Sailing Tanzer 22

[allstar1976]

I was sailing my father in laws tanzer 22 yesterday in halifax harbour.. I'm new to sailing and ran into problems... I didn't have much control steering out of the dock and on 2 occasions we almost capsised with the boat righting itself into the wind.. It was a very light breeze...... we took a lot of water onboard... Upon returning to the dock I realized I didn't have the centerboard down.. Was this the cause of my problems?

[Lake-Effect]

Um, yes, you can't sail at all well without the centerboard down. I'm surprised you were taking on water though.

Halifax Harbour can be a tricky spot to sail. Try to sail with a more experienced sailor and you'll pick it up faster.

[Jim Cate]

Allstar, IIRC the Tanzer had a swing keel, not a proper centreboard, so yes, having all that ballast up in the hull instead of down where it does more good could have been a big contributor to your problems.

I remember from my trailer sailor days that we thought the Tanzer was a better boat than most of its sort, so drop the keel down and enjoy!

Jim

[allstar1976]

Thanks Jim.. I'm very new to this and was a little scared out there..

[Ex-Calif]

Around the dock for sure longitudinal direction needs the keel down.

When sailing I would add a couple of points to check.

- Make sure you aren't over sheeting. A lot of new sailors over sheet when reaching thinking that sheeting in is faster. A result can be what you experienced where the boat heels the rudder loses traction and the boat heads up

- Sail with the mainsheet in hand (a racing skipper would kick anyone's butt for cleating any sheet but you're pleasure sailing). Get the boat up on a good heel and "dump" the main sheet - Learn how much power comes off the boat when you do that. This is important to learn to sail fast, especially in gusts. On my boat we can be fully powered in 20 knots wind, clipping along at 5.5+ knots and around 15-20 degrees heel. Dumping the main and not touching the genny drops us instantly to like <10 degrees heel and 2.5-3 knots

(It's nice to show newbies this because they tend to get nervous about heeling. I show them I can "dump" the gas pedal instantly and get the boat back under control if needed)

- Next learn to read the gusts. Look to the windward side for increased ripples in the water, learn to anticipate their approach and then "sheet out" the main a bit - you'll learn how much over time.

- That method can be a bit slow in terms of boat performance so the alternative is to anticipate the gust and head the boat up slightly when the gust hits. You lower the angle of attack on the sail so the forces don't heel the boat. The momentary increased wind speed translates to a higher lift and not only does the boat not slow down you get to "climb" to windward a bit - always a good thing on the boat.

- Both strategies are important - In racing you may be on the correct line and don't want to go higher, you sheet out. However if you want to go higher you head up. I always lean towards heading up - it's like gas in the tank. You can always head down later...

Maybe this is TMI but I hope you find it useful.

[wingless]

The Tanzer 22 looks like a great boat, especially for starting / learning.

Here is a forum for your boat.

[Pendragon35]

The Tanzer 22 is a great, safe boat. Definitely get your swing keel down, that will help. I sailed one for several years in Lake Michigan and she likes about 15 deg heel upwind; more than that and you are overpowered. You didn't say what sails you had up but in anything more than 10 knots, you might consider using the standard (110%) jib instead of a big genoa. Also, it helps to be able to reef the mainsail. Good luck!