How Far Do You Heel....?

dparilla · Jun 3, 2012

My 35 has a sweet spot at 12 degrees. Sails beautifully up to 15 degrees in 20 knots. If I go too far above 18, it is time to reef. I have burried the rail in 30 knots though, and loved it.

Ymmv.
Dan

Sail123 · Jun 3, 2012

I heal heal and heal more, till my wife lets out a little scream, than I back off a little and settle in. My wife is my heal meter. lol

Ross · Jun 3, 2012

I have had the lee shrouds go slack and not buried the lee rail. I have a fixed full keel moderate displacement boat.

whatfiero · Jun 4, 2012

how far do you heel

Push it till round up then you'll know where that is ya might want to do it with only yourself and a crazy bud on board and take everything out the boat it all falls in floor

Deleted member 78819 · Jun 4, 2012

Ten to fifteen. Hull speed on my H28 is right around there when the sails are trimmed correctly. Beyond 15 and she doesn't go any faster, just not as comfortably. Re-trim your sails, and let the traveler swing more to leeward and get her back on her feet. If that doesn't do it you have too much sail. Reef the main and/or furl some of the jib, or hank on a smaller jib. You don't want to scare the women and children... On the other hand, riding out a gust with the rail in the water can be exhilarating.

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Jun 4, 2012

Most boats are designed to perform best at around 10-15 degrees. They are also designed to round up (turn into the wind and stall) before they will go over and capsize.

Our C&C had moderate freeboard and we buried the rail up to the windows all the time. That would be about 25-30 degrees. Rounding up would be at about 35-40 degrees.

On our Catalina we have only had the rail touch once so far. That was at about 30 degrees. This boat has much more freeboard. Also it locks on at around 15-20 degrees as opposed to 10-15 degrees in the C&C.

Best thing I can recommend is to find some friends that are more experienced and comfortable with sailboats. Go for a sail with them and let your family see how comfortable they are with healing.

Benny17441 · Jun 4, 2012

I guess our threshold comes at 20 degrees. Anything beyond that actually hinders speed.

DannyS · Jun 4, 2012

I've learned that if I can keep the boat around 10*, everyone onboard stays happy, and that's the most important thing to keeping our family out on the water and not in the marina. The boat can go much farther than that but I've found a sail combination that works really well for us, is not the "norm", but keeps us sailing flat and fast. Excessive heeling is fun with the right crew and gives the adrenaline rush of skydiving but does nothing for speed and, I think, stresses the boat with no gain.

zeehag · Jun 4, 2012

my ericson 35 sails well at 15 degrees , my formosa likes around 5 degrees to 10 max--she was clocked at 8.4kts in 60 kt breeze at 5 degrees heel.......awesome fun!! onlyhad my jib n mizzen up, both reefed.....but each hull type is different--cannot go by veryone elses ability to sail on their ears--some boats dont like that.

RobertLangdirect · Jun 4, 2012

I never go more than 5 degrees . . .

lnikl · Jun 4, 2012

On my Hunter 34, I find it seems to sail best under 20 degrees of heal. At 20 degrees of heal, my wife's fingertips begin to curl like talons holding on. This is my indicator that it is time to ease the traveler or reduce sail. The boat is happier at or below this angle (10-15 it is even happier). Seems that I don't lose speed (or willing crew) if I reef/trim to keep it under 20, and preferably not more than 15. Other H34 owners seem to agree that this boat should be reefed at 17 kts of wind, which roughly seems to correspond to the angle of heel noted above.
As one of the posters noted above, each boat is different. Therefore, I recommend looking at the angle of curl in your wife's fingertips, this being easily the most direct and low cost measure of your sailing enjoyment.

BobM · Jun 4, 2012

It really is a requirement to brief anyone who comes aboard on what to expect and where the radio and life jackets are and that they have a responsibility to maintain a lookout and not to assume I have seen what they see. While sailing I often explain the maneuver I am about to perform before doing so which I find increases confidence aboard.

An excerpt from my briefing is: "The boat will heel, but do not be concerned as there a quantity of lead equivalent to the weight of your car attached to the bottom of the boat. The worse thing that can happen is that the boat will round up into the wind and end up sitting flat in the water. I have the mainsheet. It is the gas pedal. Whenever we are heeling I can easily reduce the heel if you get uncomfortable." I make a point of demonstrating that control early in the trip.

The other think I include is a statement that they need to understand that I may at some point need them to take orders to ensure their safety and that I will need their compliance with those orders. Unfortunately this last one works better with strangers than with my Wife...her automatic reaction is to question whatever I am saying...which makes her lousy crew. At least she didn't complain that time the boom hit her in the head...I told her to duck LOL. At least it was on a Rhodes 19 and not our 30 footer.
The best piece of advice I got was to put my Wife at the helm. It provides control and hence a feeling of security, while I do all the sail handing and course planning.

Just one more word of advice...when getting used to a new style of boat I suggest you take some of your more adventurous friends and avoid family members and non-sailors. You are still getting used to the boat and don't have a repository of knowledge to fall back on. I had some sailing experience, but the first year we had our own boat was tough. My Wife pretty much took the second year off after the first year. The third year she was amazed at how calm and collected I was in comparison to year 1.

A big difference is that I had not trouble single handing the boat by then. Not having to rely on inexperienced crew makes a big difference. Even with slightly experienced crew aboard I still tend to single hand with the exception of letting them take the helm. I am always surprised at how well most people take to it. Of course you do run into a few that are problematic...my friend with ADHD can't hold a course very well for example. Marvin...steer for the lighthouse...Marvin...the lighthouse...Marvin...

Scott T-Bird · Jun 4, 2012

Robert, your avatar shows far more than 15. I have found that our boat is going to round-up well before it lays over too much. Speed increases on our boat up to about 25 (when sailing up-wind). 15 to 20 is perfectly comfortable, but we sail in flat water ... I admit that sailing on Lake Superior will make a difference and 15 may be more comfortable, considering how indimidating a big lake with frigid water is. Over 30 and I can't control the way the boat rounds-up very well, but water is nowhere near the rail even at 30. I've found that when the boat rounds up into the wind when it is really blowing, the noise and mayhem from flogging sails is far more intimidating than the amount of heel prior to rounding up. The best thing to keep in mind is managing the amount of sail you have up for the conditions so that you aren't scaring the crap out of your family because you are over-canvased. When the boat is sailing in control, some excessive heeling isn't really all that intimidating when everybody understands that the situation is under control.

Of course, sailing downwind with a lot of apparent wind is fastest, and the boat is flat ...

dph123 · Jun 4, 2012

My crew this weekend experienced their first big heel. My 8 year old boy got scared. My 5 year old daughter told him to "be a man!"

Ray Bowles · Jun 4, 2012

My boat starts bleeding off speed if healed more that 14 degrees and is in the zone between 10 and 12 degrees.
Ray

Charlie Jones s/v Tehani · Jun 4, 2012

My 25 sloop sails very nicely at 15-20 degrees, and hits that 20 degrees in very little wind. Rail goes down at 35 degrees, and my wife will happily sail like that, all day long. Full keel, wine glass hull, long over hangs

My 21 foot trailer boat however, likes 10-15 much better. Tubbier boat, beamier with less shape, shorter overhangs, fixed fin type keel.

Different boats, different heeling. Your 26 will react very differently from some of the larger, or smaller boats here.

twistedline · Jun 4, 2012

I try not to heel too much but sometimes its hard not to. I try and flatten the sails (outhall, backstay, travelers etc) to reduce power, if that doesn't work I add a reef.

All my friends are non sailors so for new crew I preemptively tell them that keel boats heel over but also can't capsize. I exaggerate a little and they usually get a nice surprise when we get sailing.

I think its important for the skipper is to just keep cool, if only in appearance. When we get a sudden gust I usually just talk though exactly what's happening and what's going to happen.

How Far Do You Heel....?

Squidd

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dparilla

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Sail123

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Ross

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Squidd

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whatfiero

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Deleted member 78819

JK_Boston_Catalina310

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Benny17441

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DannyS

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Squidd

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zeehag

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RobertLangdirect

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lnikl

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BobM

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Scott T-Bird

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dph123

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Ray Bowles

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Charlie Jones s/v Tehani

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twistedline

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