I tack again, all I have to do is pull the jib sheet in and add a turn if needed. I then do the same for the other winch, always leaving the sheet ready at the winch. I also use my knee to kind of guide the tiller around as I an tacking while my attention is on the headsail and the windex. I am still trying to perfect the maneuver some and I've got a long way to go! Unless your reach is short, you should be able to tack the boat from the seated position without having to get up and shift during the middle of the maneuver. I guess it all comes down to personal styles. Happy Sailing! Stu Timm "Karakahl" 1979 O'Day 22 CB Centerport, Long Island
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