Single Handing Catalina 25

[Dave Gibson]

I know I'm late to the party, but what the heck.

I worked for Martin VanBreems, a noted tran-oceanic single handed sailor. Martin developed Dutchman specifically for himself and sailors like him.

#1- get a Dutchman sail flaking system. When the main comes down, it is automatically flaked and held on the boom, not all over the deck.

#2- Get a Dutchman sail track system. Your main will drop faster than a $5 whore.

#3- Get a Dutchman boom brake. It adjust up close to the mast. You can hold your boom in place, or adjust it so the boom traverses from side to side slowly. This is especially good when gybing.

There is no finer equipment sold anywhere. And I can attest that it works as advertised. Everything is custom made for your boat, so give it time to receive.

 

[Simon Sexton]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to touch base and thank everyone for the awesome advice! I just bought a brand new set of sails, so I'll not be sinking any more than $500 into the boat for the next couple months. As for single-handing the boat, I did it the other day!
Steps for hoisting the main and unfurling the jib:
- Make sure there are no boats within an 800 yard diameter of me.
- Lock the tiller in place, engine in idol forwards. The boat rounds up into the wind automatically and sort of bounces from side-to-side as the bow comes through the wind.
- Let the boat continue to sort of tack back and forth while hoisting the main on deck.
- Get back to the cockpit, straighten the boat out, trim the main and then unfurl the genoa

Steps for tacking:
- Push tiller away like normal, but temporarily let go. It will stay hard over.
- Be sure main is sheeted in, ready for tacking.
- Release leeward jib sheet with one hand, pull in tacking sheet with the other. (Gotta be fast, too slow and I've gotta bust out the winch handle while coming way too far through the wind.)
- Return to helm and trim

Pretty simple! Yes, yes, my high school racing coach would probably scream at me the moment I let go of the tiller, but I'd only use that method if there were no other boats anywhere in my vicinity. I think I should be able to keep all this running back and forth up just fine, at least until I'm too old to move like that anymore. Time will tell!

 

[jssailem]

 

[rgranger]

Next investment should be an auto tiller
It will make single handing way easier

 

[Simon Sexton]

Next investment should be an auto tiller
It will make single handing way easier

I would LOVE to have one! One of our Sea Scout boats has one, but we've never really been able to figure the thing out or get it hooked up properly.

 

[Serenity on Hudson]

I had four TP's with my Hunter 23.5 and burned out the motor on all of them because of the severe weather helm on that boat. With my Capri 22, no real need as the boat is easily trimmed for a neutral helm that allows me to lock the tiller and do what I need away from it for a few minutes without the boat rounding up. I think I may be able to repair the last TP as I think the motor may be OK, just need to work on the power cord that may be damaged inside the box. That would allow me to eat lunch at leisure without worrying about the tiller.

 

[dLj]

I would LOVE to have one! One of our Sea Scout boats has one, but we've never really been able to figure the thing out or get it hooked up properly.

Simon,

Post some pictures, I'm sure there are folks here that can help figure it out. They are typically pretty straightforward.

dj

 

[Hayden Watson]

Way to go. This might be a good time for you to revisit my post #31 in this thread for how to control your tiller. You do not really want to release the tiller or lock it. The goal is to control it. The configuration of the C25 stern cleats is perfect for using a dock line as a tiller tamer. The three wraps of stretchy line give just the right amount of friction to control the angle of the tiller but still be able to adjust it normally.

 

[rgranger]

Keep your eye on eBay
I got mine used for $90