1st Time Singlehanding

[jnsailing]

Chuckles has nailed it! - we live in a world of things that are dangerous but we have each developed our own comfort level with the risks we are willing to take - one can fall out of bed and break their neck but how many tether themselves into bed at night - more people die in their bathrooms from slips, falls and drowning than any other place on earth yet we don't scream for people to wear a pfd when they take a bath - let us not worry so much about the safety level of everyone else and let us just go and enjoy life at our own level of safety - it will be ever so much more fun

john n

[arbarnhart]

I agree with Chuckles that we hijacked a thread that should have been about the fun experience of single handing and since I do agree with that part of his post, I can't debate the rest of it - at least not in this thread.

[JSL3]

Originally Posted by chucklesR

What a bunch of pessamistic party poopers. Here a guy posts on the joy of single handing for the first time and you black cloud dragging, white knuckle types make it a thead on jacklines, turtling and oh my god what could happens.

He wore a PFD in 5-8 knots of wind on the Chesapeake Bay for Neptunes sake - we probably had all of 2 foot waves. I don't even have jack lines on board my boat, and not a harness anywhere, and frankly, screw ya'll - they are not needed at this point, sailing in the conditions I sail in. I'm out there with dinghy's and Sunfish, and 420's - do you think they have tethers on?

This is not open ocean sailing, this is not 100 years ago where I couldn't get a doppler radar shot of weather every 60 seconds.


Give it a rest, quit whining about what if's and go sailing for once.

Chuckles,
Thanks for tacking back on course with this thread!
Cheers.

[JSL3]

Originally Posted by chuck5499

by the way where is south river on the cheaspeake - maybe soulmates and i will stop by
chuck and soulmates
ki4sry
on the hook in solomon isl

Chuck
The south river is the 1st large river south of Annapolis on the western shore of the Chesapeake. There are a few nice anchorages but they do tend to get crowded on weekends since they are so close to the city (Annapolis).
The South River is a nice place to sail if the bay is to choppy. Not overly wide but certainly sailable.

[chucklesR]

I'm on Deep Creek near the mouth of the Magothy; yesterday coming back from a Yacht Club raftup we had 12-16 out of the south, chop building to 3 feet. Since we had a schedule to keep and the wind was on the nose we motored back.
I've only been off the South twice in my new boat - we normally head north on the bay to escape the sea nettles (which I heard have made it to St Micheals already).

I've taken Patience Two out many times single handed even though nothing is rigged to the cockpit, at 14 ft of beam it is a stable platform even if the waves are off the beam, so I don't mind going forward to raise the main. Otto takes pretty good care of keeping me dead into the wind (ST60+ on wind vane mode).
Sailing a Gemini catamaran single handed gets to be fun on a starboard tack as the helm is on the starboard side putting the port side winch about 8 feet from where you stand/sit; it makes trimming a little more difficult.
When ever I'm single handling (I have more time sailing single handed on this boat than I do with crew) I got through all the set up and preparation I can think of to make sure I'm ready for my next move -
I always set up the off winch for a tack
I always have the boards down 1/2 way on both sides so I don't need to adjust (normally windward down, leeward up)
I clear the sheet tails constantly so I know they will run free
I keep the main sheet on my shoulder so I can pop the sheet instantly.
I keep the Rum within reach of the helm so I don't have to leave

[sailingdog]

Chuckles-

There is a big difference between singlehanding on a 14' wide catamaran, with relatively little heel, and a 28' monohull that may be heeled over 30˚ and only has 8-9' of beam.

Even though my boat has an 18' beam, when I'm singlehanding, I tether myself to the boat initially at least, since I have to go forward to deploy the amas, and with the amas retracted the boat is far less safe to go forward on, and only 8' 6" wide or so. If the boat has the amas already extended... I'll tether in if the conditions warrant it.

[arbarnhart]

I may have worked out a solution for my jib sheet tangling issue. On a little boat like mine, the hardware for it is extremely simple. In this picture:



You can see the eye and the jam cleat. That's all there is. You pull the sheet tight and cleat it (and yes, it will slip when hit by a gust). What I am thinking is that when I am letting one sheet out, I need to be pulling the other in. But I have one hand on the tiller so I need to do it one handed. If I have the "off" sheet cleated with just a little slack in it, I could uncldeat the loaded line, slide my hand down the line trying not to release line as I do until I reach the other cleat, uncleat that line and then with both lines in the same hand move my hand along the cabin roof line so that I will be releasing one sheet while tightening the other. The downsides that occur to me are that I will be dragging the sheets across the (probably open) companion way and the practice could be rough on hands/gloves and line.

A related question - should I consider getting cam cleats instead? It almost seems like a safety feature that the jam cleats slip (I think it would help prevent knockdowns), but the last time out when I had a fairly steady brisk wind it was annoying.

BTW, when I seem a little overcautious, it's because though I am usally sailing single handed as far as the mechanics of sailing goes, I am usually not alone.

[sailingdog]

I think it is even more important to practice good seamanship and keep oneself aboard the boat if the only other people aboard are young children. Take a moment to think about how your kids, nieces, nephews, etc, would feel if you fell aboard and drowned and they could do nothing about it.... or worse, what if you fell aboard and the now unguided sailboat hit something and sank, and the kids drowned...

Given what has been said in the various powerboat-sailboat collision threads.... I would think that one would have a very vested interest in staying aboard, if not for one's own safety, at least to ensure the safety of their passengers.

[sailingdog]

Andy-

I think cam cleats are a better idea, especially for lines with such a variable load on them. Jam or clam cleats, like the ones you're currently using, tend to let go too easily in light winds, and can be hard to release in very heavy winds. Cam cleats tend to be more consistent, since they're depending on a spring to keep the cams closed, rather than the force of the pull on the line to keep it jammed in place. However, cam cleats don't "slip" like jam or clam cleats can—so it would depend on how much you need that slippage.

Originally Posted by arbarnhart

I may have worked out a solution for my jib sheet tangling issue. On a little boat like mine, the hardware for it is extremely simple. In this picture:



You can see the eye and the jam cleat. That's all there is. You pull the sheet tight and cleat it (and yes, it will slip when hit by a gust). What I am thinking is that when I am letting one sheet out, I need to be pulling the other in. But I have one hand on the tiller so I need to do it one handed. If I have the "off" sheet cleated with just a little slack in it, I could uncldeat the loaded line, slide my hand down the line trying not to release line as I do until I reach the other cleat, uncleat that line and then with both lines in the same hand move my hand along the cabin roof line so that I will be releasing one sheet while tightening the other. The downsides that occur to me are that I will be dragging the sheets across the (probably open) companion way and the practice could be rough on hands/gloves and line.

A related question - should I consider getting cam cleats instead? It almost seems like a safety feature that the jam cleats slip (I think it would help prevent knockdowns), but the last time out when I had a fairly steady brisk wind it was annoying.

BTW, when I seem a little overcautious, it's because though I am usally sailing single handed as far as the mechanics of sailing goes, I am usually not alone.

[dquack]

regarding tethers and harnesses (Beating a dead horse?):

I was speaking about how to set up a boat. When you use your Safety gear is a matter of personal choice. In the past year I sailed a lot, in all kinds of conditions (Bay, Coastal, Atlantic) and I never even used my harness once. The conditions didn't seem to warrant it. I believe in setting up your boat properly so that if you need safety equipment you have it to use.
I use the gear that I need when I need it. To me its all the same category as my first aid kit. I take it out when I need it, but mist of the time it is in a locker.

I sail singlehanded almost exclusively when on long trips. I love the freedom and the fact that I create the rules (not some insurance company or hand wringer afraid of their own shadow). When it gets rough enough I use the equipment necessary to assure my safety.

I just make sure that equipment is aboard and properly prepared. Thats good seamanship isn't it?

To each his own. Freedom is what sailing is all about-

"A hull and a deck and sails-thats what a boat needs. But what a boat is, what the Black Pearl really is, is freedom." Captn Jack

Don