heeling

[Loualfr]

ok, thought I'd see if I can get a woman's perspective on this from other woman sailors. We sail somewhat less than I'd like, mainly b/c we have two 2 year olds and our boat isn't all that big and stable. But, when we do sail, my wife is not real keen on heeling past 10 degrees, any hints on how I can make her more comfortable with it, other than sailing more often(which I'd like to do but is hard to fit in to the sched. currently). thanks.

[Libellula]

pick your weather carefully
and reef early
keep it fun and make your trips short for now

[hellosailor]

Lou, I don't think sex is relevant here. (Even if protecting the yoing is going to make her more dangerous than usual.)

Some new sailors get real upset by heeling the boat, and the way to get past that--if you are going to get past it--is usually by experience (more sailing in progressively more heel) and building confidence about the conditions, the boat, and the skipper. Can't rush the experience, that will only terrify her.

Honestly? Sending her to a womens' sailing program like Womenship and having her learn how to sail (and that heeling is normal) without a spousal connection, is probably the best way to go.

Meantime, reefing early, playing the traveler and keeping the boat fairly flat is probably a good way to keep it sailing fast, too. Somewhere between 10-15 degrees of heel is where most boats start to just make excess leeway and lose speed toward the mark, anyhow.

[GySgt]

My wife was like that, until she had the tiller in her hand. Now she loves to put the toe rail in the water and scream like she is at Disney Land, then denies doing it on purpose. She also asks, "where does the little pointer thing need to be up there for a close reach"

[Freesail99]

Originally Posted by GySgt

She also ask, "where does the little pointer thing need to be up there for a close reach"

GySgt, I really wish you had said this in the off topic area, lol

[GySgt]

LOL, probably best I did'nt

[kananumpua]

Like HelloSailor said, heeling slows you down so reef early and learn to predict the wind so that you can travel down before it gets to you. This will both keep the wife happy and keep you sailing fast. Eventually you will get a burst and the boat will heel over, sometimes to where you've got water coming into the cockpit. After this happens a number of times she will see that it's more annoying than life threatening.

[SanderO]

Heeling does not slow the boat down. Excessive heeling does... and you slip to leeward. Most hulls and sail plans have an optimal angle of heel. It's never 0°... but I'm usually wrong.

I found this quote online:

The VPP work completed for this design indicates typical upwind heel angles of approximately 15 degrees. In way of reference, a larger canting keel boat typically operates with average upwind heel angles of around 20 degrees, while fixed keel yachts typically heel a bit more again, around an average of 23 degrees upwind. Optimum upwind heel angles are produced in a VPP by balancing a boat near maximum righting moment while maintaining the sailplan's maximum efficiency. A lower optimum heel angle indicates a boat whose maximum righting moment arrives relatively earlier.

jef
sv shiva

[WinterRiver]

I've been working with my 10 year old daughter on this one. I was surprised when she got nervous about heeling, since she's usually quite adventurous and a thrill seeker. As others have suggested, for her it's a confidence thing. I sailed a lot growing up, but we were away from the water for too long and she is just learning.

She spent time on a dinghy at camp this summer, which made her more nervous. It didn't help that she saw other kids go for an unexpected swim. I acknowledged her fears and kept repeating what she could do if she felt like the puff was too much and she was getting out of control. Let out the sail, head up a bit, etc. She understands these things intellectually, but needs to put them into practice enough times to develop that gut feeling that everything's OK. Like hellosailor said, it takes time and experience to gain confidence.

(Climbing up onto my soapbox now....) I'll ask everyone -- when was the last time you were an absolute beginner at something intellectually and physically demanding that is often percieved as being dangerous? Do you remember what it's like to not know what to do, or to know exactly what you should be doing but not trust that you can make it all happen consistently? Want to remember? Try a new sport. Rent a windsurfer and head out on the lake. Take a snowboarding lesson. Go to the local skate park and have the kids show you how to drop into a bowl. Ever tried pole vaulting? (Climbing down now....)

That's a long-winded way to say that I agree with everyone's advice. Good (non-spouse) coaching, patience, practice and experience. The more time she spends on the tiller in mellow conditions, the more comfortable she will become. If you bring the kids, I suspect you'll find that she's more than happy to drive while you keep them happy and safe.

[sailingdog]

Get a multihull... Heeling about 10˚ is close to the max... unless you're hotdogging and really pushing it... then Murphy will probably capsize you..and it'll still be relatively flat...but upside down.