Any one here ever singlehand when they don't want to?

[P30Dude]

Any one here ever get forced to singled hand? I will not do it. (Non-emergency),


Vince
S/V Flatline
P-30 No. 280

[brianb00]

Originally Posted by P30Dude

Any one here ever get forced to singled hand? I will not do it. (Non-emergency),


Vince
S/V Flatline
P-30 No. 280

Yes, sort of. I was delivering my boat back to San Francisco from Kauai after a solo race over. I had a crew for the return. She fell in the first few hours and had to be taken to Kauai. I then sailed back as crew were not readily available.

Brian

[P30Dude]

I should rephrase: when you felt you were not ready; tired, newbie, boat not ready....etc


Vince
S/V Flatline
P-30 No. 280

[FamilyVan]

Ya man, when I was in college (say about 22) I had a summer job driving a 40 passenger private ferry to a yacht club on an island. The distance was just over a mile but I had to do it day and night (until the bar closed down at about 2 or 3). I would do something like a dozen docking in a shift. You'd have to pull up, run up the stairs, throw a spring line on, then back to the helm position.

The club managers didn't see any need for 2 crew on a 35' ferry, so the skipper was alone all the time. Including high winds, lightning storms, even snow. The dicier the weather, the less likely you were to even have a passenger help you. It was really dangerous when I look back on it and I wasn't much of a boat driver yet at 22.

I can't remember if I did the job for 2 or 3 years, but by the end of that time I never had any concerns about single handing again.

Sent from my XP7700 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Pelagic]

Familyvan, One crew is pretty standard for that size water taxi and number of pax.....
Used to do it all the time in the Port of Vancouver.

[FamilyVan]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Familyvan, One crew is pretty standard for that size water taxi and number of pax.....
Used to do it all the time in the Port of Vancouver.

I know, I wasn't under the impression I had done something unique or special.

I believe in the last 5 years or so TC has tried to put an end to the practice by exercising the minimum safe manning matrix.

Sent from my XP7700 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[farm sail]

You will never be ready till you have done it a while. The first thing i did when i got my rig was start singlehanding. I love to sail with others especially those that i can learn from. But i continue to singlehand every chance i have. That way if i ever HAVE to it wont be such a big deal.

[gamayun]

I used to say I'd never sail in fog. Ever try to not do that around northern California? I first sailed on the Chesapeake and use to say that I'd never want to be out in winds above 20 knots. Ever try to not do that on San Francisco Bay? Being a single person also means that sometimes I sail solo, or I sit by the dock and wait for others. Being "forced to do it" seems a little harsh. Instead, consider not doing it as a limitation on your options. That seems like a waste of good sailing weather to me

(And I was petrified about sailing solo when I first bought the boat. Was a newbie sailor, too. Squeezing outside that comfort box is never a bad thing.)

[Kokanee]

My current boat is the first shaft drive inboard I've owned (or operated). I bought it interstate and had it trucked over. Since the marina I organized a berth at didn't have facilities to offload the boat, this was done about 20 km away.




Due to delays in standing the mast etc, my planned sailing partner wasn't available, and weather was getting ugly.
I still decided to make the short run solo; motoring into a 20-30 knot headwind and 6 foot messy swell and the weather progressively got worse. I was relieved when I entered my new marina, thinking the job was all done - but the fun had just begun.


The first docking attempt was fairly good, but I wasn't quick enough to tie of and was blown off the finger. Things got worse after that. After reversing out and almost sideswiping my new dock neighbor, I tried to regroup for another attempt but was blown sideways down the fairway, missing protruding anchors by inches. On about the 5th or 6th attempt I finally got into he berth an tied off.


Many lessons learned.

[carstenb]

Singel ahnding is outside the comfort zone for everyone, until they have done it. Practice it sometime whenthe weather gods are smiling and you have lots of space to dock. After a while you don't think about it much

[exMaggieDrum]

We have a guy on our dock who takes out his Beneteau First out at least five days a week all year long single-handed. He races with crew and he isn't opposed to having crew the other times but if no crew he just goes out. He goes out in very stiff breezes. His boat is just right to be able to jump out and tie a spring on when he comes in. Very hardy sailor. He wins a fair amount of races. And he is on the north side of 70 yo. I would go out singlehanded on my boat, if nothing else to motor around but getting back in to the slip is my biggest hurdle without crew. My wife and I double-handed across the Pacific without a problem.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by exMaggieDrum

We have a guy on our dock who takes out his Beneteau First out at least five days a week all year long single-handed. He races with crew and he isn't opposed to having crew the other times but if no crew he just goes out. He goes out in very stiff breezes. His boat is just right to be able to jump out and tie a spring on when he comes in. Very hardy sailor. He wins a fair amount of races. And he is on the north side of 70 yo. I would go out singlehanded on my boat, if nothing else to motor around but getting back in to the slip is my biggest hurdle without crew. My wife and I double-handed across the Pacific without a problem.

I do this all the time, same MO, I'll be 70 in December! Haven't done the last sentence, though.

Singlehanding is fun, and you need to know how to use a midship spring line.

Single Handing 101.2 HOPPING OFF THE BOAT IS UNNECESSARY
single handing

[Lepke]

The key to singlehand is caution and planning. Don't do anything that will hurt you or put you over the side and plan all your movements. I do this boat all the time, but don't dock in high winds or current. I'm not handling sails, so rarely go on deck when running offshore.

[laika]

The gelcoat scraps along my hull testify to many successful solo docking attempts Solo docking is usually preferred as there is no one to yell at if something goes wrong. Also no over-zealous dockhands dictating what should be done. Face docks are awesome.

This will surely show my ineptitude, but I've never understood the paramount importance of spring lines? Probably been said before by many a sorry soul, but hey. Maybe because my boat is 27' and it's easy to jump off with both a stern line and a bow line led aft in hand? That and my boat rarely exceeds the dimensions of the slip it's placed in.

My midship cleat is tapped into the teak toerail and not thru-bolted, so I much prefer to stop any momentum with the stern line.

[Don C L]

Not sure what you are asking. You mean if someone asks you to sail a boat by yourself? I have singlehanded often when I didn't expect to because my crew got sick and/or tired. If you have to you don't have a choice of course. I think you should prepare for it.