Heaving To on an H216

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Ranger Paul

Anybody had any luck getting the H216 to heave to? Every time I try it, it starts to heave to then the bow blows downwind. I tack till the jib backwinds, release the main sheet, try to get the boat to slow way down, lock the tiller to the leeward side...and the bow gradually drops downwind and it take off.
 
T

Tom H

Main trim

It sounds like you need to keep the main sheeted in, the boat will slow down and the main will keep the boat from falling off and heading down wind. It ends up being a balance of the main driving the boat until the backed jib stalls the boat, the bow falls off the wind and the main drives the boat forward and the process repeats. Good Luck
 
P

paul

another idea

Another approach: Head c. 60 degrees off the wind (experiment). Let the jib fly. Let the main out so it is almost parallel to the wind, just barely filling in puffs (experiment). Fix the tiller probably a little to leeward of midships(experiment). The boat will kind of sit in the wind, might move forward a bit, but will more or less hold steady. Adjust the main to get as much or little forward movement as you want. Heaving-to with backed jib and all works for traditional boats with full keels. This is the "modern" version. It's also what dinghy racers do to hold a spot on the line or set a mark trap.
 
Jul 20, 2005
2,422
Whitby 55 Kemah, Tx
Tom H got it right

You are missing the main fighting the jib. I just want to add one thing. Before you complete the tack, kind of sit on the 30 degrees and feather the boat so it will slow down to about 2 knots or less before you backwind the jib. This is also a great time to tighten the jib sheet. You want the jib as tight as possible before backwinding it. Why...because it's very hard on most boats to tighten the jib once you've backwinded it and with fin keel boats, it takes some playing with the sails to get it perfectly heave-to. What paul says I'm sure will work but I hate the sound (and the thought) of my jib flapping in the wind like that. I also don't think it would hold up much against strong waves but I don't think you've got to worry about that. I prefer a traditional heave-to...it just takes a little more work with a fin keel boat.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.