Sailing Schooners

[jalmberg]

I'm going to be crewing (coastal and offshore) on a small schooner this spring and I'd like to learn as much as possible about sailing them before hand. It's a 40-footer, traditional full keel, with a gaff foresail and a Bermuda main.

I own a small gaff yawl myself, and have learned enough to know different boats require different handling.

Any schooner captains out there? Can you suggest any books which discuss the intricacies of sailing schooners in various conditions, anchoring, coming to docks, etc., under sail?

I have "Pete Culler On Wooden Boats", which includes his writings on schooners. But that's about it in my library.

Any suggestions, much appreciated.

[Eleuthera 2014]

The dreaded thread drift... I followed your blog for some time...

Welcome here and bring good gloves.. lines on a schooner will seriously damage your hands.

[jalmberg]

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

The dreaded thread drift... I followed your blog for some time...

Welcome here and bring good gloves.. lines on a schooner will seriously damage your hands.

She has fewer halyards than my Blue Moon

[barnaclejim]

A lot of variables depending on the rigs and available sails. The advantage I think is the number and combination of relatively smaller sails to deploy, as with a ketch and also a yawl, and playing with easily manageable sail combos keeps me busy and paying attention to conditions. The disadvantage is backwinding on a reach with sails too close together, however on a schooner I will fly the main and genoa or staysail and leave the foresail furled. On a ketch often the mizzen is too small to push her forward.
And of course they look pretty.

[Snowpetrel]

http://www.issuma.com/rhudson/RR/Sch...ilingNotes.htm

This has some great notes on small schooners.

In my experaince the main is the issue and the advantage on a schooner. You need the right amount of main for the conditions. In my limited experience, reef or drop the main early downwind, but make sure you set the right amount before you try to go upwind.

So you will need to get pretty comfortable handling (especially reefing)that big mainsail.

Its very unlike a yawl or ketch where you can quickly drop and raise the mizzen to change gears and the main can be left unreefed until the wind really starts to blow.

Schooner chandlery might be worth a PM. They sail a traditional schooner, as could Benz (Ben Zartman), and Panope.

I really like those blue moon yawls.