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Singlehanding...

9K views 50 replies 27 participants last post by  DonBland 
#1 ·
I have some experience singlehanding but whenever I was out alone, I only sailed with the main. Now, I want to go out and sail the boat with both a mainsail and a headsail. My question for you guys it how do you deal with the tiller and sheets through maneuvers.

I am talking about monohulls without self-tacking equipment. So let's say you execute a tack or gybe. Do you deal with the mainsail then get the boat steady on its new heading then let go of the tiller to deal with the headsail?

Any tips or tricks? The two scenarios I'm thinking of are:

Singlehanding: Alone
Singlehanding: There are others on the boat but they are not sailors. Do you teach them what to do?
 
#30 ·
The brass was deburred and has been on the boat for over 15 yrs. so it's pretty smooth to the touch. It's easily removable but I've never taken it off. If I want to get it out of the way I just need to slide the hatch back an inch or two. It's on the hatch for the aft cabin and I usually don't go down there much while sailing.

It works great for a Nor'Sea 27', but as SD says it's definitely not for many boats.

Steve
 
#31 ·
Tiller between my legs most of the time, or controlling it with my foot. I rarely use a winch handle, and most of the time I bypass the winch altogether, depending on the wind I am sailing in. I also ALWAYS have stopper knots tied with the sheets running through the cleats. If it gets to be too much at times, I will often drop the jib/genny and fly under main alone. I find it to be a whole lot easier to handle, especially for a beginner singlehanding when there is a lot of marina traffic.
Being a beginner sailor, I try to mostly give everything a try to see what flows well for me. I singlehand a lot, so this thread has been pretty interesting, to see the way that other people do it.

--
Corey
 
#34 ·
Steve,

That is where I am to some degree with my boat with one major wrinkle. I have decided to do a pretty full refurb. I am going to repair all the deck surface cracks, fill and fair all the little dings (there are no major ones) on the deck, sides and bottom and repaint. Before I do this, I am doing some additional fitting out. The N17 is a pretty basic boat. It has a lot going for it if you have to limit yourself to very small boats that can do some short coastal cruising. It's light enough to tow with just about anything, can launch/beach in very shallow water, the mast can easily be stepped by one person and it has good sailing character. Search around and you will see what I mean. But back to it being basic. I am looking at other boats and thinking about things I really wish I had and then deciding if it is something I can do. When I do the the fairing and painting, some things that I have done in wood are going to get a coat of epoxy and paint and look like fiberglass (shhh! ;) ). This might be one of those things...
 
#35 ·
The first boat that Mrs. Knothead and I sailed was a little West Wight Potter we named "Delta Dwarf". (She says it was 12' I'm thinking 13' but who's counting). We used a trolling motor and would camp out on that boat for the weekends and sail many miles on the San Joaquin river.

We had a great time on that little boat.... wink, wink:D

I still get the impression sometimes that people with the smallest boats are usually the happiest.

And I would never fault a man for reducing his bright work load.

We must think alike.

Steve
 
#37 ·
Actually, the little Potter model is the "15", but that is because they included the pulpit and the rudder when they measured (I am not making this up). That was/is a very cool little boat and people have made some amazing voyages in it. The N17 has some similarities, but is quite a bit larger. It is actually 17' 8" from bow to stern (measuring fiberglass, not air :D ). It is shallow draft with a swing keel, doesn't weigh a lot but doesn't fall over easy and usually pops back up if it does (much like the Potter). The N17 does have a massive cockpit with one drain so pooping is more of a concern. But I am not planning any crossings. Besides, I have searched pretty extensively for N17 capsize stories and not found any. I did find a guy who tried to knock his over on purpose in 30+ knot winds and failed and another guy who tried to sail his (actually a borrowed one) to the Bahamas and succeeded.
 
#38 ·
I have some experience singlehanding but whenever I was out alone, I only sailed with the main. Now, I want to go out and sail the boat with both a mainsail and a headsail. My question for you guys it how do you deal with the tiller and sheets through maneuvers.

I am talking about monohulls without self-tacking equipment. So let's say you execute a tack or gybe. Do you deal with the mainsail then get the boat steady on its new heading then let go of the tiller to deal with the headsail?

Any tips or tricks? The two scenarios I'm thinking of are:

Singlehanding: Alone
Singlehanding: There are others on the boat but they are not sailors. Do you teach them what to do?
You get your control line all to the cockpit; get your lines ergonomically situated for your body:
sit there an think about yourself hauling various lines from the helming position, what fits YOUR body & range of motion.
so you can comfortably and safely control the boat's sailing controls all right from the cockpit area.
run the mainsheet, the boom vang, and the topping lift all centrally, on the boom if posible,
Then you can hold/control the tiller & mainsheet in your back hand
You have your for'd hand to work the jib sheets, and also the vang, the out haul, or topping lift to depower when a gust hits,
and they are also there just at the ready to power up in an instant,all from right where you are helming solo.

When you are comfortable controlling your baby solo, you can invite folks an let 'em feel like they are helpin but you are confidently in control !
a song I remember once said, "the canvas can do miracles" this is SO true, & so much more true when you can do all the controls by yourself confidently and comfortably.
 
#39 ·
While I agree with most of the post above, I would like to comment on a few of the points as follows:
"run the mainsheet, the boom vang, and the topping lift all centrally, on the boom if possible"
I suggest that having the controls on the boom only works on very small boats and that its more convenient to have these controls on the deck or cabin so they can be adjusted even when the boom has been eased out on a reach or run.

Then you can hold/control the tiller & mainsheet in your back hand
If you are laying out your controls from scratch, (which few of us ever get to do) I suggest that it is more ideal to have all of the frequently adjusted controls forward of where you sit to steer. This allow you to face forward and look at your sails and the line that you are adjusting while you are making adjustments. While it is not always possible to do, It generally works better with human physiology to have your body front facing the control line that you are pulling on. Pulling across the body or parallel to the shoulders each increase the strain on the body and use your muscles less efficiently.

You have your for'd hand to work the jib sheets, and also the vang, the out haul, or topping lift to depower when a gust hits.
For single-handing I prefer to set up the topping lift at a length that it never has to be adjusted. What is not mentioned but which is possibly more important, the traveler control lines should be within easy reach of the helmsman and on a fractional rig, the backstay adjuster should be readily in reach and convenient to use. If you expect to be on a leg a long time in gusty conditions, it can be very helpful to cross sheet the jibsheets as well.

Jeff
 
#41 ·
Cockpits on boats up to 40' or so are pretty compact. The problem in working in them is that there is not enough real estate. As such they are suited to one person doing it all. If you are behind the helm that's often hard to achieve... unless you use an AP (as most do.... single, short or whatever handed) Racing requires quick moves and that's not always true for a single handed cruiser... as they have time to deal with the line controls one at a time. Tacking and gybing are the exceptions.... this happens fast. I am able to work my boat's line controls, the engine controls and the AP... main, vang, traveler (bridge deck location) main halyard, topping lift, reefing lines, main sheet and jib sheet from a standing position just in front of the binnacle. Not all boats would have the same "architecture" and so generic answers are not terribly helpful other than everything needs to be in easy reach.
 
#42 ·
When I'm anticipating a maneuver, such as rounding a leeward mark and either gybing or hardening up to closehauled, I know that I can't steer the boat, haul in the jib sheet, reset the mainsheet traveler and haul in the mainsheet efficiently, all at once, by myself, either on a smallish boat or a 40 footer. I don't have enough hands. So, I do as many of those tasks as possible in the last couple boat lengths before I reach the mark. I reset the traveler, locking it amidship, and haul in as much of the mainsheet as possible, and I put the winch handle in the winch. By getting those tasks out of the way before rounding the mark, all I have left to do is steer the boat around the mark and haul in the jibsheet. When the boat rounds the mark, it accelerates because the mainsail powers it through the maneuver and it makes for a very efficient singlehanded rounding. After the jib is trimmed for the new closehauled course, all that's left is to make final adjustments to the main sheet and traveler, which can be done relatively unhurriedly.

Whatever you can get done in advance of the maneuver, you don't have to do during the maneuver.
 
#44 · (Edited)
When people are looking for single-handed sailing tips, there tends to be a focus on changes to the boat- with sail controls and self steering being one of the primary foci of the discussions. While these are useful discussion points, to me the biggest issue is one of choreography. The central issues with single handing all revolve around the "How can you be in two places at once?"

Acknowledging that you only have two hands, two knees and two feet to do things with and that they are all (ideally) attached, the first step in learning to single-hand any boat is to break down any maneuver that you are likely to do into a number of discrete steps and then arrange these in a sequence that minimizes the need to be two places at once, reduces the time and effort to perform the maneuver, and eliminates much of the chance for a disaster to occur.

The boat's behavior, deck plan and hardware certainly play a role in this, but once the reality of these are factored in, the ease or difficulty is often driven by where you place your body, how you move around the boat performing the required tasks, and the sequence and timing of each step of the maneuver.

Part of developing these step by step processes is making sure that the maneuver happens a reasonable rate. There is a tendency to rush through maneuvers when you are single-handed, trying to match the speed at which the same maneuver is performed on a fully crewed boat. That often results in a longer time to complete a maneuver or more effort. Instead plan the maneuver in a way that allows things to happen slowly enough that you can safely move through the process. I sometimes hum waltz music to slow myself down.

But doing maneuvers more slowly than a fully crewed boat maneuvers also mean leaving more searoom to perform the maneuver than a fully crewed boat requires. Simple items like tacking do not need all that much more space, but mainsail, jib and spinnaker raises, jibes, and dowses can easily eat up 3-4 times the distance required by a fully crewed boat, especially in a stiff breeze.

Which brings up another key piece of single-handing; thinking things through long ahead of time. A part of thinking things out ahead of time is practicing tasks in a place where you have plenty of room to avoid getting in trouble, but also practicing tasks in a mindful way. Start your practice maneuvers near a reference mark and by clicking off a stopwatch, Then, at the end of the maneuver make a point of looking back to see how far your traveled from that mark and how much time has passed. (You will be amazed). But by practicing enough, you will be better able to predict how long it takes when it goes right and when it goes wrong.

Once you have a sense of that, it is easier to avoid placing the boat and yourself in a position where there is no where to go but into trouble. Here are a couple single-handing pictures:

6336 Synergy stern Desktop B
In this first picture I have just rounded a mark and I am heading up onto a beat in a building wind. The chute was dropped early before the rounding and the jib set up for the beat in the last 25 feet on the run. The traveler and backstay was preset, and then the main sheet was hauled in as I made the turn. At this point the boat is a little overpowered so I am in the process of dropping the traveler (one hand on the wheel and one hand in the traveler control line)

Synergy Sailnet Cruise beating out White Rocks

This second picture is beating out of White Rocks in moderate winds. I am sitting at the jib sheet winch, wheel in hand, the traveler control line and mainsheet are just forward of where I am sitting.

Synergy under Spinnaker Approaching Bridge 2

This last shot is reaching through the Bay Bridge I am roughly 2/3 of the way towards the windward pylon. This allows me plenty of room to bear off in a shift, or a little room to round up if hit by a big gust.
 
#48 · (Edited)
Ha! So maybe now would be a good time to mention the people and web resources that are available through the Chesapeake Bay Shorthanded Sailing Society (CHESSS) and the San Francisco Bay Singlehanded Sailing Society (SSS), among others. I used to think there was a special secret handshake to join and that I needed to be some expert solo sailor to hang with the SSSers, but that couldn't be further from reality. It sounds as if CHESSS is the same way - just sailors wanting to share their knowledge and enjoyment of shorthanded sailing! Over the next several months before the Singlehanded TransPacific Race in June, SSS is hosting monthly seminars on equipment and provisioning for offshore sailing. They're now being offered through webinars. Everyone is welcome to join! Just register at www.sfbaysss.org.
 
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