More heavy-air practice in my Mac26D

[srimes]

Went out solo yesterday! Weather buoy recorded 29kts gusting 37 and very steep 8.2/8.9ft waves at 5.6/5.7sec. I wasn't quite as far out as the buoy so I estimate force 6 instead of 7. It was still wild!

I set up my camera and I was hoping for more feedback, but the thing stopped recording after 2 minutes

I started with the main only, "2nd" reef, which is really in the 3rd reef position. Still did 4.5-5.5 kts upwind. Spilled as much air as I could often letting the luff collapse. Worked pretty well upwind but had to luff some in the gusts. Definitely a heavy load on everything! Mostly held the mainsheet uncleated but it was hard to pull. Tried 1 jibe and got a rope burn for my efforts lol. Was not able to hold a broad reach as it kept rounding up. Was able to run at 6-8.5 kts. Tried to park/heave-to while I put on a hoodie, and it held for a little while but eventually spun on me.

Then I dropped the main and hoisted my heavy-air jib. Was able to close reach at 4 kts. Less heel than with the main, but also less stable. Felt like more pitching. Couldn't tack. Jibe was fine, just had to winch after. Held hove-to under jib alone just fine.

Decided to call it a day after 3 hours so headed to the river for lunch and a swim.

I feel like a need a deeper reef/smaller main for those conditions. I would like to run 2 sails for balance. Maybe go straight to a trisail?

 

[Sailavie1]

Sounds like you had your hands full and some fun at the same time. I don’t often go out in those conditions but when I do, my 2008 Hunter 25 handles better under jib alone vs main. The jib on my fractional rig is only 110% and the helm feels quite balanced.

 

[Eclectic]

Okay so first thought GLOVES! C"mon man. Even some cheap mechanics gloves are better than nothing.
Was wondering if you have the traveler upgrade for your mainsheet. We use the main traveller a lot for gust control.

We've used a storm jib on a removeable solent but the set up hassle sort of nullifies the benefit. Or maybe I'm just gettin old.
We tend to use the main up and across and the jib down.
Heading down with the main in thoses conditions you'll be fighting for control as the centers change on the waves. It can overload your rudder gear and you can't depower past the spreaders.
Sounds like fun but keep an eye on your gear. Things start to break if you keep playing rough and it's always at the worst time. Parts are available at Blue Water Yachts.

We used to tease our friends " If you're not breaking anything you're not sailing hard enough "

Yeah, so safety gear and some gloves.

Best Regards

 

[srimes]

Okay so first thought GLOVES! C"mon man. Even some cheap mechanics gloves are better than nothing.
Was wondering if you have the traveler upgrade for your mainsheet. We use the main traveller a lot for gust control.

We've used a storm jib on a removeable solent but the set up hassle sort of nullifies the benefit. Or maybe I'm just gettin old.
We tend to use the main up and across and the jib down.
Heading down with the main in thoses conditions you'll be fighting for control as the centers change on the waves. It can overload your rudder gear and you can't depower past the spreaders.
Sounds like fun but keep an eye on your gear. Things start to break if you keep playing rough and it's always at the worst time. Parts are available at Blue Water Yachts.

We used to tease our friends " If you're not breaking anything you're not sailing hard enough "

Yeah, so safety gear and some gloves.

Best Regards

Lol yeah I'll get some gloves! My hands are pretty tough but this trip had much higher loads. I didn't even have a vang until last week. I'm sure it helped but conditions were very different from before. No traveler yet. It's on my radar but not quite on the project list.

How did you rig the solent?

When you say overload the rudder do you mean lose control or risk breakage? Losing the rudder out there would be a problem...

 

[Justin_NSA]

I'm with eclectic. Gloves. Also, if you plan to repeat this regularly, a traveler would help. The Ruddercraft HDPE foil rudder is worth it too. Lastly, in those conditions and single handing, wear a PFD.

 

[Sailavie1]

I installed a traveler some years ago and it definitely works well to help maintain sail shape and balance during puffs. Also, new sails perform much better than the older (blown out) ones did.

 

[Eclectic]

solent is attached at deck level to a reinforced deck cleat. The halyard and stay are hoisted aloft together using a jib halyard. We have a roller furler that has an integral halyard. The jib has a foam luff and can be roller reefed but the shape and distance from the main become inefficient as more is rolled. We also use the jib halyard for our spinnaker and for tensioning the mast to pin and unpin the jib stay when raising/lowering the mast. This isn't the best way to rig your spinny halyard but it eliminates an extra line.

The traveller really helps because you keep your trim when depowering. If the gusts are too heavy you still may need to work the mainsheet.

Just make sure you inspect your gear between trips. Replace any dubious hardware. Over time we've replaced a lot of nuts and bolts. If you find yourself having to seriously over stear you're putting a lot pressure on the rudder and the mounts. To some extent the boat can be maneuvered using the outboard in case of rudder loss but this is limited on the M26 by the motor well. If the mount hardware is good then I would think the mount would bend rather than break. Our rudders are pretty stout. I believe our rudder posts may be different on the C and the D. Ours is internal.

If you're curious about maneuverability without the rudder you could always swing it up and see how it goes. A lot depends on the wave action and the motor shaft length.

Another good upgrade for Macs is the main outhaul. i like enough purchase to adjust under way. Of course this would be for when you're not reefed.

Best Regards

 

[Eclectic]

Another technique worth mentioning is the tacking jibe aka a chicken jibe. Perform a tack and come about to the new down wind course. This brings the boom across much less forcefully and prevents a lot of stress. On the rig and the skipper
( ....and my wife).

Best Regards

 

[chp]

Agree with others about the traveler. Probably the best mod I put on my boat. Its amazing how backing down the traveler by a couple inches can ease the heel by 5-10 degrees and still maintain speed.

 

[jviss]

very steep 8.2/8.9ft waves at 5.6/5.7sec

Are you kidding? How do you get to tenths of a foot and tenths of a second?

 

[srimes]

Are you kidding? How do you get to tenths of a foot and tenths of a second?

This buoy here:

NDBC - Station 46027 Recent Data

National Data Buoy Center - Recent observations from buoy 46027 (41.840N 124.382W) - ST GEORGES - 8 NM NW of Crescent City, CA.

www.ndbc.noaa.gov

Significant Wave Height (WVHT) and Average Wave Period (APD)

If I just eyeballed it they would have been 50% bigger and grown with every retelling

 

[jviss]

That's weird, in my experience, to describe conditions that way. One would typically talk of a range of heights, knowing that there's a real probability of a wave twice that height occasionally. I looked up Significant Wave Height (WVHT) and got: "Significant wave height (meters) is calculated as the average of the highest one-third of all of the wave heights during the 20-minute sampling period. See the Wave Measurements section." Doesn't really describe the mean sailing conditions, does it? (I guess you converted from meters to feet?)

 

[Eclectic]

Seems he's looking at the raw data from the buoy itself not the report that would be generated from the data.

Regards

 

[srimes]

That's weird, in my experience, to describe conditions that way. One would typically talk of a range of heights, knowing that there's a real probability of a wave twice that height occasionally. I looked up Significant Wave Height (WVHT) and got: "Significant wave height (meters) is calculated as the average of the highest one-third of all of the wave heights during the 20-minute sampling period. See the Wave Measurements section." Doesn't really describe the mean sailing conditions, does it? (I guess you converted from meters to feet?)

I didn't come up with the term. I just figured it'd be way more reliable than a visual estimate. Seems like the NOAA standard for overall wave height (as combination of swell and wind waves). What's the normal way to describe it?

The page I linked shows ft, if you go to historical data it's meters.

1 in 7 waves will be bigger than Significant Wave Height, and maximum waves to prepare for of 2x WVHT are expected 3x in 24 hours.

http://cruisersnet.org/waves.pdf

Ruling the waves: How a simple wave height concept can help you judge the size of the sea - Social Media Blog - Bureau of Meteorology

The Bureau of Meteorology's blog gives you the background and inside information on weather, climate, oceans, water and space weather.

media.bom.gov.au

.

 

[Eclectic]

My friends and I typically cite the info given for NOAA marine zone forecast. I believe a brief explanation of the wave height info is given with the header. If memory serves it states the listed heights are an average of the highest 1/3 of waves and that 2x can be expected.

We also check for changes on the VHF WX stations during trips as well as real time radar. We have rapid changing thunderstorms especially in the summer.

Best Regards

 

[Freedom77]

A SMOOTH SEA NEVER MADE A SKILLFUL SAILOR. Traveler and mid boom main sheet. YOU BET!! One of the better mods I've done. Macs have big main sail. If your in heavy air try spilling the main a bit. You will still get drive from the headsails and won't tend to round up as much.

 

[stickinthemud57]

I own a Mac 26s and IMO the Mac 26 was not designed for sailing in the conditions you describe. I grew up sailing in Corpus Christi bay and along the Gulf Coast on keelboats with rigging worthy of blue water sailing, and the hardware on the Mac 26 is nowhere near as robust.

Pop rivets instead of bolts. Tubing instead of solid rod. Aluminum instead of stainless steel (at the gooseneck, that is). There are many places on this boat where strength was sacrificed for weight and overall cost. Don't get me wrong. I love my 26s. I just would not push it that hard.

That being said, hats off to you for having the stones to sail when it's that challenging. I would say consider having your main modified to allow a second reefing point (or buy a sail that has one). Consider an aluminum or carbon fiber tiller.

And next time, get us some footage!