What does ... "lock into irons" mean ?

[Dennis]

Folks ... on another forum someone wrote (poetically I might add) a passage about the joy of sailing ... an excerpt is ... "The auxiliary starts with the first crank. You ease your dock lines. You are underway! Sliding out into the main channel you begin your planning for raising sails. Sheets and lines are ready, halyard ready....headsail up...power off ... lock into irons...up goes the main, greeting the sun rising in the distance. Creaking and stretching sounds from the rigging....she sounds ready ... fall off to present her quarter beam. ... ". My question is, what does "lock into irons" mean ? I thought "in irons" meant when the wind and current forced you to go backwards .... Thanks ... Dennis (kingofcary@aol.com)

 

[David Foster]

Head to wind?

In the context, it seems to mean coming head to wind to hoist the main. We usually do this with the engine on to avoid going into irons - sailing backwards.You can easily steer onto a tack to fill your sails once you are making enough sternway in irons.David

 

[Greig Carroll]

In Irons

Have you ever tried to tack and didn't quite make it. The boat stalled with the bow directly into the wind? That's "in Irons". Easy enough to get out of. Back the jib and let the bow fall off the wind bring the jib around and your on your way.

 

[Mark F. Arena]

.....unless you're on a 14 Hobie with.......

no jib, then you stayed in irons all day! Ah-those were the days!M

 

[Bob greenfield]

Iorns

Happened to me once on the Choptank River, Chesapeake Bay. Wind and currentwould not allow me tack. A rather strange but frustrating experience.

 

[Steve O.]

meaning

"In irons" means stalled dead into the wind, with no drive from the sails. Doesn't mean sailing backwards, although that can easily happen after going into irons.