small boat heavy wind technique

[Hollyweirdos]

Hey all, I was caught out the other day in a rain shower that created some heavy winds. I would estimate the wind to have been sustained at 25 mph gusting to 35 for about 40 minutes. I had the full jib out and the main was reefed to the first batten. I first tried to heave to by backing the jib, main set behind jib, tiller lashed all the way over. This set up kept the boat in a somewhat consistant attitude but was staying heeled over a good bit. Too much to be comfortable. The jib had so much pressure on it that the boat was moving downwind at a high speed. I was loosing ground to the shore and had to stop the movement so I didnt run aground. I could not get the jib to furl because it was so loaded up. I ended up tossing the anchor out to stop the boat and it worked. I just had to ride it out until the storm passed.
I would like to hear from others that have been out in small boats under 20' in similar conditions and how they handled it. I know that had I been able to get the sails down, it would have been fine. Thats wasnt possible at the time. I have a bimini that was up and kind of in the way of pulling down the main. When the wind eased, I was able to head into it and wind up the jib.
Thoughts?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Glad to hear you're safe, good story and good work.

How big is your jib? If it's much over a 110% it's too big to heave to, even with either a full or reefed main.

Have you tried heaving to at other times for practice? Heavy winds is not the best time to try it out for the first time. It does take some practice to get used to how your boat will behave.

 

[Nodak7]

Hey all, I was caught out the other day in a rain shower that created some heavy winds. I would estimate the wind to have been sustained at 25 mph gusting to 35 for about 40 minutes. I had the full jib out and the main was reefed to the first batten. I first tried to heave to by backing the jib, main set behind jib, tiller lashed all the way over. This set up kept the boat in a somewhat consistant attitude but was staying heeled over a good bit. Too much to be comfortable. The jib had so much pressure on it that the boat was moving downwind at a high speed. I was loosing ground to the shore and had to stop the movement so I didnt run aground. I could not get the jib to furl because it was so loaded up. I ended up tossing the anchor out to stop the boat and it worked. I just had to ride it out until the storm passed.
I would like to hear from others that have been out in small boats under 20' in similar conditions and how they handled it. I know that had I been able to get the sails down, it would have been fine. Thats wasnt possible at the time. I have a bimini that was up and kind of in the way of pulling down the main. When the wind eased, I was able to head into it and wind up the jib.
Thoughts?

Glad that you made it OK and the anchor option worked for you. You do not say how far off of shore you were but you could have gone straight down wind (if the distance allowed) for a bit to give you a chance at reefing your jib then come back at it. That will settle the boat out and give you a chance to catch your breath. However, it sounds like you were pretty close to shore already if you tossed the anchor and it set. So the other option is to go into the wind so you are just a little off and the jib begins to luff and then reef the jib. Once you reduce sail you should be able to maintain control. But if the anchor set for you you done good! Once the anchor set did you pull in your sails?

 

[Don12364]

The old lags say "THE TIME TO REEF IS WHEN YOU FIRST THINK OF IT".

Also try putting the jib furling line on to a winch. It can handle more power than you can pull.

 

[Ray Bowles]

It appears that you have a fractionally rigged boat which means the forestay doesn't go to the top of the mast. On this type of rig the boat generates most of its power from the mainsail. Reefing the main was the way to start. In these winds the jib should not be larger than 100%. That would be back to the front of the mast. As mentioned before we do not know the size of your jib. If it is bigger than about 125% then when rolled to the 100% size or less it really doesn't work very well. At about the 110 size it should at least heave-to when backed into the mast. Sometimes you must head up into the wind to roll it in.
A trick that works very well for me when heaved-to on my C22 or SJ23 is use the topping lift. I have always made my topping lift adjustable from the cockpit by simply pulling a line. When heaved-to I raise the boom about 3 inches. This really de-powers the mainsail without any flogging. I know many other sailors will howl about this procedure but if you try it on a small boat that is heaved-to you would change your mind. The mainsheet must be tight when doing this.
Since these small boats are so easily overpowered this trick will let the boat rest much more calmly in these winds.
A second thing to keep in mind is that when heaved-to the tiller doesn't necessarly need to be tied down fully over. Sometimes 1/2 way to 3/4 works much better. Practice in a little less wind and see how it works. You did everything right last time, sometimes a little different approach works better. Sometimes not.
Ray

 

[Hollyweirdos]

I have the stock jib for the boat which I think is either a 110% or a 100%. It goes slightly past the mast and is a fractional rig.
I was about 2 miles from the shore so there would have been room for a downwind run, didnt think of that one. Only after the wind let up was I able to retract the jib and bring down the main. A winch on this little boat would just pull parts off, much too strong for the setup. My furling gear is not heavy duty, which is why I couldnt get her to retract.
The idea of using the topping lift is interesting. I do have the ability to tighten it from the cockpit. May have to give that a try next time. I did experiment with the tiller handle in different positions. Even tried using the engine to keep the bow more into the wind. Just kept getting blown off.
After it was over, I was kind of fried. I put away the sails and started to motor to the destination. Happily, that kind of insanity only lasted for about 5 minutes when I said, "I am a sailer, I should be sailing" The sails were hoisted again and motor shut off all the way to the anchor. Even sailed off the hook in the morning!

 

[Hollyweirdos]

Sailing is fun!

 

[Hollyweirdos]

This is ideal way to heave to and then the way my boat does it. I just figured out why it doesnt set the correct way. My jib cleats are mounted on the coachroof about a foot inboard of the rail. This creates too flat of a sail and pushes the bow sideways. You can see from my drawing what was going on and why it was heeling too much. I wonder if I installed cleats or just fairleads further outboard if it would help the situation?

 

[Joe11688]

If you know in advance that a storm like that is coming up, you should find a safe cove with good holding ground and put out two anchors and ride it out in there.
If you can't do that, take the sails down and put on your rain gear and ride out the storm in the cockpit with your outboard running. Head into the wind and waves and ride it out.

Last summer I was anchored in a shallow protected cove on Prudence Is., Narragansett Bay with good holding ground with only one anchor. I had my tarp over the boom and was sitting in the cabin having a coffee. All of a sudden it began raining hard with thunder and lightning and a strong gust of wind came hit us from behind and spun my boat around. The anchor pulled out and the boat landed in the weeds on shore against my kayak which was tied close to the Port side of my boat. I had my rudder blade and centerboard up and nothing got damaged thank God. I was able to retrieve my anchor and stow it. After that I got into the water and pushed the stern out into deep water and let my outboard back her out of there.

What I should have done was put out a second anchor before the storm hit. I knew in advance that something was coming.
Later on, we sailed out of there and anchored in another cove in Mount Hope Bay. That evening around 9:00 PM another fierce storm came up. This time I was ready for it but I neglected to wear my rain gear. I almost froze my butt off out there sitting in the cockpit by my outboard ready to spring into action. Luckily the wind stayed in the same direction and the anchor held. Live and learn.
Joe

 

[walt]

Interesting that you had a hard time furling the jib. As you know, I installed pretty much the same type of "wire luft" furler on my 15 foot sailboat not long ago mostly for this exact reason - to be able to furl the jib if it got too windy. I used the furler on the water a few times, it seemed to work fine but I never had to try it "when I really needed it".

On my boat, I still have a forestay, I think you do also. Before I got the wire luft furler, I would just drop the whole jib by releasing the wire halyard. So maybe this will still have to be my backup.. Its not pretty as the jib is not connected to the forestay with hanks so the top of the jib ends up in the water.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Even with a fractionally rigged boat, you should also be able to drop the main and sail on the jib in higher winds. When we got caught out recently, I just dropped the main and sailed downwind on the jib alone.

Also, consider that you may be able to furl the jib if you run downwind and blanket it with the main. I can't furl my jib if it's windy going upwind, so i turn downwind and it furls just fine, 'cuz the apparent wind is less.

 

[rgranger]

Sounds like you got some good ideas to try out already. So I've got nothing to add regarding technique. I'm probably one of the few remaining sailors who prefer hanked on head sails. A hanked on head sail with a down haul can be dropped in almost any conditions. But you have to have a larger inventory of head sails to make that work well for you so the cost is probably the same either way. Sounds like quite the adventure. Glad you made it back without a knockdown or worse.

 

[Bill1565]

Congrats on surviving, Double for raising sails and getting back on the horse. A couple of years ago we got caught in a 50-60 knot thunderstorm while racing a Precision 18. Got hove to, but still had to luff the main in the gusts to keep from capsizing. Was awful, beat up the main, but we survived without capsizing. Not as pretty as raising the topping lift, but easier to ease in the gusts and to trim back in the lulls.

 

[Hollyweirdos]

Well I spent the morning working on the boat. I had a list of fixes to make after this one. The one I like a lot is for the roller furling mainsail. I made a tang for the back of the boom that spins like a propeller. One end is connected to the mainsheet block and the other the topping lift. It is now a whole lot easier to roll the main up. Just loosen the screw that holds it at the mast, ease the halyard and it rolls away. No more fussing around with disconnecting the topping lift.
I like the idea of running downwind to blanket the jib(which by the way is at least a 110% or more). I have it all rigged now for driveway sailing.
Btw, you guys should have seen me sitting there in that storm. I neglected to tell that I forgot to pack raingear in the 80 degree weather we were having. That was a mistake. It was freaking cold sitting there in my evil cotton t-shirt. At one point I made a makeshift poncho with the trash bag. A little better. But picture this, me on this boat going nuts, sails thrashing, heavy rain and wind, white trash bag poncho, wearing orange pfd, with my ditch bag tied around my waist. What a site! I figured if I did go over, at least I would have a chance. And you know what else? The flipping Miami police center console boat sped right past me, all staring as they rushed to get out of the storm. Thanks for checking to see if I was ok!

 

[rgranger]

That does not sound fun... but the mental image is entertaining....

Regarding the roller furled/reefed mainsail...

I have my mainsail set up just like you described (see photo). One thing that is true on my boat. The roller reef/furl on the main works great when your goal is to let out sail, it is VERY hard to take in sail if you are single handed in a blow. The pressure on the sail is trying to roll OUT the sail while you are trying to roll it in .... one hand on the halyard, the other on the boom with your foot on the tiller trying to keep things pointed into the wind.... all the while getting flogged to death by a wild boom and mainsail. If the wind is blowing hard when I'm at port, I will roll up my main before I head out and I've been happy with how she handles with the main reefed this way and I can add sail if the wind dies down by letting out the thumb screw on the gooseneck. HOWEVER, If I want to take in sail while underway, I use slab reefing for the main.

But there may be a better way....
This topic came up once before in another thread. I don't remember who said this but one sailor on this site said that when single handed, he keeps a drogue in the cockpit with a line attached to the bow eye. When he wants to reef, he tosses it overboard, the boat rounds up into the wind and he can then reef his main and head sail ... he claimed it works great and it sounds like it should... I have not had a chance to try this yet but it is on my list of technique improvements to try.

 

[Stu Jackson]

If the drogue is attached to the bow eye, how the heck does he get it back on board without having to lay down on the foredeck and reach over? In those conditions, probably not a good idea...

 

[rgranger]

If the drogue is attached to the bow eye, how the heck does he get it back on board without having to lay down on the foredeck and reach over? In those conditions, probably not a good idea...

Yeah!!! I don't know? Maybe the original poster will read this and share. I vaguely recall him saying that he keeps the drogue in the cockpit and tosses it overboard from that position when he wants to reef but I don't remember much more about it. Since I have the same type of roller boom, I tucked that idea away as something to explore. Maybe a second line on the end of the drogue to haul it back in? That sounds like it would make a terrible mess of line in the cockpit so probably not the best way to go. I could also imagine running the line down the side deck through a fair lead, or chock at the bow. You could run it all the way back to a winch for retrieval and never have to leave the cockpit. The drogue would end up secured on the bow at the chock. Not perfect but it would be a solution and you could recover it to the cockpit once things settled down??????

Somebody has to have figured this out... maybe worth a new thread?

 

[gpdno]

If the drogue is attached to the bow eye, how the heck does he get it back on board without having to lay down on the foredeck and reach over? In those conditions, probably not a good idea...

Rig a trip line with yellow poly line and a float attached to top of the drogue. When you haul in the trip line the drogue collapses and easier to recover.

 

[justsomeguy]

You haul in the tripline. The main drogueline can stay attached to the bow eye. I think.

 

[Joe11688]

I know from past practice that my O'Day 222 will sail downwind with pretty easy with the centerboard down and no sails up or what is commonly known as "sailing under bare poles." If you have enough sea room, your boat should be able to do this also.
Of course, you'd need to batten down the companionway hatch and wear your rain gear. I know that I'm able to steer my boat so that it can travel almost perpendicular to the wind. I had to do just that this past spring when my outboard quit and my mast was laying in the two crutches. I was able to sail the boat under bare pole across to the other side of the river and pick up a mooring in our YC mooring field.

Years ago I was just motoring out of Bristol Harbor with my Mainsail tied to my boom with no sail cover and a full gale came up from behind and tore my sail right at the batten pockets. The sail was getting old and soft and it didn't take too much to rip it. It's just something to think about. Back in those days I did a lot of trailering and didn't have a sail cover. Today I would cover my sail.