Sailing the Jib...

[Syserenity]

I have found placer in sailing just the Jib. My boat makes almost the complete speed and I'm totally satisfied. Are there others like me out there who placer in sailing just the Jib?

[Adventurebound]

Yes, but I can't point very close into wind. Tried it with a genoa and couldn't tack. Not enough rudder authority to even get close into wind and had to jibe to get home.

[boatman61]

Double reefed main and full jib... my favourite sail plan on crossings

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Double reefed main and full jib... my favourite sail plan on crossings

+1. Me too , easily to reef in squalls , boat can roll a lot though

Dave

[daddle]

There can be safety issues with sailing under headsail alone. Many boats cannot turn up into the wind no matter how much the headsail is eased. You may need to turn up to avoid something. Also the headsail cannot be gracefully depowered in a gust when it is the only sail. Again, easing the sheets all the way does not result is a good situation.

That and it offends the eye and a sailor's sense of aesthetics

Keeping all that in mind it can be a nice way to sail.

[cal40john]

My Cal sails upwind under jib alone and I can tack. I have to have enough wind to get around 15 degrees of heel before the lee helm goes away. Sailing under jib alone particularly with lee helm is going to produce a lot of leeway.

I do it when I'm going out alone for less than a couple of hours. I just unroll the jib and not have to deal with the main. Any "real" sailing and the main is up.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Syserenity

I have found placer in sailing just the Jib. My boat makes almost the complete speed and I'm totally satisfied. Are there others like me out there who placer in sailing just the Jib?

My boat has a big Genny and on a very broad reach goes nearly as fast as she does with both sails. I know because one day the mainsail halayrd shackle broke, and ... um ... er ...

But that was also the day I bent the rudder (OK my friend at the helm bent the rudder). As I said, the Genny was big, and there was a lot of wind. the waves were confused, and we were entering a shallow river (Manatee).

A wave broke under the stern while the combination of wave and sail were lifting the bow, and POW -- the stern dropped to the bottom of the river, and bent the rudder shaft about 30º.

Fortunately my friend was very strong and was able to muscle two more turns out of the rudder (both in the same direction) -- the back tip of the rudder was pressed right up against the hull -- and we were able to get the boat into a safe anchorage. It was a heck of a tow back the next day because it was rough but we couldn't steer to help the towboat out. That guy *really* earned his money that day.

The boat's a Hunter. It has an exposed, vulnerable rudder. I would say take your boat's design into consideration, along with the depth of the water, when doing this.

Needless to say I will never again do it in shallow water. I was telling my friend this when we hit. Five more seconds and the headsail would have been coming in and the engine would have been on.

[SkiprJohn]

Some boats sail much better than others just using the jib.

It's best to experiment with your boat to see what works best for you.

kind regards,

[builder dan]

when cruising it can be too much trouble to put the main up takin the sail cover off and all I have sailed probably a few thousand miles under head sail alone when time is no problem you wont loose much time,my boat sails faster downwind under no 1 genoa than with the main up and genoa all the main does is blanket the genoa.Sailed from fiji to Vila once with the no 2 genoa poled out off the end of the boom only didnt touch the sails or helm for 3 days,with the main out I would have been concerned about gybing.I still use the main when I need to just not to sail 2 miles to the next anchorage not worth the hassle.

[thomm225]

When you sail close to the wind with the jib only, you are really overloading the rudder. (and it's components)

Hint, you can steer a sailboat with the sails alone. When you sheet in the jib, the bow comes off the wind. When you sheet in the main, the bow goes in or boat heads to weather and visa versa.

If you are on a long downwind leg, that's a different story.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by thomm225

When you sail close to the wind with the jib only, you are really overloading the rudder. (and it's components)

Hint, you can steer a sailboat with the sails alone. When you sheet in the jib, the bow comes off the wind. When you sheet in the main, the bow goes in or boat heads to weather and visa versa.

If you are on a long downwind leg, that's a different story.

In my earlier post I remarked on how my lee helm disappeared with sufficient heel. I've sailed a couple of boats with enough weather helm with normal sails up I can't possibly see how sailing under jib alone would create any higher loads on the rudder with the lee helm produced.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by cal40john

In my earlier post I remarked on how my lee helm disappeared with sufficient heel. I've sailed a couple of boats with enough weather helm with normal sails up I can't possibly see how sailing under jib alone would create any higher loads on the rudder with the lee helm produced.

Under normal conditions, when you sail with the jib alone sheeted in and going to weather, it will pull the bow off the wind which will create lee helm. Here's a video from yesterday (sorry for the bad quality). Try sailing to weather like I am doing here with just your jib up sheeted in..............let me know when your lee helm disappears!

003 - YouTube

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by cal40john

In my earlier post I remarked on how my lee helm disappeared with sufficient heel. I've sailed a couple of boats with enough weather helm with normal sails up I can't possibly see how sailing under jib alone would create any higher loads on the rudder with the lee helm produced.

Also, if the weather helm is too strong, you can ease the sheet on the main. Just remember, you can steer the boat with the sails if it isn't to crazy out there which takes most of the load off the rudders. Some guys call it balancing the helm.

[cal40john]

I did in my first post, at around 15 degrees of heel. My boat likes to sail at no more than somewhere between 20-25 degrees of heel with main and jib up, then develops lots of weather helm with more heel.

Point I'm trying to make is different boats are different.

[Julian55]

My experience is: each make/design has different sailing characteristics. My boat sails just fine up to 20 knots of wind with headsail (150%) only...with slight to moderate weather helm. After 20 knts, I prefer to raise the main to the first reef (already set), where she balances out with less weather helm. Sailing easily with headsail only, depends on many factors, 150% genoa sails quite differently (will give you some weather helm) than a 100% (giving you lee helm), full keel vs fin, spade vs skeg vs semi-skeg rudders, etc....