How much heal and what color sheets?

CloudDiver · Jul 17, 2016

I wouldn't say there is any 'standard' color scheme, most people come up with their own. I used Red/Green but that doesn't always mean port/starboard. My mainsail sheet is green 3/8 on the tackle, and my main halyard is also green 5/16", but a different type line/patten of green. I use red 5/16 for the Jib halyard, and the red 3/8 (again different pattern) for the headsail sheet. My boom-vang line is black, and then the back-stay adjuster is the same black Sta-Set line. For other utility lines like reefing, boom down-haul, Cunningham, etc, I have a bunch of 1/4" blue Sta-Set. All of my lines are mostly solid color patterns, no white lines! I loathe white lines of any type, they get dirty fast. I guess the most important thing is to be able to identify what you have and where you have it rigged with whatever method works for you. My method just puts things in general categories by color and size, and no two lines of the same color/size are ever right next to each other to avoid confusion.

For heeling... I couldn't tell ya. I'm still finishing up my resto and my boat sits pretty level on the trailer!

CloudDiver · Jul 17, 2016

BTW... If you are only getting a new Foresail sheet, you could do Red for Port and Green for Starboard by using two separate lines of about 35 feet each, eye splice the ends and attach to the sail with soft shackles. My headsail sheet is 70 feet total, and I will probably tie a knot in the middle and soft shackle it to the clew. Some people prefer using separate halves because if you ever got it fouled up you could possibly only need to replace half of it instead of the whole thing. It would be neat to see it red/green!

dzl · Jul 17, 2016

I'm very new to the c-22 also so I don't know how much is considered too much heel though. I've had mine a ways past 30 degrees though. Simply letting out your main sheet will reduce the heel. Learn to watch the water, you can usually see the puffs coming over the water and have your main sheet in your hand and let it out as soon as it hits to reduce the excitement. I seldom let out the headsail sheet.

That's my old rickety boat in a puff.

CloudDiver · Jul 17, 2016

I'm not saying I recommend this... but the racers get the rails in the water up to the windows! I guess if you are at 30 degrees and the rails are still above water you are doing good!

pclarksurf · Jul 17, 2016

they don't call it "burying the rails" for fun-- they give them a good dousing. All roller coasting aside-- Heel is a function of control. Not unlike a car-- how much drift is too much? How far can you push it around a corner, lose it and still get it back and upright?

The point being it depends on a lot of things and most importantly skill set and comfort level. If you are new to the functions of sailing and new to your boat-- modest heel is plenty. As you get comfortable (and more in control) of the boat and the weather then you can use the gas pedal.
And remember at some point heel defeats the purpose of going fast -- once you get past optimal for stretching out your water line you run the risk of sailing sideways (never mind the knockdown and the water coming into the cockpit and beyond).

HMT2 · Jul 18, 2016

Carlos, as pclarksurf points out heel is a matter of control and comfort with the situation. Your doing the right things in dealing with puffs, ease the main or feathering the boat into the wind or both. I'm not familiar with the C22 but in stronger sustained winds you can reef your main and using you roller furler reef you jib (or genie). No matter how long you sail you can learn something new about how to sail better. If it was easy...everyone could do it!

Leeward Rail · Jul 18, 2016

I can't comment. See my forum name ? LOL

Sailing as flat as possible, in given conditions, is what you normally look for.
In general... On most sailboats.. The more you heel, the less efficient it is, due to sideways drift, and "bad" water flow over the hull/rudder. But there are caveats to that. No simple answer.

Suggestion: Read a good sailing book, take a course, or go sailing with a knowledgable sailor who can explain the details clearly.
If you can, go sailing in something like a laser. It gives you a much better idea about the mechanics of it all.

Justin_NSA · Jul 18, 2016

Heeling is a good way to wash the spiders off of the hull!
I fall into the category of too much heel is more show and less go. A certain amount of heel is preferred to increase the wetted area of the hull. It's a physics thing. It you are constantly over heeling, i.e. rounding up, you may have too much sail. If it's during a gust, either ease up on the mainsheet or pinch the wind. Try to anticipate the gust and be set up and ready for it. Make for a less fearful crew. I know.

LeslieTroyer · Jul 18, 2016

When I had my C22 I've run it with the spreaders in the water -- reefed main only - very very slow as you are pushing lots of water. This was on the Columbia River, in a dust storm. The police were watching me as they were sure they would have to call the Coasties to rescue me. Just be sure to have the door boards in and the hatch and centerboard locked.

Les

Joe · Jul 18, 2016

If you can't control your heel angle, you need to study up on sail trim... On a heavy, full length keel vessel heeling 15-20 deg can help speed. But on a fin keel, and especially a centerboard keel, keep it flat will be faster and more manageable.

If' you're having trouble keeping it flat in the gusts... sail with one hand on the tiller and the other on the mainsheet.. un cleated.. like the dinghy sailors do. The C 22 has a tiny, somewhat ineffective traveler, so bleeding off air at the top of the sail with the main sheet is your next choice. I would suggest depowering the main in the conditions you describe. So put on the outhaul and Cunningham, very little, if any, vang to keep your leech open.

You need to understand what happens when a gust hits. Specifically, the apparent wind direction moves aft.. backwards... so instead of the wind flowing equally on both sides of the sail....it moves backwards and directs most of its force on the windward side... the leeward side of the sail stops working...it's called stalling... and the boat slows down...this pushes the apparent wind direction even farther aft.. so now you boat is just getting blown sideways.. and it heels drastically,.. eventually the shape of the hull and the leverage of the mast will cause the boat to round up hard... the wind flow may reattach with the direction change.. the boat will start sailing again but you will be out of position... the wind drops as the gust passes.. you have to find your balance again... you're turning the rudder a lot... complicating things even more... about the time you get her back on her feet... along comes another gust...

So... keep the sheet in your hand and when you feel the gust coming ease the main a bit and head up.. watching those telltales. When the gust passes.. pull the main in and bear off to compensate for the apparent wind's movement.... It is important to watch your tell tales and keep the boat flat... if you heel over too much the tendency is to pull on the tiller to keep the boat from rounding up... this slows the boat down even more and magnifies the effect. Heading up easing the mainsheet will keep you level.

If you have a crew tending the jib... have him ease the sheet a bit also... but not too much..

I know of no protocol on sheet color.... I like solid colors, they seem to last longer...A different color for each control is desirable, but don't have a different color for port and starboard sheets.. no one does that...what's the point? If you want them to last longer... store the headsail sheets inside when you're not sailing.

Meriachee · Jul 18, 2016

Nothing quite as indistinguishable as a pile of line in the cockpit that is all the same colour.

Justin_NSA · Jul 18, 2016

Meriachee said:
Nothing quite as indistinguishable as a pile of line in the cockpit that is all the same colour.

Especially with inexperienced crew. As I replace mine, I make each a different color. White with different color piping.

Meriachee · Jul 18, 2016

We've taken to the latest crop of bright colours as things get replaced.

jwing · Jul 18, 2016

There's no such thing as too much heal. We all hope for 100%, but never get there, especially when we get long in the tooth. It's more realistic to strive to forgive 100%, but that is difficult, too. And remember, time wounds all heals.

Make your foresail sheets out out one rope to decrease the mass at the clew. Choose a color that is different than whatever other lines you normally have laying in the cockpit. Or, make the starboard sheet green and the port sheet red. This is the color code convention for different-colored sheets. It helps when you have non-sailors aboard to tell them, for example, "When I say 'hard alee,' you first release the red line, then pull the foresail across to the other side with the green line." Even when I sail alone, I wish my sheets were different colors, but I like the streamlined and low-mass cow hitch, so I deal with having both sheets the same color. Using the color convention will eliminate a source of confusion when you have others sailing with you or when you sail on somebody else's boat.

Meriachee · Jul 18, 2016

Heel, people. Heal is what happens after you let loose the main and get the boom in the noggin.

bushav · Jul 18, 2016

My boat is just as fast and more comfortable if I properly reduce sail area as the winds pick up.

jwing · Jul 18, 2016

If my noggin were to get a boom in it, I think death would happen. No healing.

Joe · Jul 18, 2016

jwing said:
....Make your foresail sheets out out one rope to decrease the mass at the clew. Choose a color that is different than whatever other lines you normally have laying in the cockpit. Or, make the starboard sheet green and the port sheet red. This is the color code convention for different-colored sheets. It helps when you have non-sailors aboard to tell them, for example, "When I say 'hard alee,' you first release the red line, then pull the foresail across to the other side with the green line." Even when I sail alone, I wish my sheets were different colors, but I like the streamlined and low-mass cow hitch, so I deal with having both sheets the same color. Using the color convention will eliminate a source of confusion when you have others sailing with you or when you sail on somebody else's boat.

I will respectfully disagree with this statement(s). If you equate "windward/leeward" to sheet color you will make the newbie especially confused.... because windward/leeward changes every time you tack or jibe. The reality is there is only one sheet loaded at a time... so just tell them it's the line under tension, the one that's holding the sail on the leeward side... The sheet color will apply to the SAIL not the wind direction. If your crew can't determine windward/leeward by some other method than sheet color... uh.. no comment.

Regarding the single headsail sheet philosophy... I prefer separate sheets connected with a bowline. Each sheet will be whipped on both ends... there are NO splices in the sheets. The sheets are removed from sail and stowed when the boat is left alone. Why..... a bowline is easy to open and will not chafe on the rigging. A bowline is easy to break open. Separate sheets are rotated side to side and end to end each time they are rigged... Along with stowing inside, the rotation will promote much longer life for your expensive line.
The single line method promotes leaving the sheets on the sail when it is stored.... NOT GOOD. The single line method makes changing headsails difficult because the new sheets must be completely run after the old ones are removed.
Lots of sailors use the single line method....with cowhitch... I used it on another boat... I sailed a Lido 14 for a while and the small headsail and simple rigging made it more convenient to leave the single sheet attached.

So it's a decision you'll make on your own and no one will criticize you what ever method you use.

pclarksurf · Jul 18, 2016

Right-- my bad, you meant "liquid heal!"

I retract my earlier comments-- more is better: