Thanks to all you 170'ers, and Tereza. I can now put my 170 in the hove-to position with ease. I practiced heaving-to yesterday since I figured it's something I need to know how to do. Everyone here posting about their heaving-to experiences was very helpful. That probably kept me from doing it the wrong way. Really though, it was just as simple as described in the books from which I've learned. It turns out that my hiking stick will wedge into my battery box/drink holder perfectly, keeping the tiller to leeward. I sat for better than 30 minutes hove-to, watching a sailboat race and eating my lunch on the bay yesterday near Johnson's Island. The 170 is much more stable in the hove-to position too. I would have been bobbing all over the place if I had dropped sails to eat lunch. I had such a good time sailing yesterday that I walked up to West Marine and bought a new sailing hat. Yahoooo!JerryA