NEWBIE SINGLE HANDED ?HOW ??

[JOHN SAINDON]

HI ALL !!JUST GOT A CATALINA 25 AND WANT ADVISEON HOW TO SINGLE HAND SAIL IT.I DO NOT HAVE AUTO PILOT AND NO JIBE FURLING .SO HOW DO I KEEP IT IN THE WIND TO RAISE THE SAILS ??? WHICH SAIL FIRST ?? BEST WAY ?? BACK TO DOCK PROCEDURE ???PLEASE ADVISE.BEST REGARDS: JOHN SAINDON

 

[Zephyrus]

Home made autopilot

On my Cat25 I took some small line 3to4 foot long and tied a loop at both ends. Then wraped the line around the stanchion on the port side dropping the first loop through the secound and pulling the line tight. Then run the line over to the starboard side making a few wraps(3to4) around the tiller. with a Bungee cord with metal hooks on both ends I wraped it around the starboard stanchion and brought the hooks to the loop on the line. The bungee will allow you to make corrections to the tiller inbetween raising the sails. Just push the tiller towords the line side and roll the wraps on the tiller in the direction of the correction. I hope this makes sence. If not post a reply with your email.

 

[JOHN SAINDON]

SINGLE HAND ..ZEPHYRUS.THANKS

HI ZPHYRUS: YES YOUR "AUTO PILOT"MAKES SENSE...I JUST PUT IT ON PAPER ANDFIGURED OUT THE SCHEME YOU GAVE ME. IWILL DO IT THIS WEEK END.I GOT TONS OF BUNGEE CORDS AND PLENTY OF ROPE.THANKS AND FAIR WINDS TO YOU.JOHN SAINDON

 

[Bob Camarena]

Go one step further and steer from the mast!

I used the following method on my Catalina 27. It's similar to Zephyrus's method but goes one step further. Run your line from the tiller, around the back of the starboard stanchion, then forward, outside the stanchions, around the front of your mast and back on the other side, around the port stanchion back to the tiller. The tiller connections are just tied loops that don't need to be too tight so you can slip them off quickly if necessary. Bungees aren't necessary due to the friction in the system and you can steer from the mast by pulling on the line in one direction or the other! You'll need to experiment a little to get the tension right so the friction has the right balance between ease of movement and holding the tiller in place. It takes a little practice at the mast to develop a feel as to which way to pull, but it works great once you do.

 

[Dave]

Tiller Tamer

We have a Davis Tiller Tamer costs about 40 bucks. Two jam cleates are mounted on the stern and a cam clutch is mounted on the tiller - a line is run through and all you do is set the tiller tighten the clutch and she holds pretty well. We do a lot of single handed sailing and this has been a big help in keeping her headed into the wind and for general sailing - sailed about 15 miles "hands free" on one trip. If you don't have furler then you should really set your jib up with a downhaul line. Check out this site for a diagram of a single handed set up:http://sites.netscape.net/tedsailingpage/Single_Handed.htmlDave