Hello everyone,
I'm a sailor since I was 12 (I'm 65). I've been boatless most my life, borrowing or chartering
boats. Finally I went out three years ago and bought myself a 30-year old
Dufour 27 which I have moored off Islesboro
Maine. Thus far I've not done so much as an overnight, though I bought it with the intent of taking limited 3-4 day cruises around Penobscot Bay and Islands (probably one of the most beautiful and interesting places to sail in the world). I say that having sailed in
Korea,
Australia,
Puget Sound (Wash.),
Barbados,
Long Island (NY) and
Massachusetts. Anyway, crusing onmy "pocket cruiser" is not, to my considerable dispair, not appealing to my wife so I need to go it alone.
Long story short, I need to "rig for
single handling". Son (mechanic experience) and I plan to do modifications which I assume is primarily running main
halyard back to
cockpit (jib is roller furled). In particular, I want to get the
sails down fast when I see a squall approaching. Don't want to invest in
autopilot but... wonder if there are any good
books on doing mods to accomodate
single handling. Also any other ideas about things to consider or do. Appreciate any thoughts....
Frank