sailing downwind without a kite or pole?

[masonc]

I don't think you will see a lot of 4knt days in the Caribbean, at least not where I sail, Anguilla & St. Martin down.

[beirutsailor]

Originally Posted by Exonerated

I had in mind using the main.

Genoa-only is certainly an option downwind, but probably setting up the preventer/block on the boom is more trouble than it's worth.

Thanks.

After 40 yrs of sailing, much of it solo, I recently discovered a (Portuguese) preventer solution which more than tripled my use of a preventer. A single line, from starboard cockpit to port, via one or two blocks way forward, e.g. the cleats. Permanently available. One end is tied to the end of the boom, the other to the unused jib winch. Easy as pie.

[bensolomon]

When I go to the BVI, I bring my preventer from my boat with me. I use a shackle (if an attachment is available) or tie a bowline to the end of the boom. Then I clip the snap shackle forward of amid ship and run the line back to a free winch, or the aft clear. Then I go wing and wing if I am sailing DDW. It does not help with your original question regarding a whisker Pole for the jib on a charter boat, but I have found this to give me acceptable transit times.

I have an asymmetric Spinnaker on my boat and have often thought about packing that in a suitcase and bringing it along. I charter with the Moorings, and they have they know Spinnaker policy for charterers.

[Cpt Pat]

Twin jibs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnYSFIngsYk&t=3s

[BlackHeron]

One of these days going to try that twin jibs thing with our 155% Drifter and our 145% genoa.

Since the drifter only has four hanks along the entire luff and the genoa has something like twelve it might take a little experimentation to figure out the pattern where they are not interfering with each other.

Since it has never really been an issue and the drifter has done an excellent job keeping us moving in light air DDW I have never been pushed to the point to actually need to attempt it.

The genoa is heavy 7oz dacron with a ton of reinforcements and a couple of big patches on the leach from opening up our boat to club newbies who sometimes forget that they need to actually watch the sail when cranking away at a jib halyard. Needless to say it is a fairly hefty sail and would definitely need to be poled-out in light air.

[John_Trusty]

For a quick jury-rig downwind, I've found I get a better sheeting angle, and a little more force, without needing to rig a pole if I run the sheet to the farthest point back of the boat - the stern mooring cleat. I'll attach a spare line with a rolling hitch to the genoa sheet, and run it back outboard of everything around the stern cleat, then back forward to a primary winch. Drop off the sheet, and trim with the new temporary line. Takes about a minute of walking and tying, and it'll give you a half-knot (no pun intended).

[Cpt Pat]

What's especially flexible about the twin jib configuration is your ability to sail upwind without any configuration changes. With a separate sheet to each jib, you just let the windward jib lay against the lee jib. Tacking is normal - just release the windward sheets.

Then, turning downwind, tension both sheets and the twins will both inflate. You have some degree of heading adjustment off dead downwind by varying the sheet settings. The boat will be ultra stable in heading because the yaw forces are convergent - the twins pull the bow back to the set heading. If you have a retractable rudder you can even pull it up out of the water. It's that stable in moderate following seas (a fin-keeled boat may be squirrelly). I've surfed for hundreds of miles at 8 to 10 knots in my little boat with its 5.8 knot hull speed (18.5 foot waterline).

For long distances, I also strap a solar panel to the boom, which I can adjust somewhat for shadow avoidance with the traveler, since the boom isn't otherwise serving any other purpose.

[BlackHeron]

Nice. I am getting more interested in trying this soon.

Maybe someday in extremely light air I'll try a little trick my old sailing club used to do for practicing spinnaker drills in super light air, too light for actually flying the spin. Throw a Stern anchor out and the boat doesn't move so the apparent wind isn't effected by the motion of the boat since there isn't any. That frees up the helm too to practice the foredeck drills. Talk about not needing the rudder...

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Broad reach and jibe as needed. It will probably be faster and if there are seas more comfortable.

This.

As a racer you already know this, and do this, but with a kite. On a charter boat without a kite or pole, just do the same thing, probably 140 degrees. Drop the main entirely if there's enough wind.

I single hand my boat and rarely fly my assym as it's just more of a production than I want to fuss with. I just go slower and get a bit farther in the book I'm reading in the cockpit

[Captain Max1]

Highly advice against building a temp whisker pole, specially on charter boat where if it breaks might wind up tearing sail. Wing and wing is slow, so sailing on a reach and zig zagging is probably going to get you there about as fast anyway.

[sailorladd]

I use two custom whisker poles I made from douglas fir boards.. actually quite easy to make and they were extremely useful during my lengthy world cruise.

These poles allow me to drop the main (which blocks the wind) getting to the twin genoas I set for downwind sailing, it works perfectly as I have a long cutaway forefoot keel that helps keep the boat on track, and my old Hydrovane steered her pretty accurately... although in light down wind situations you may have to keep a fatherly hand on the helm now and then... The whisker poles are stored on the coach house next to my grab rails. The one would be used with my gennaker or with just one genoa set when I am just off a downwind run.

[bensolomon]

Originally Posted by Cpt Pat

What's especially flexible about the twin jib configuration is your ability to sail upwind without any configuration changes. With a separate sheet to each jib, you just let the windward jib lay against the lee jib. Tacking is normal - just release the windward sheets.

Then, turning downwind, tension both sheets and the twins will both inflate. You have some degree of heading adjustment off dead downwind by varying the sheet settings. The boat will be ultra stable in heading because the yaw forces are convergent - the twins pull the bow back to the set heading. If you have a retractable rudder you can even pull it up out of the water. It's that stable in moderate following seas (a fin-keeled boat may be squirrelly). I've surfed for hundreds of miles at 8 to 10 knots in my little boat with its 5.8 knot hull speed (18.5 foot waterline).

For long distances, I also strap a solar panel to the boom, which I can adjust somewhat for shadow avoidance with the traveler, since the boom isn't otherwise serving any other purpose.

I am going to ask I silly question...I apologize in advance. Do you have two jib/Genoa halyards or do you link both headsails to a single jib halyard on the foil?

[sailorladd]

Yes, I have two jib halyards for the twin genoas..

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by bensolomon

I am going to ask I silly question...I apologize in advance. Do you have two jib/Genoa halyards or do you link both headsails to a single jib halyard on the foil?

You can do it with one, that was my plan before I got a Code zero.

Only issue was that the two Genoa’s were both heavy sails, and not as good in light winds as a lightweight sail.

Now I’m no sailor and certainly no racer, but if you have twin foils all you need is a second sail, and in my novice opinion, one pole, cause do you really go exactly DDW?

[sailorladd]

That is why, using two whisker poles you have a bit of leeway (pun intended to go slightly off course from DDW... oh, and the homemade whisker poles are still going strong after more than twenty years of sailing as is the wooden mast, boom, staysail boom, bowsprit etc... it all depends on how you make it....as stated it's not that difficult.