Can the C-250 be singlehanded

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

John

I am considering the C-250 swing keel and was wondering if this boat can be handled singlehanded. Thanks-
 
S

Skip

Any Boat can be Single Handed

Depending on your sailing experience any boat can be single handed. The best thing to do is to think it through then try it with your sailing mate just sitting there. Like the Boy Scouts. Be Prepaired!!! The most difficult things are those that require you to leave the cockpit (Sail raising and lowereing, Docking and undocking.) Think of things that will make this easier. How are your dock lines and bumpers rigged. For easy single handing they should be rigged so they stay on the dock and left in a manner that with one hand when docking your spring line is grabed and secured safely stopping the boat. Sails should be prepaired, uncovered, halyards attached sheets cleared and ready. It will take practice and patience but any boat can be single handed. Think safty as well. I knew a man that always single handed his 44 footer. sometimes even sailing into his dock. Good luck ... Necesity breds inginuity, keep trying. Skip "Kid Napper" Cat 27 I always sail single handed or with my two (3
 
G

Gary Clarke

swing Keel?

John, The C250 is not really a swing keel. The swing keel on the c25 is over 600 pounds. The centerboard on the C250 only weighs about 95 lbs, and it's purpose is not for ballast, but to essentailly keep the boat from slipping sideways, and creating an opposite force from the pressurized sail. This boat is a water ballast boat. When you launch you open valves that allow 1300 lbs of water into a ballast tank. When you pull the boat out, you open valves that allow the tasnk to empty. That way you don't have to haul all that ballast weight around....you leave it in the lake.
 
L

LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners

Yes

As Skip mentioned, be prepared. You might not want to singlehand it the first day you get it but with a little practice
 
M

Mark Melchior

I single-hand most of the time.

I own a C250 centerboard model. Like Gary says, the C250's board weighs less than 100 pounds. The C25's swing keel weighs more like 1500 pounds and requires a winch to raise and lower it. The C250 doesn't require a keel winch. Nine times out of ten, I am singlehanding my C250. Leaving the dock under power doesn't present any problems. I lower the centerboard on the way out of the marina. Raising the main is easy enough because the main's halyard is run to the cockpit. I usually stand in the companionway and raise it by hand; the winch is not needed. I keep the motor running in gear at just a bit above idle to keep me pointed into the wind while the main goes up. Once the main is raised, I kill the outboard and raise it out of the water. While steering from in front of the wheel steering pedestal, I unfurl the jib. While underway (sailing), I usually sit on the coaming abeam the steering pedestal. Since I went to a 30" wheel, if I sit in the cockpit, I usually sit in front of the wheel. You need to be able to quickly access the cabintop winches during a tack or just to trim the jib. I sit behind the wheel only on long downwind runs or while under power. Furling the jib and lowering the main is just as easy. Reefing in heavy wind may be the only difficulty. Make sure you reef early if the wind is expected to build. I motor back into my slip without worry. Rotating the outboard in addition to using the rudder will allow you to make much tighter turns. My slip is only 10' wide. My boat is 8.5' wide. Not much room to miss in a crossing wind. The only time I'm worried is when I have a strong following wind and have to turn into the slip. There is only about 30 feet between my dock and the adjoining dock . . . so the turn has to be quick and accurate. Larger boats with inboards can turn on a dime. Our smaller "stern driven" boats are less nimble in tight spots.
 
L

Larry W.

Singlehanded

Any boat can be single handed, if you know what you're doing. If you don't, all the crew in the world won't help you.
 
C

Chris Hyland

Singlehanding sailboats

John, I knew a 60 year old woman who singlehanded a C42 from Boston to narragansett bay/Portsmouth RI. Experience is the key. Regards, Chris
 
Status
Not open for further replies.