and the outboard cavatating, the impeller that was new turning to mush, the shrouds scraping your forhead because you forgot to duck, the deck that was dry, is now all wet as you slide around, the lifeline is now a tournekit around your leg, and that nice fishing pole on the hand rail is missing, you didn't mean to step on the solar panel (good thing it was cheap) Did I hear a loud crack when you stepped on top of the companion way hatch????
In the absence of an autohelm, on some boats it's possible to rig a line from the tiller, out of the cockpit, forward around the deck and back down the other side and tied back onto the tiller.
If you leave some tension in this setup (you could run through fairleads, around stanchions, whatever) it should hold the tiller steady while you're out of the cockpit. In addition the line is close to hand when you're on the foredeck and you can make necessary steering adjustments from there.
This can be esp helpful on smaller boats where shifting your weight around causes the boat to alter course, sometimes dramatically.
It was doable and still is, since roller furling is a relatively recent invention. Tania Aebi circumnavigated single handed in a 26' boat without roller furling. I'd also highly recommend the jib downhaul. Many boats with hanked on headsails will have bags that allow them to leave a sail hanked on, but stowed on the foredeck. It makes for faster, and IMHO, easier sail changes.
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Sailingdog Telstar 28
New England
You know what the first rule of sailing is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.
—Cpt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity (edited)
If you're new to the Sailnet Forums... please read this POST.
I singlehanded for many years on a 25' boat with hanked-on sails. You should have some kind of self-steerer, even if it's only a tiller tamer. You should also keep an eye on the weather and reduce sail area before it becomes a critical issue. If you sail on a smallish, more sheltered inland lake, where the waves never really get big, it's much easier to change sails than on a big bay or ocean, where the waves cause the boat to pitch and roll violently. If you're on a big bay or open waters, beating to windward against steep rollers or chop, it's no fun to go forward to change sails. My best advice is to rig the boat for the kind of sailing you'll be doing, i.e., racing vs. cruising, sheltered waters vs. open waters, singlehanding vs. fully crewed.
Before spending a lot of money on anything take a look at these: http://www.tillermate.com/ . I think this doodad is great. You can do the same thing with a clove hitch around the tiller, but the tillermate is a spiffier solution.
I need to get a tiller tamer. I go with my kids, who think is great fun to do zig zags when asked to mind the tiller while dad is on the foredeck.
They are minding the tiller... Just not quite the way you'd like them to.
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Sailingdog Telstar 28
New England
You know what the first rule of sailing is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.
—Cpt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity (edited)
If you're new to the Sailnet Forums... please read this POST.
If you are on a boat with no furling headsail, slow down. set it up for you. Firstly if you are reducing sail, be a master of the "heave-to". get the wheel/tilller tied off with the boat settled down on a backwinded jibsail, and then do your thing with the mainsail. gEt very very good at this. practice in lighter winds..
then as far as sailing with a boat with no furing headsail gear, no worries, rig up a simple downhaul, there must be 100 of them on website by now. collapse the jib and tether it down. change it out to a smaller one. Be sure you have searoom to do this, and that your mainsail is either behaving or tethered. Are you solo or with crew?
It is all about slowing down and having a plan before you are in play.
enjoy sailing, it can teach you alot about yourself.
Sorry if I'm hijacking a bit, but when you folks single-hand and have to leave the cockpit, do you clip in with a harness?
Probably should but in reality only when offshore. Having said that I rarely single hand in heavy weather unless offshore and get caught out. Single handing in the harbour these days is too traumatic with the amount of traffic around so if I'm by myself I get the heck out of there and head offshore. Then I always wear a harness.
Ref furling, in a 25-27'er I doubt I'd bother changing from hanked headsail to a furler.
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Greatness is not where we stand, but in what direction we are moving....we must sail, sometimes with the wind, sometimes against it, but sail we must, and not drift nor lie at anchor.- Oliver Wendell Holmes
Denise, Bristol PA, Oday 30
I'd also highly recommend the 
Just not quite the way you'd like them to.
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