On one of your posts you ask about setting the boom/main while on the
water. For me, in our little
boat, even though the main sits in the
cockpit and boom lays on the stern, I put the boom in the
mast and make sure all the lines are ready before launching. I feel a lot better having everything ready before I get on the
water just to make sure I haven’t forgotten any important piece of
rigging at home. I also don’t have a
motor, just a little plastic oar, so I want the main up as soon as possible once I’m on the water to get some way using the
wind. I don’t want to block the
ramp or
dock longer than possible in case others need it.
In our little
boat (Catalina 14.2), the
jib is on a
roller furling, so I can unroll it when ready. It
sails a lot better with just the main than just the jib. As mentioned, the boat is so light, the jib isn’t large enough to produce enough speed for good control (other than DDW). If I only use one sail, and it’s the main, I can get as much speed (or as little) as available considering the
wind, by controlling how the main is or isn’t luffing. In the bigger monohulls we’ve chartered, the jib is usually a larger
genoa on a
furling and when fully out will produce enough speed for control.
Also, in light winds and a
small boat, you don’t really need to worry about an accidental jibe because you can just put your hands up and hold the boom. In fact, I can sail my little boat backwards in light winds by holding the sail against the wind. In heavier winds (+10kts) you don’t want to try holding the boom because if a gust comes up and it jibes, you might find yourself in the water
.
The great thing about little boats like yours and mine is that they’re basically “disposible.” Not that you want to really damage the boat or sink it, but if you do the boat is
cheap enough that you can try to
repair it yourself. If that doesn’t
work, you can find another one pretty cheaply. You only need to figure out how to get the old one to the dump. And, at least mine is built pretty heavily for the size. It takes a pretty good beating without much complaining.
Since we’re not “cruisers” or “liveaboards” and are two hours from a decent size lake, the little
trailer boat is great.
Trailer and all is less than 500#s. We can launch it from land without a boat
ramp if we want and it’s fun to just “run around” in. And because it’s so light and small, it’s a very fast boat. It will easily do 6kts in 8-10kt winds. They are fun to use for practice.