Using drift sock to raise sails

[LordNelson]

Has anyone used a drift sock or sea anchor when solo to keep boat into the wind to raise sails? When there is a west wind it is hard to crawl away from the mooring without drifting back into docks. I am unable to drop the center board due to rocks so that doesn't help. I have been thinking of getting a drift sock to deploy after motoring out from the mooring.

 

[ebsail]

That does'nt sound practical. The boat will still drift, just slower, and the time to drop the sock and retrieve it will put you back where you were. You could drop anchor if its shallow. Why not just motor out far enough to not drift into anything while raising sails. Then raise the main first . Of course if money is not a problem, get a tiller auto pilot to keep the boat on course while raising sails

 

[jssailem]

LN. Where is your halyard? Is it at the mast or does it comeback to the cockpit?

I am a Mast / Halyard guy. When sailing solo, I get the boat out and away from others, point it into the wind. Lash the tiller in the middle. Release the Mainsheet so the boom can swing. Go to the mast haul up the main, tie it off and return to the tiller if I have drifted too much... Reset my course into the wind, to the mast and raise the Jib... Tie her off and back to the cockpit for a great sail.

The Tiller Clutch was one of the first adds when I got tired of wrapping the surgical tubing around the tiller. The tubbing worked great. A little spring and 2 wraps made it hard for the tiller to move. The Tiller Clutch worked pretty much the same but is a lot more elegant. It is just a flick of my finger away from holding the tiller in place.

 

[Brian S]

I'm just gonna chime in here with jssailem, and agree that the Wave Front Marine Tiller Clutch is the main thing that allows me to singlehand and run all around the boat to do stuff with near impunity. I idle into the wind with the Tiller Clutch set, and know that I have at least a few minutes to hoist the main before she blows off course, or me going forward to the mast changes the dynamics of a straight course set in the cockpit. When it's windier, I don't have as much time, of course, but it's still totally doable. www.wavefrontmarine.com

 

[All U Get]

I’ve raised the main while on the mooring and waited as the boat swings from side to side. If you can drop your centerboard even a little bit and tie the tiller to center, it will help. Once you get a feel of how swinging to one side will get you away the best, untie from the mooring with the momentum of that swing. Then get the centerboard down at first opportunity. Can you get the jib up from the cockpit? If not I would raise it before releasing, too.

 

[LordNelson]

Both halyards are at the mast. The main does not want to raise without being directly into the wind. I only have the problem with a west wind as I am only 50' from docks and the bluff often kills the wind while current pushes me into the docks. Otherwise, I raise the sails on the mooring and go. I will try lashing tiller as see how that works. Thanks.

 

[Brian S]

I will try lashing tiller as see how that works. Thanks.

You might try a "Cajun tiller tamer": Cajun Tiller Tamer

 

[jssailem]

Lord Nelson. Release the mainsheet so that the boom can swing when you go to the mast and raise the sail. If the boom is captured or restricted the sail will be hard to raise. If it is free and the boat drifts a little out of “to Wind” the boom will align with the wind and it will seem to the sail that the sail is still into the wind.

On a small boat, as Brian stated, you can change the balance of the boat and it will start to change direction. You can also use this feature to steer the boat back into the wind. If your weight is on port and th eboat is going to port, move around the mast to starboard and keep working the boat will change track again.

I could set the tiller and the sails, then walk to the bow of my 15 footer and where I positioned my weight I could cause the boat to steer a straight course for over a mile. Sure it was not normal, but a fun exercise in boat management by adjusting the center of balance. Usually it was during light winds and helped to pass the time until the breezes returned.

 

[DrJudyB]

You might try a "Cajun tiller tamer": Cajun Tiller Tamer

That’s my hubby Dave showing the Cajun Tiller tamer!