Hello !

[Lisa]

I pray I am posting this correctly. I am Lisa. My husband is the sailor. He has been sailing for 30 years. I married into it 8 1/2 yrs ago. We have a 17ft. Vanguard Nomad for racing and day sailing and we just purchased a 27ft Compac ( after selling our 23ft Compac), that we haven't gotten in the water yet. I joined this site to learn more. I love to sail, but find I get wigged out and scared of it tipping over. Insane thing is, I know how to swim!! I am like, the worse thing that can happen is I land in the water. I just don't get it. Hopefully I'll learn here!! Thanks!

[Drew13440]

Welcome and congratulations on the new boat! Does your husband know you are wigged by healing (tipping)? Tell him you are wigged and tell him to "reef early!"

[Mimsy]

Originally Posted by Drew13440

Welcome and congratulations on the new boat! Does your husband know you are wigged by healing (tipping)? Tell him you are wigged and tell him to "reef early!"

Or tell him to get a catamaran! Hi Lisa. I married a sailor as well. I'm not a sailor yet, but I'm working on it. I can take the helm, keep a course and set the sails a bit. I discovered I love taking the helm because it means I get to tell him what to do for a change!

I've found the best cure for heel wigging (is that a term? it is now!) is to sail at a steep heel as often as possible. My daughter no longer is scared of heeling because we spent the entirety of last summer at 20 degrees.

[James S]

Hey Lisa ....Just because we know how to swim, doesn't mean we always want to!
Welcome to the forum.

[Stillraining]

Nor can we catch a boat sailing away either.

But you already have admitted its a head thing...Some get over it some don't....If you want to sail bad enough though you can at least get use to it if not altogether comfortable with it.

But as was just stated lots of time tends to make it all disappear....Remember your fist drive on a freeway?...freaky huh?.....piece of cake now right?....you don't even think about it any more.....Why?...for the exact reason Mimsy stated...your acclimated to it after all this time doing it...same with healing...

Now go bury the rail...

Of course that's dependent on what boat your sailing...Look at James Avatar..

[rgscpat]

Or, depending upon the boat and just how much it really is leaning, you could tell hubby that lots of heeling is slow because it induces drag forces and excess side slippage (leeway) and creates a heavy load on the tiller (weather helm) that makes it harder to steer the boat.

[Janice]

My advice is to spend more time at the helm!

I had a person on my boat quite frequently that was the same way. Once he learned to sail the boat himself he realized the boat would act a certain way in a gust, etc. and it did not bother him anymore.

[Lisa]

Thanks for the welcome and all the ideas!!! I need to take the helm...I actually refuse to unless it is a really non windy day!!! My husband keeps encouraging me to do that, but when a gust comes and the boat starts heeling, I really wig out( yes, my term!!! hehehehe). I took a class for our 23 ft boat and it helped a lot but not totally.
I used to have to beg my husband to reef, because he thought heeling made the boat go faster and then in my class I learned that it doesn't, it actually slows the boat down! So, my hubby tried it and he was amazed. I really enjoyed teaching him stuff from my class. He never took a class, he taught himself.
I am worried that when we put the 27 in that I won't enjoy it, and I really want to. My husband found an article from 20 years ago about acclimating kids to your boat and I was like YES!! This is what I need...I know it sounds silly, but even at my age, it would work!!! Thanks you all....I plan on perusing the other threads........
Happy sailing, Lisa

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
You'll find your Compac 27 doesn't heel as much in the same kind of winds. If you are on the tiller then you can control how much the boat heels. If you feel the boat heeling too much either head up into the wind a bit more or ease out the sheets a bit more. You'll be sailing at your heel wigging best.
regards,

[rgscpat]

And when you get even more experience, you can learn more ways of controlling the sail and boat so it heels even less and yet goes faster. Look up "sailing flat", "sail twist", "sail controls", "traveler", "reefing systems" (or sail reefing methods), and so on. It may seem like a bit much at first but keep alternating reading with practicing on the boat, talking to other sailors, watching racers and good sailors, and perhaps upgrading some of your boat's equipment, and you'll start to get more and more of the hang of it.