I am in the process of purchasing a Catalina 320. During the test sail I found that there might be a few logistic issues when single handing the boat. The clutches and selftailing winches are far away and not easily accessed from the the pilot position that adjusting the mainsail and the headsail could be challengiing when standing behind the wheel. I would appreciate any insights, techniques and/or experiences surrounding single handing a 320. Tomorrows the survey. Wish me luck
Single Handing a 320
- Thread starter kwilson1033
- Start date
- Status
If you have an autopilot, these actions become a breeze. Even locking the wheel (if no autopilot is available) makes these operations quite simple.
Buy the boat and go have a ball.
Buy the boat and go have a ball.
I have a Hunter 290 and Sail Single Handed 95% of the time. I have a autopilot and Roller furlling Gib and Mailsail so the only time I have to leave the cockpit is when I deal with the fenders. You have to have a setup where everthing is in close reach. The only time I have difficulty is when the wind Gust up to 18 to 20 knots. If I put on the Autopilot in order to ease the mainsheet the boat wants to round up, so I generally ease out the sail with the traveler. The only only concern is Docking. If there is no wind it is easy, but if it is blowing it is difficult to do it alone.
If you have an autopilot, stop becoming a "slave behind the wheel." I spend all of my time in front of the wheel.
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5445.0.html
And don't "lock" the wheel, just apply enough pressure to overcome the wheel's tendency to move. A little pressure is more than adequate.
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5445.0.html
And don't "lock" the wheel, just apply enough pressure to overcome the wheel's tendency to move. A little pressure is more than adequate.
For my Catalina-27...
If she's coming to you at a good price and good shape, don't sweat the small stuff.
- My halyards cleat at the mast
- My foresail has hanks, not roller furling
- My main has no lazy-jack
- My winches are not self tailing
- My helm is a tiller with no auto-pilot
If she's coming to you at a good price and good shape, don't sweat the small stuff.
I have a 320 and single hand virtually all the time. It's very easy to stand in front of the wheel when coming about and, with a little friction on the wheel, control it as well as the genoa sheets.
Yes - if you stand behind the wheel, it takes really long arms to trim. The standard approach is to have Auto take the helm, but on our boat as the afternoon wind builds, Auto often takes on his Ivan personality (Crazy Ivan of Red October Fame). So reef early and often. Use the traveler to advantage. With long enough sheets, the traveler cam cleats are easy to release and set from anywhere in the cockpit. If you have a problem with relinquishing captain's authority to an electronic device, some owners have moved the primary winches aft or added a second set within reach of the helm. Search the 320 international website and forum for info on the boat and sail handling. Hope your survey works out well. Pat
I single hand my C320 all the time also.
First of all, if you are single handing, since you are doing the functions that two or more persons might do otherwise, recognize that any given evolution will take a little longer and a little preplanning.
Nothing says that you have to sit behind the wheel, even if (like me) you don't have an autopilot. Ahead of the wheel, you can make changes to your heart's desire, and when appropriate, reach back to the wheel to operate it. If you like, you can apply a little wheel brake pressure to hold it steady.
Once you have satisfied yourself tweaking the traveler, etc. and decide to just play with the genoa sheets, you can take sheets out of the winch tailers and use the stern cleats to tie off the sheets as you are now comfortably behind the wheel (and sitting on helmsman's seat). If you need to adjust a sheet, just head up a bit to take the pressure off the genoa/jib, adjust the sheet, and drop back to the original course.
First of all, if you are single handing, since you are doing the functions that two or more persons might do otherwise, recognize that any given evolution will take a little longer and a little preplanning.
Nothing says that you have to sit behind the wheel, even if (like me) you don't have an autopilot. Ahead of the wheel, you can make changes to your heart's desire, and when appropriate, reach back to the wheel to operate it. If you like, you can apply a little wheel brake pressure to hold it steady.
Once you have satisfied yourself tweaking the traveler, etc. and decide to just play with the genoa sheets, you can take sheets out of the winch tailers and use the stern cleats to tie off the sheets as you are now comfortably behind the wheel (and sitting on helmsman's seat). If you need to adjust a sheet, just head up a bit to take the pressure off the genoa/jib, adjust the sheet, and drop back to the original course.
- Status