[georgemci102a2]

Hello all,My name is George, new to the forum,and only been sailing [email protected] 6 months.(Question)..Is severe wrist pain a part of sailing ? Ive been practicing @ 3 days a week and my left wrist has locked up and become swollen to the point of not being able to move it, or my fingers.Hope it will pass soon....thx George.

 

[Caribbeachbum]

Sailing to windward?

Left-handed?

 

[Jiminri]

I have an assortment of bruises...like from having the locker lid close on my skull while reaching to get tools, cuts and scrapes on my hands from using tools on rusty bolts in an engine room designed for midgets, stubbed toes from locating deck cleats with my feet on a pitching deck, sore knees and back from contorting myself in unnatural ways to dig out essential gear stowed deep in inaccessible lockers. But nope, no problem with my wrist at all. Sailing is perfectly safe and healthy.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

The only time I have been on a boat without spilling blood was at the Boat Show.

 

[GeorgeB]

Mark,

You've never made a down payment and signed a loan document before? I've always thought a pint of blood was pretty standard...

George, Welcome aboard! What type of boat and what were the conditions? Don't worry, we all get "boat bites". We "older" racers start dousing Ibuprofen on Friday and continue through Monday on Regatta weekends. Real fountain of youth, that Ibuprofen.

 

[georgemci102a2]

Thanks for the welcome.Been learning to sail on my tanzer 22 Practicing tacking, jibe and heave ho ? on my own.I think maybe my timing is a bit slow at this point,because im letting the head sail go out to far on the tack and or jibe and having to pull it back in tight with my left(hurt hand) and operate the winch handle with my right....George.

 

[GeorgeB]

George, are you wrapping the sheet around your (left) fist to get a better grip as you pull it in? I could see how you can pinch something. On larger boats especially, it is important to grip lines properly. I have the loaded end feed through the bottom of my fist (pinky finger) and the tail out the top. That way you minimize the chance of getting your hand sucked into a winch or block (well, your pinky does take a beating). I'm thinking that once you get your timing down on tacks, your hands won't get so beat up. We all get beat up on occasion - its all part of the fun and makes for great bar stories... Did I ever tell you about the time during the Rolex BBS when I was using rigging tape to close up blisters and rope burns?...

 

[Markwesti]

Hi George, possibly bad weather helm . Reef .

 

[travlin-easy]

I'm assuming you are using a tiller and have a death grip on it. Spend a few bucks and purchase a Tiller Extension Handle, one that snaps on to a ball joint connection - it will solve your problem.

Hope this helps,

Gary

 

[bljones]

George, let the winch do the work, not your wrist. Make full rotations on the winch handle, and simply tail wiht your off hand. Make sure you get at least three wraps around the "lazy" winch, (in the right direction) before you start to tack, then as the sail comes past the mast bring the sdail in hand over hand, then winch, with full rotations on the winch handle, not like you are ratcheting a nut off a bolt.

Tanzer 22 is a great boat to learn on.

 

[SHNOOL]

George welcome to the insanity.. I trashed my elbow single sailing.. developed severe tennis elbow from tacking and cross sheeting.

 

[georgemci102a2]

Thank you for helping me.Now that i reflect on what ive been doing,and listening to the advice giving to me i think one of the things that im doing wrong is wrapping the line around my hand to pull in and hold the tension because the line on the winch is slipping as im racheting it in.Is the winch worn out,or does the line get slick with age ? or do i just need more practice...Thank you... George.

 

[Skipper Jer]

I don't know what you are doing wrong George. The only time my wrist hurts is when I have to write a check for some boat related expense.

When we took sailing lessons the instructor impressed upon us to never wrap the line around a body part and watch the boom. He stressed that if a line is wrapped around a body part and some fitting should fail associated with the tension in the line you could not let go of the line quick enough. In other words the line could pop your hand off your arm. I don't wrap a line around my hands.

 

[georgemci102a2]

Thanks Captain..What happened to your eye ?

 

[Skipper Jer]

Thanks Captain..What happened to your eye ?

George, this is the Internet and not everything you see is real. But thanks for asking.

 

[GeorgeB]

George, the knurling can wear smooth on old winches and sheets that are infused with salt crystals and grime can lose their grip. If this is your own boat you can take your sheets home and soak them in Woolite in a tub to rejuvenate them. Not much you can do about an old, tired winch. However, by holding the sheet in the manner I described, it is easy to throw another loop around the winch drum. With enough loops around the winch drum, the winch itself, will take the force and not your hand (I guessing about four loops total will do it). The downside with starting with too many loops is you can develop an override. That is why I start with only a couple of loops, adding more as the tension increases.

 

[georgemci102a2]

Thank you for taking time to explain things to me.Im sure i will be a better sailor because of it..... Thank you George. ps im going to sailing school next month on St Simons island.

 

[bljones]

how many wraps do you have around the winch now, George?
4 wraps might be tough to fit on a winch the size of the winches on your tanzer 22, but 3 will certainly take the load off.

 

[georgemci102a2]

I think @ 3 wraps,but still keeping tension with left hand to keep it from slipping on the winch while ratcheting...George

 

[georgemci102a2]

GeorgeB,Yes its on my boat,I actually have two a tanzer 22 that im learning on and a helms 24 that i havent tried to sail yet....George