Hi All, I usually singlehand my 18.5 Hunter and have no problem timming the jib without a winch when I tack. I'm wondering what do you guys with slightly larger boats do? I'd say above a 21' or 23', you'd need to trim the jib sheet with a winch. Just how do you manage to do that with one free hand (other hand is on the tiller) when you are sailing solo? Frank
Singlehander Advice Needed
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Even with the Genoa in 12knt winds I don't
use a winch other than to wrap it around once and use the ratchet to help hold it while I cleat it. I have not needed the handle. If I am heeling more than 20* I will cleat it on the windward side where I can easily reach it in case of a gust. Keeps me from having to lean over to the lee side. With 215# and being the only active ballast in the boat I prefer to keep it where it does most good. While I am pulling the sheet with both hands if needed I set the drag on the tiller tamer. Sometimes I set the Tiller master autopilot so that I can just manage the ropes. The tillermaster has more courage than I do and will hang in there no matter how rough it gets. If the wind gets higher than that its time to take down the Genoa. Frank
use a winch other than to wrap it around once and use the ratchet to help hold it while I cleat it. I have not needed the handle. If I am heeling more than 20* I will cleat it on the windward side where I can easily reach it in case of a gust. Keeps me from having to lean over to the lee side. With 215# and being the only active ballast in the boat I prefer to keep it where it does most good. While I am pulling the sheet with both hands if needed I set the drag on the tiller tamer. Sometimes I set the Tiller master autopilot so that I can just manage the ropes. The tillermaster has more courage than I do and will hang in there no matter how rough it gets. If the wind gets higher than that its time to take down the Genoa. Frank
We do it with one hand.
Actually we hold the tiller with our body or legs and use the hands to trim the sails.
Actually we hold the tiller with our body or legs and use the hands to trim the sails.
Its all in the timing
1. Wrap two turns of the lazy sheet around the windward side winch. 2. Leave the bitter end where you can reach it easily. 3. Uncleat but hold on to the lee side sheet. 4. Tack gently. 5. As the head goes through the wind release the active sheet and bring in the new lee side sheet before it is under load. If you have self-tailing, stick it in the groove; if not, take another two turns on the winch. 6. When you are steady on the new heading, trim with the winch handle; if you do not have self-tailing, this requires you to hold the tiller with your legs, which is not hard to do with practice. This is easier to do when its not too windy. As boats get bigger aids like self-tailing winches, tiller or wheel locks make single handing possible. On a big boat the load on a jib sheet can be well into the hundreds of pounds. No one can trim it without a winch.
1. Wrap two turns of the lazy sheet around the windward side winch. 2. Leave the bitter end where you can reach it easily. 3. Uncleat but hold on to the lee side sheet. 4. Tack gently. 5. As the head goes through the wind release the active sheet and bring in the new lee side sheet before it is under load. If you have self-tailing, stick it in the groove; if not, take another two turns on the winch. 6. When you are steady on the new heading, trim with the winch handle; if you do not have self-tailing, this requires you to hold the tiller with your legs, which is not hard to do with practice. This is easier to do when its not too windy. As boats get bigger aids like self-tailing winches, tiller or wheel locks make single handing possible. On a big boat the load on a jib sheet can be well into the hundreds of pounds. No one can trim it without a winch.
three turns around the winch
and keep the slack out as you tack then cleat it when you can then trim the main dont forget to duck for the boom ;d
and keep the slack out as you tack then cleat it when you can then trim the main dont forget to duck for the boom ;d
26' tack
The H260 is very poorly laid out for single handling. The winches are on top of the cabin and the clam cleats are forward of the winches. None of which are in reach from behind the helm. My solution: I have lengthened the sheets so they now reach the helm station. I take only a couple of turns on the winch on both sides. When I'm ready to tack I lock the helm, go forward to release the clam cleat, and take both sheets back to the helm with me. I tack normally. After I am steady on the new heading I lock the helm again, go forward to trim and cleat the sheet.
The H260 is very poorly laid out for single handling. The winches are on top of the cabin and the clam cleats are forward of the winches. None of which are in reach from behind the helm. My solution: I have lengthened the sheets so they now reach the helm station. I take only a couple of turns on the winch on both sides. When I'm ready to tack I lock the helm, go forward to release the clam cleat, and take both sheets back to the helm with me. I tack normally. After I am steady on the new heading I lock the helm again, go forward to trim and cleat the sheet.
Steering and sailhandling
I have an inexpensive tiller mounted Autohelm on our Mac25. It does the steering while I adjust the sails. I can dial in a course change and 'Otto' will turn the boat leaving me free to tack or gybe. It is almost as good as a lady friend, but it won't keep you warm at night!
I have an inexpensive tiller mounted Autohelm on our Mac25. It does the steering while I adjust the sails. I can dial in a course change and 'Otto' will turn the boat leaving me free to tack or gybe. It is almost as good as a lady friend, but it won't keep you warm at night!
I turn the boat
and as she's coming across, the water pressure tends to keep the rudder turned. Just as the jib backwinds, i pop it out of the cleat and with a foot on the opposite side of the cokpit and 2 turns around the winch, give my 135 a nice heave. (23' fractional hunter) If I need some adjustment, I can later break out the winch handle.
and as she's coming across, the water pressure tends to keep the rudder turned. Just as the jib backwinds, i pop it out of the cleat and with a foot on the opposite side of the cokpit and 2 turns around the winch, give my 135 a nice heave. (23' fractional hunter) If I need some adjustment, I can later break out the winch handle.
Timing and design
David has the right idea for you, it's in the timing but also in how you're set up. My venerable V21 has 'snubber' winches as I believe they're called. Even with a smallish jib, there is much more slack than you would expect at the bitter ends of the jib sheets. The ends of the sheets hang into the cockpit pretty well even on the windward side, so there is always one turn on the winch before leading in. All I need to do after tacking is grab the lee side sheet and pull and, if i'm sure we wont be tacking again in the next minute, then lean forward to the lee side once more to cleat(I don't get too fancy with tying off the cleat-if the power of the wind or gusts yanks it from the cleat I can pull it back in again or start considering shortening sail. Jam or cam cleats would make life easier(my old boat had cam cleats for jib sheets) as well as a tiller tamer or autopilot(for larger boats).
David has the right idea for you, it's in the timing but also in how you're set up. My venerable V21 has 'snubber' winches as I believe they're called. Even with a smallish jib, there is much more slack than you would expect at the bitter ends of the jib sheets. The ends of the sheets hang into the cockpit pretty well even on the windward side, so there is always one turn on the winch before leading in. All I need to do after tacking is grab the lee side sheet and pull and, if i'm sure we wont be tacking again in the next minute, then lean forward to the lee side once more to cleat(I don't get too fancy with tying off the cleat-if the power of the wind or gusts yanks it from the cleat I can pull it back in again or start considering shortening sail. Jam or cam cleats would make life easier(my old boat had cam cleats for jib sheets) as well as a tiller tamer or autopilot(for larger boats).
trimming the jib
I single hand my Oceanis 281. The easiest way to answer your question is also the most expensive way --- self tailing winches. My previous boat, a Gloucester 22, didn't have st winches and had a tiller. It was pretty easy to steady the tiller with a leg or something while handling the jib sheets. A couple of modifications I made that helped were a "tiller tamer" to hold coarse (sort of) while raising and lowering sails and "Winchers" which don't make your winches self tailing but do make a really handy place to cleat/uncleat jib sheets.
I single hand my Oceanis 281. The easiest way to answer your question is also the most expensive way --- self tailing winches. My previous boat, a Gloucester 22, didn't have st winches and had a tiller. It was pretty easy to steady the tiller with a leg or something while handling the jib sheets. A couple of modifications I made that helped were a "tiller tamer" to hold coarse (sort of) while raising and lowering sails and "Winchers" which don't make your winches self tailing but do make a really handy place to cleat/uncleat jib sheets.
Sorry, misunderstood question
You weren't asking about regular trimming. You were asking about a tack. Here's what I do in my 20 footer. Dick's theory of single handed jib handling. 1. Get all the trimming done before the jib's under load on the new tack. Slow tacking is good. Overtrim on the jib is fine. 2. When single handing, the winches are for the halyards not the sheets. Certainly the winch HANDLE is not for the sheets. That's why I pinch, or linger in the middle of my tack, if the windspeed is making it hard to trim the jib without mechanical advantage. 3. Have a system that lets you cleat/uncleat the jibsheets with just one hand. In my case, I've rigged the boat so that the sheets end in a swivelling camcleat, with a winch in line before the camcleat, in case I need it. 4. Have a system that lets you lock the tiller for a second or two. Personally, I use a cansail tiller lock. This lets me lock and unlock the tiller as easy and fast as switching a light switch on and off. (Great inexpensive device, highly recommended. You have to get it mail order from Canada: I've not seen it any of the US retailers.) That said, I single-hand tack as follows: Turn into the tack without releasing the jib sheet, and slow down at about the "middle" of the turn. At the moment the jib backwinds, lock the tiller for a SLOW turn. Release the sheet on the (new) upwind side of the boat and trim crazy fast, both hands, on the downwind side - aiming to have the jib trimmed all the way in before the boat's powered again. Cleat the jibsheets. At this point, omplete the tack, ease the jib a bit if needed. "Slow", of course, is relative. Although I execute this manoeuver slower than if I had crew, I can do it fast enough that I don't lose a whole lot of boatspeed.
You weren't asking about regular trimming. You were asking about a tack. Here's what I do in my 20 footer. Dick's theory of single handed jib handling. 1. Get all the trimming done before the jib's under load on the new tack. Slow tacking is good. Overtrim on the jib is fine. 2. When single handing, the winches are for the halyards not the sheets. Certainly the winch HANDLE is not for the sheets. That's why I pinch, or linger in the middle of my tack, if the windspeed is making it hard to trim the jib without mechanical advantage. 3. Have a system that lets you cleat/uncleat the jibsheets with just one hand. In my case, I've rigged the boat so that the sheets end in a swivelling camcleat, with a winch in line before the camcleat, in case I need it. 4. Have a system that lets you lock the tiller for a second or two. Personally, I use a cansail tiller lock. This lets me lock and unlock the tiller as easy and fast as switching a light switch on and off. (Great inexpensive device, highly recommended. You have to get it mail order from Canada: I've not seen it any of the US retailers.) That said, I single-hand tack as follows: Turn into the tack without releasing the jib sheet, and slow down at about the "middle" of the turn. At the moment the jib backwinds, lock the tiller for a SLOW turn. Release the sheet on the (new) upwind side of the boat and trim crazy fast, both hands, on the downwind side - aiming to have the jib trimmed all the way in before the boat's powered again. Cleat the jibsheets. At this point, omplete the tack, ease the jib a bit if needed. "Slow", of course, is relative. Although I execute this manoeuver slower than if I had crew, I can do it fast enough that I don't lose a whole lot of boatspeed.
Love this site, I always learn something new.
I bought some cam cleats from Minneys to replace the fairleads that were stolen from my boat. The track size was the wrong size so I didn;t use them. Instead I replaced them with similar fairleads. I haven't returned the fairleads with the cam cleat yet. I think I will mount them in place of the jam cleats that I now have, behind the winch. I had them on both of my cats and they worked really well. You can set and release from the windward side ( even more important on a cat). Coming from a cat background it still freaks me out to lean over to the lee side. Thank, Frank
I bought some cam cleats from Minneys to replace the fairleads that were stolen from my boat. The track size was the wrong size so I didn;t use them. Instead I replaced them with similar fairleads. I haven't returned the fairleads with the cam cleat yet. I think I will mount them in place of the jam cleats that I now have, behind the winch. I had them on both of my cats and they worked really well. You can set and release from the windward side ( even more important on a cat). Coming from a cat background it still freaks me out to lean over to the lee side. Thank, Frank
Toss the winches....
The larger the boat the harder it is to singlehand. For many H26/260 owners Spinlock cleats have replaced the winches. Lengthen the jibsheets and forget about using the winches althogether. Go to: http://kobernus.com/hunter260/spinlock/spinlock.html
The larger the boat the harder it is to singlehand. For many H26/260 owners Spinlock cleats have replaced the winches. Lengthen the jibsheets and forget about using the winches althogether. Go to: http://kobernus.com/hunter260/spinlock/spinlock.html
I use an autopilot
I feel an autopilot is an essential piece of equipment. I use it when I am sailing and love the freedom it gives me.
I feel an autopilot is an essential piece of equipment. I use it when I am sailing and love the freedom it gives me.
The larger the boat the EASIER it is to singlehand
With an autopilot and self tailing winches, it's a snap. Larger boats generally can track better especially going upwind.
With an autopilot and self tailing winches, it's a snap. Larger boats generally can track better especially going upwind.
Tacking & trimming
Frank I singlehead my Pearson 26w frequently. Its not to difficult with a working jib and Im 70 years old. Self tailing winches would help. I dont have them but I do have jamb cleats for quick release and tie off. I always stay out of tight spots If im tacking. If things get hairy I start my outboard. Still a lot of it depends on sailing conditions and experience Bob
Frank I singlehead my Pearson 26w frequently. Its not to difficult with a working jib and Im 70 years old. Self tailing winches would help. I dont have them but I do have jamb cleats for quick release and tie off. I always stay out of tight spots If im tacking. If things get hairy I start my outboard. Still a lot of it depends on sailing conditions and experience Bob
Spinlocks
I use spin locks as they can by tightened and released from the helm. With a tiller you can use a knee or foot to steer opening up both hands for line tending. On the 260 you don't really need the winches except for the windiest of days and the spin lock can be used with the winch to sort of make a semi-self tailed winch. As long as you don't expect america's cup accurate tacks (okay, bad example after our performance this year) you will be fine.
I use spin locks as they can by tightened and released from the helm. With a tiller you can use a knee or foot to steer opening up both hands for line tending. On the 260 you don't really need the winches except for the windiest of days and the spin lock can be used with the winch to sort of make a semi-self tailed winch. As long as you don't expect america's cup accurate tacks (okay, bad example after our performance this year) you will be fine.
Weaker and fragile
I wonder how Joshua Slocum was able to reef and maintain his course whilst on a dead-reckoning course in the Milky Way? Robin Knotts Johnson had mostly traditional gear when in the round-the-world single handed race in '69 in his ketch. They weren't that much smarter than us, but tougher...absolutely! I cannot imagine these folks nowdays coming across the praries the way my grandmother did in a wagon-train. I commonly go to the mast to yank up my sails to avoid the friction and the long drawn out winching from the cockpit. Did the same on my schooner too. What in the world is so scary about being up at the mast anyway, the yacht will take good care of herself without you at the helm trying to control every breath of air breathed?
I wonder how Joshua Slocum was able to reef and maintain his course whilst on a dead-reckoning course in the Milky Way? Robin Knotts Johnson had mostly traditional gear when in the round-the-world single handed race in '69 in his ketch. They weren't that much smarter than us, but tougher...absolutely! I cannot imagine these folks nowdays coming across the praries the way my grandmother did in a wagon-train. I commonly go to the mast to yank up my sails to avoid the friction and the long drawn out winching from the cockpit. Did the same on my schooner too. What in the world is so scary about being up at the mast anyway, the yacht will take good care of herself without you at the helm trying to control every breath of air breathed?
There is a gap - in ease of singlehanding
Yes an autopilot would help, but you can buy a Catalina 22 (in fair condition for about $3K) - so adding ammenities such as autopilots or even roller-furler is expensive. The gap I refer to is - on smaller boats this is not much of an issue, and once you get up to boats worth making the investment there are as many accessories as you have dollars to spend. On SailsCall my C22 - it can be tricky, espically on gusty days when you really want to trim often. One trick is to cross sheet the jib sheet - use the leward winch as a turn and run the sheet accross to the windward winch- so it is where you sit with the tiller. Then it is closer and easy to handle, this does make tacking more difficult-or just different, ways of dealing with it. -- also if one of the "all knowing sailor-experts" sees it it will look like you do not know what you are doing. I also use a tiller tamer - a neecessary device - a tiller lock, but it really does not work well. 2c
Yes an autopilot would help, but you can buy a Catalina 22 (in fair condition for about $3K) - so adding ammenities such as autopilots or even roller-furler is expensive. The gap I refer to is - on smaller boats this is not much of an issue, and once you get up to boats worth making the investment there are as many accessories as you have dollars to spend. On SailsCall my C22 - it can be tricky, espically on gusty days when you really want to trim often. One trick is to cross sheet the jib sheet - use the leward winch as a turn and run the sheet accross to the windward winch- so it is where you sit with the tiller. Then it is closer and easy to handle, this does make tacking more difficult-or just different, ways of dealing with it. -- also if one of the "all knowing sailor-experts" sees it it will look like you do not know what you are doing. I also use a tiller tamer - a neecessary device - a tiller lock, but it really does not work well. 2c
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