What a great sailing day it was here today!!! Weather's been so crummy, the days out this season have been few and far between. Hesitated today, cause they predicted almost no wind, and Sundays in July are normally super-crowded. Well, winds were the STEADIEST I have ever seen them on this notorious lake, and much stronger than predicted - I'd say 12-15knts. (I know, that's not much, but with my thankfully less-than-prodigious ballast, and single-handing, I decided to be safe, and also try out the new single-line reefing I installed. Was just perfect - as others have said, it feels very balanced, still moves GREAT, and gave me a strong sense of confidence. Sometimes had the jib just partially reefed too. Covered lots of ground (uh- lake?), explored some new areas. Not too crowded, and no real bozo motorboaters. Found some nice spots to beach her on a less crowded day. Found it interesting to experiment with the different points of sail with the reefing. One mistake I made was to not have the sail close enough to the boom, but I chose not to risk correcting it since I was by myself. It was only the difference of about 5". Just that since the boom is already so high, I would rather not have the coe even higher!! Practiced again heaving too - I love doing that!! Let's me tend to things (like pulling asian millefoil off the prop). Even with a fair amount of chop, and some changeability of the wind, was pretty stable!! No pics of today, but here is a shot of a different boat, different wind, different year, but same lake!!
Candlewood Lake today - new reefing installed
- Thread starter Tereza
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Heaving too ?
Hi Tereza, Can you explain this Heave Too for me. Ive seen a couple post where this term was used. Normally when I have to stop on the water I just go into the wind (irons) and let the sails out and let them flap, fix what I need to do and get going again. Glenn
Hi Tereza, Can you explain this Heave Too for me. Ive seen a couple post where this term was used. Normally when I have to stop on the water I just go into the wind (irons) and let the sails out and let them flap, fix what I need to do and get going again. Glenn
single line reefing?
Hi Tereza, Sounds like you had a blast sailing. I just came back from 6 days of sailing on Greers Ferry Lake - AR. Can you point me to the thread/info on how to install/use the single line reefing you implemented on your 146? I would like to do the same. I would like to depower on a "windy" day. Did you test your mast foaming yet? Terry
Hi Tereza, Sounds like you had a blast sailing. I just came back from 6 days of sailing on Greers Ferry Lake - AR. Can you point me to the thread/info on how to install/use the single line reefing you implemented on your 146? I would like to do the same. I would like to depower on a "windy" day. Did you test your mast foaming yet? Terry
How to heave to
It's easy! Basically, you tack, but leave the jib cleated...it will become backwinded, then push the tiller towards the main and lash it. (I use a bungee that doubles as my tiller tamer) That's it! Now you can reef the sails, go forward and dab on some extra sunscreen, unfoul the prop, or just relax!! I always like to watch it for several minutes, just to make sure all is cool. You might see the bow oscillate a few degrees. Of course, you probably have much steadier winds than I do. Much better than putting yourself in irons - less wear on the sails, and much more controlled. In fact, when it's too windy, my boat tends to get pushed off the wind - I can't keep her in irons for long. Must be cause when it's windy, there's also tons of high chop coming from weird directions. Here is a more thourough discussion: http://www.sailonline.com/seamanship/Heaving_to_man.html Glenn - another excuse to go sailing - "I gotta practice heaving to!"
It's easy! Basically, you tack, but leave the jib cleated...it will become backwinded, then push the tiller towards the main and lash it. (I use a bungee that doubles as my tiller tamer) That's it! Now you can reef the sails, go forward and dab on some extra sunscreen, unfoul the prop, or just relax!! I always like to watch it for several minutes, just to make sure all is cool. You might see the bow oscillate a few degrees. Of course, you probably have much steadier winds than I do. Much better than putting yourself in irons - less wear on the sails, and much more controlled. In fact, when it's too windy, my boat tends to get pushed off the wind - I can't keep her in irons for long. Must be cause when it's windy, there's also tons of high chop coming from weird directions. Here is a more thourough discussion: http://www.sailonline.com/seamanship/Heaving_to_man.html Glenn - another excuse to go sailing - "I gotta practice heaving to!"
Single-line reefing diagram coming soon
I will post the method soon. I started with what I found on the web, what Glenn sent me, and what an incredibly helfpul sailor at West Marine sketched out for me. He suggested a few simplifications which were very cool. Maybe I'll take pics too, and post them to the pix forum. I am traveling this week, so might take me a while!(No sailing, alas.
I will post the method soon. I started with what I found on the web, what Glenn sent me, and what an incredibly helfpul sailor at West Marine sketched out for me. He suggested a few simplifications which were very cool. Maybe I'll take pics too, and post them to the pix forum. I am traveling this week, so might take me a while!(No sailing, alas.
Got it done...and it works.
Tereza, Got it done! Glad to here you got your single reefing project completed. Sounds like it works well. It's wonderful how much more relaxing sailing can be on one of these little Hunters with a reef. I got out on Sunday too. Went over to the sandbar and anchored in about 3ft of water. I went swimming and floated around in the water for several hours. Very cool since the water was about 80 degrees. You should put your project in the photo area too. JerryA
Tereza, Got it done! Glad to here you got your single reefing project completed. Sounds like it works well. It's wonderful how much more relaxing sailing can be on one of these little Hunters with a reef. I got out on Sunday too. Went over to the sandbar and anchored in about 3ft of water. I went swimming and floated around in the water for several hours. Very cool since the water was about 80 degrees. You should put your project in the photo area too. JerryA
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