Too tippy?

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Bill

Boom

My wife has told me (and demonstrated) that she feels a boat is heeling too much when gravity pulls her out of the cockpit or the boom touches the water. Further, she feels that we're not exactly sailing unless we're heeling at least 15 degrees. She is totally fearless - I'm the one who balks.
 
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dan

place your cocktail

in the drink holder in front of the wheel 3/4 full. if it begins to spill your heeling too much or have had too much to drink! ;)
 
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Lee

Crew Gripes @ 25, Speed Dies by 40

My lovely Admiral has issued the edict that 25 degrees is her comfort limit ;{ . The boat lets my know by 40 degrees that she doesn't like it that far and slows down considerably *yks . 25-30 degrees is about max heel for speed in my Mac 21 - at that heel my waterskiers can maintain a comfortable plane... ;) (HA!) Lee M21 - "Cool Change" Boulder Yacht Club, Carlyle Lake, IL BYC: http://www.boulderyc.org/ Cool Change: http://www.members.accessus.net/~hogies/mac
 
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Richard Novak

I have three questions, instead

Not having experienced excessive healing, I ask: 1) will heeling 35-40 degrees on a 1991 Hunter 35.5 put "dangerous" stress to the rigging, or not necessarily so? 2) To control excessive heeling, would you move out the traveler first, or open the main? 3) If I open the main, I run into the problem of the main hitting the fractional spreaders. How long before I chafe the sail?
 
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chip minshall

heeling

heeling is fun, as long as you are not racing, then more than about ten degrees is slow, it is also fun when pleasure sailing as long as you are not sailing for more than a couple of hours and do not have novice sailors aboard. If the boat has a real cockpit and lifelines, heeling is not necessarily dangerous and it can be a thrill for the new sailor. it is always a good idea to find out what your boat can take and do when you are in control rather than to wait until bad weather catches you and you have to find out under crisis conditions. the best way to learn how to depower and flatten is to go out when the wind is blowing and do it.
 
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Jim B

40 degrees

Pearson 30 - 20 degrees is normal, 30 degrees is common, and 45 degrees is where my wife looks at me an says " Do you know what you are doing?" To which I answer - "I did up to this point". No weather helm in P-30 when sails are balanced. 20 knots + wind 25 to 30 degrees and performance is good - 2 reefs in main, 100-110 % jib. I put lee cloths on all the bunks and we pile all the "stuff" in.
 
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Darin

Tippy

My wife and I are both "New" to sailing. I have been sailing 3-4 years and I have been dragging her with me about 1-2. We have a swing keel daysailor so I don't like to put to much heel on. But my Idea of too much is a heck of alot more than her Idea of too much. I did get a inclinometer so I could say "Look honey it's only 10°" but it works against me when I try to push it and she says "Look honey it's over 10°". I am trying to warm her up to the idea 15-20. It may take some time.
 
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Admiral Harris

Cowardly Husband

One lovely day, we were doing about six knots due west across the Chesapeake, heeled neatly about 15 degrees, when my husband, Captain Bligh, who has only in the last couple of years taken his death-grip off the tiller, asked quietly, "Do you know how to make it stop doing this?" I told him in no uncertain terms that not only did I know how to make it stop, I was making it do it, and if he was uncomfortable, he could walk the rest of the way home. He is becoming a much quieter passenger.
 
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Ken

Oppps, Sorry about that.

I've been sailing for six years now. Use to be a time when 10 degrees spooked me. This last summer we were out, and had a fresh breeze and heeled at 20 degrees (about my comfort zone), when an unseen gust came along and dipped us over to 35. The crew below had a rather quick seat, and I released the mainsheet to bleed off some of the wind. Afterwards, I heard from below; "Did you do that on purpose?" Me? Nah, I was as surprised as you. We took it easy the rest of the afternoon. Ken S/V Tameye Falmouth Maine
 
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mike merrithew

My Boat Is Falling

I have been lucky to have had a wife that understood what sailing was about, and when too much heel was too much heel. When the wind piped up and began to round us up with the spinnaker up, she didn't like it at all, but understood it was a temporary condition. My 3 year old daughter, however, began to complain when things got too tippy, "My boat is falling." If you are lucky enough to have a family who likes to go with you, it's important to keep it comfortable as much as possible. My velocity prediction program suggested 29 degrees of heel in 20 knots of wind. If we were racing that was ok. If we were cruising, that was unacceptable. If I wanted to spend a couple of days at 29 degrees, then I waited until the annual Port Huron to Mackinaw Singlehanded Challenge, where I could yell at the crew all I wanted, and heel all day long.
 
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alex jomarron

rookie heeler

This summer was my first as a sailor. Early in the season we were closehauled and just exiting the shadow of Navy Pier which brought on an increase of wind. The boat heeled over to nearly the rail, my eyes got large and I loosened the mainsheet and she sat back up. I maintained a stoic outward appearance, but that took my breath away since it was the first time it ever happened.
 
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Pirate

Too Much Heel?

There is a limit to how much heel the boat and crew are happy with. For a Catalina 30 it's between 22 and 25 degrees. If you have so much sail up that you are getting knocked down and rounded up, you need to take sailing lessons. At more than the right amount of heel the boat is slow and hard to handle. If you are racing, you power the boat up for the lulls and dump the main to keep the boat on her feet in the gusts. If you are cruising, reef early, power the boat so the main does not require constent attention in the gusts. Everyone will be safer and happier. As you can tell, clueless sailors that put their boats and crews at risk because they can't or won't reef are a pet peeve of mine. I was on a 37 foot boat that has has all the gear and $$$$ in high tech sails and lines yesterday. We were "hired guns" racing the boat for the owner. Conditions were not extreme, about 25 knot gusting 30+. The smallest headsail on the boat was a #3 that just lapped the mast and the high zoot racing main had only one reef point. There was no way we could control the boat with those sails up. We had the backstay full on, the main reefed and boarded, and had to abandon the race before the mast came out of the boat. What a joke! What would have been a bigger joke would have been for us to try to carry on with too much sail and run the risk if damaging the boat ot injuring the crew. The owner should be taken out and shot for not having a sail combination on the boat that would handle what are everyday conditions in places like SF Bay. If you boat is heeling too much, reef. If you can't shorten sail for conditions, go home. Take up another sport and leave sailing to sailors.
 
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Jason

Depends, with or without kids.

If it's just my wife I can dip the rail without a care in the world. With the kids (1 and 3) anything over 10 degrees is a problem.
 
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Kent

Your boat is too tippy when........

....your 5 and 7 year old kids outright refuse to sail with you for the entire summer after a harrowing experience dodging CD's, soda cans,books and everything else which was carelessly left unsecured below deck one very windy afternoon last May......when not even the bribe of "we'll go swimming this time, I promise", or "Daddy will let you press the engine starter button and steer the boat" works. That's when I've pressed it to far, which I unfortunately did last Spring. And when the kids do not sail with me, funny how my alloted sailing time away from wife and newborn shrunk from about 4 hours to 2 on weekends! Sail flat, sail longer.
 
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Perry

Older Hunter lots more tippie

Don't kid yourself. If you own one of the older Hunters and you checked anything above 20 your not checking your incline meter or just tempting fate.
 
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Bill Trent

When you hear the sucking sound

I sail a Hunter and a Grampian. When I hear the keel on the Grampian sucking as it leaves the water, I trim back slightly. On the Hunter, wing Keel, when the water is running down the side deck.
 
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Beverly

How much is too much heel?

Somedays it is fun to see how far over the boat will go and what it takes to get it upright, which then prepares the crew for those unexpected gusts of wind that seem to blow out of nowhere on a rather pleasant day. However,too much healing upsets more than the equillibrium in the brain, it goes to the stomach which has it's own form of revolt.*X
 
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Bob

Boat Design

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the manufacturer's recommendation for maximum healing based on the respective design of the specific boat. Each boat has a maximum rate of heel beyond which you go at your own peril.
 
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Robert Pontius

Initially Tender

Since our little Hunter, S/V Rushing Wind, is water ballasted, she is initially tender. This causes a bit of concern for my first mate. She, being a she, tends to project things out (a normally good thing that has saved me from a number of disasters) and gets quite concerned that we are going to "tip over!" I'd say the amount of heel is not that important, but the sudden onset causes fears that are not much relieved by the fact "the more she tips, the slower she tips." Yes, we got a inclinometer to settle arguments about the amount of heel and 15 degrees is about as much as I can get past the first mate. Shall we change "smooth sailing" to "level sailing?" Captain Bob
 
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