[cr8n]

i bought a minisail to learn on. 13'long 36" beam, and 75 sq ft sock style sail.
there is no outhaul, and with a sock style sail there is no way to lower the sail while on the water.

last weekend we had a great day with 10mph winds. as we turned to had in, however the wind began gusting much higher. guessing some were over 15mph and i could not keep the boat upright no matter how loose i let the sheets or how tight i pulled the sail in going down wind. there was no way to lower or reef the sail to paddle in. we ended up leaving the boat on its side and towing it to shore by hand; swimming.

how should this situation have been handled? what do you do with this type of rig when the wind gets gusty?

 

[jrcanoe]

You will be begging for a day like that soon. You have to learn to crawl before you can walk. The "We'' was one of your problems. you will learn to hike and counter that force with sailpower. The beauty of that kind of rig is that there are no shrouds to keep you from letting the sail out further.

 

[FSMike]

By sock style do you mean a sail that slides down over the mast?
Since you say there is no outhaul does that indicate there is a boom?
If so, can you detach the sail from the boom and wind it around the mast a few times to reduce the sail area?
To totally furl it in a hurry can you raise the boom up against the mast and wrap the sail around the boom and mast?

 

[overbored]

A minisail is a simple boat but not really a boat for a beginner when the wind blows. not a boat for two unless the skipper knows how to sail well. 15 mph downwind and you best know how to sail well. it is a balancing act between the wind and your hiking ability.
the sail can be wrapped around the mast to reef but it can't be done on the water. once you learn to sail it you will never want to reef. the boat just becomes fun when the wind is over 15 mph