Singlehanding Tips?

[sardinebreath]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

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And Auto Pilot is great! Very necessary. I would NEVER EVER have wind vane steering on any boat whatsoever and even more so against wind vanes for a solo sailors boat. Every wind change makes to boat go off course... often disastrously. Its life and limb stuff. You wreck your boat for the sake of some battery power.

Mark

Yes indeed, it can be disastrous to go to sleep relying on a windvane to thread the needle through some coastal minefield. And that would be using the wrong tool for the job. But to say that you'd never have a wind vane onboard because they can be dangerous when misused is a bit like saying you'd never fully raise your main because that can get you in trouble when it's blowing 50 kts. The fact that an autopilot doesn't adjust course to wind changes can present it's own set of difficulties (at least a wind vane is never going to cause a chinese gybe). On long, offshore passages, there aint nothing like a windvane. And there is a certain satisfaction in relying on only the wind to whatever degree possible; hence we are sailors and not cigarette boat drivers.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by sardinebreath

Yes indeed, it can be disastrous to go to sleep relying on a windvane to thread the needle through some coastal minefield. And that would be using the wrong tool for the job. But to say that you'd never have a wind vane onboard because they can be dangerous when misused is a bit like saying you'd never fully raise your main because that can get you in trouble when it's blowing 50 kts. The fact that an autopilot doesn't adjust course to wind changes can present it's own set of difficulties (at least a wind vane is never going to cause a chinese gybe). On long, offshore passages, there aint nothing like a windvane. And there is a certain satisfaction in relying on only the wind to whatever degree possible; hence we are sailors and not cigarette boat drivers.

+1
The problem doesn't exist, coastal you should be keeping an eye on things anyway and offshore any big windshifts you should be expecting. In reality it's not an issue.

It's also quite easy to rig a cheap tiller pilot to a wind vane for motoring.

[Mauruuru]

U R right as always. If we had your social skills we could probably attract a crew!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by sctpc

A very easy method to reduce the length of lose line in the cockpit is to use a single, continuous sheet. This is rarely seen on boats but is incredibly practical. It will eliminate virtually the entire sheet piled in the cockpit. A single, continuous sheet will be longer than one normal sheet, but much shorter than two sheets. To create a continuous sheet, start with one end tied to the clew of the jib. Run the sheet backwards through the blocks on the leeward side of the boat, around the windward winch with three wraps, around the leeward winch, through the blocks on the windward side of the boat and tie the remaining end to the sail clew. Well that and a autopilot.

The idea is intriguing but I can't quite picture it. My blocks don't have "backwards and forwards," and I *think* you meant port and starboard, not leeward and windward? Am I right? I wouldn't want to have to re-run the system every time I tacked but I don't think you meant that?

Could you draw a picture and scan it?

[sctpc]

Rakuflames its done as when sailing I sit on the windward side (high side) so it depends on my tack.
Im no artist so dont pick on my paint drawing.

[smacksman]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

The idea is intriguing but I can't quite picture it. My blocks don't have "backwards and forwards," and I *think* you meant port and starboard, not leeward and windward? Am I right? I wouldn't want to have to re-run the system every time I tacked but I don't think you meant that?

Could you draw a picture and scan it?

Just imagine the falls of your jib sheets joined together.
As one sheet hauls in the fall goes across the cockpit and runs through the windward jib sheet block to supply the slack needed.

One of the disadvantages is you can't 'end for end' your sheets to get more life out of them. Another is a rope across the cockpit in port.

You save more rope with hanked jibs than furling jibs where there is not a lot in it.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by sctpc

Rakuflames its done as when sailing I sit on the windward side (high side) so it depends on my tack.
Im no artist so dont pick on my paint drawing.

I thank you for the drawing!

That's what I thought. You would no longer have piles of line in the cockpit but you would have lines to climb over. Still a really interesting concept.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by smacksman

Just imagine the falls of your jib sheets joined together.
As one sheet hauls in the fall goes across the cockpit and runs through the windward jib sheet block to supply the slack needed.

One of the disadvantages is you can't 'end for end' your sheets to get more life out of them. Another is a rope across the cockpit in port.

You save more rope with hanked jibs than furling jibs where there is not a lot in it.

Hanking has a lot of advantages. Realistically on this boat it's not feasible for e on th boat I have now. If I put up an inner stay, that sail absolutely would be hank-on. But I don't expect to be doing that.