Singlehanded on a 49' Ketch

[Mexdon]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i usually ail

Isn't ail spelled ALE?????????

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Mexdon

Isn't ail spelled ALE?????????

sail!!!!!!

no ale when i sail.....

[Mexdon]

Originally Posted by zeehag

sail!!!!!!

no ale when i sail.....

Wondered why you have stayed in Mazatlan for so long.

[Capt.Fred]

Originally Posted by mrohr

Wow, singlehanding a large ketch in big water, what is your experience to date? How old are you? Do you really need this much boat? Details please.

I have single handed a 50' cutter rigged yawl for 25 years, even as a 23 passenger charter capt. and other tropical criuses. My crew helped please the guests in her bikini, but I rarely had experienced help. Ok, my opinion is that a full keel 50'r is easier to handle than many smaller boats. Things happen slower and you can scramble around easier. You do not use your body strenght, only your skill and that comes with lots of love. If you love it you WILL get very good at it..! See Google "Sail the Daedalus" I am presently almost 78 years old and sail a Rob Roy 23.

[zeehag]

only stayed for the named storms--now i can fix 'n' sail!!!!! tonite tho is beer time and music. and flippin' at lamona for free drinks..lol...with friends.( waiter flips coin-you call --is right-free beer...i can dig it.)
crew comes in on the 17th. so i will procrastinate a tad and go for a beer.....

[Capt.Fred]

I would like to mention, when I singlehand or was short handed at sea, I always sail with a full reefed main on my 50' cutter rigged yawl. The speed reduction was insignificant relative to the safety factor. All I had to do was roller furl my jibs and lower a simple mizzen when the wind picked up. This really gave me peace of mind, especially at night, when visibility was poor.

[Me-and-Boo]

Originally Posted by hoppy

That looks like a colander and you would look like a complete dork wearing it

The more I look at it the more I think it is really a colander and created as a joke. There is no space at the forehead for padding so it could not offer much protection from some angles.

If you wanted a helmet, a windsurfing helmet would be the way to go.

If you are out and about single handed nobody will be around to see how dorky.
Of course avoid mirrors.

[ozskipper]

Big winches!! With no one to tail, it may be worth upgrading to oversize self tailers if you dont have them already. In a blow the loads get heavier and its harder to grind, tail and hang on all at the same time.

Add a mooring budding to your mooring.

It goes without saying that two self steering options will be more than handy. If one breaks the other can take over.

[Seahunter]

Depending on your skill level and how she is rigged will make the difference. A Transpac 49 is a big boat to single hand. A ketch rig will help a lot, but don't count on the auto pilot as a second mate on this size of boat (if you can't help yourself; get a wireless remote for the auto pilot, it could save your butt). Invest in a preventer for the main and self furler for the genoa. Keep your eyes on the weather and be ready to drop the main if the weather is about to change. Don't wait for it to change, because it may be too late by that time, as the sail area is big on even a ketch of that size.

[zeehag]

if the ketch adequate pilot, as does mine, it will handle the boat. must be a quadrant mounted heavy duty unit. those chintzy wheel mounted units smaller boats can get away with do not work for large boats, but the heavy duty hydraulic ones do.
with a ketch , ye do not have to sail using main sail--use mizzen and jib.... makes life a lot easier when no crew.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by TassieBloke

Just a general question.

I am going through the thought process of purchasing a 49' Ketch, and one of the main considerations that I keep coming back to is: How can I do it?Obviously it can be done once all of the lines are run back to the cockpit etc, but how practical is it, over a sloop rig with a comparable LOA?

It would be great to get feedback from those who have experience in managing a Ketch in less than optimal circumstances. I am tending towards a Ketch (amongst other reasons) for the flexibility of the sail plan, particularly when it gets to be snotty weather. I have completed reading 'Storm Tactics' which had some great advice, however after reading this book (plus True Spirit, First Lady, Fatal Storm, the full Coroners Report on the 1998 SHYR, and Joshua Slocum's 2 books) has prompted me to ask the above.

A few other notes:
1/ Will be a liveaboard for me (and a Partner if she ever appears)
2/ I dont want to start the whole Ketch vs Sloop argument, other than what is purely related to singlehanding.
3/ My waters will be S.E Coast Aus, Bass Strait, Tasmania, so I guess you could say that snotty weather might be experienced ;-)
4/ I am asking only about handling the yacht only, not the aspects of watchkeeping, fatigue etc.
5/ She has a Solent Rig, Lazyjacks on the main, has Autopilot etc etc, has circumnavigated 4 times already with the 3 previous owners.

Ok, over to you who hath greater knowledge than I :-)

Bloke

I would not necessarily bring all the halyards to the cockpit.

For the main and mizzen, the halyard should go where the reefing lines are.

For the headsail:
Hanked on: on mast, being able to handle the sail while it comes down can be a real advantage.
Hanked on with downhaul: cockpit for both.
Rollerfurling: on mast, same reasons as hanked on, only more so because the luff is now loose and the sail is that much more in need of immediate tending. Besides how often will the sail be dropped, one less hardly ever used line to clutter the cockpit.

Staysail:
Same arguements as headsail.

As far as size goes, it's not just the sailhandling, it's also the anchor handling in an exposed anchorage. Read L&L Pardey's description of the 1982 Cabo San Lucas debacle in "The Capable Cruiser'.

[Capt Phil]

Good comments from Capt Fred and Adelie IMO... Spent 5 years cruising and living aboard my Transpac 49 ketch (not a yawl) much of it on my own or with my wife who is small and very inexperienced. Rarely left an anchorage without a reef in the main, roller furling on jib and mizzen, loose footed staysail hanked on. Went through several pretty skookum blows in the Sea of Cortez plus two trips uphill doing the Baja Bash and was comfortable through it all but sailed conservatively without time constaints. I was in my early 60's and not quite as robust as I had been when I was younger so the split rig worked well for me/us. I agree that it is wiser to have the main halyard at the mast as setting and shaking out reefs are alot easier with that set up. Don't be intimidated by LOA, it is easier than you might think... cheers, Capt Phil

[Adelie]

When I said 'For the main and mizzen, the halyard should go where the reefing lines are.' in post #56 I didn't mean that the main halyard should stay on the mast. I meant that all the lines for hoisting and reefing a particular sail should be together, on the mast or in the cockpit, either works, just don't split them up.

[Mexdon]

Originally Posted by Adelie

When I said 'For the main and mizzen, the halyard should go where the reefing lines are.' in post #56 I didn't mean that the main halyard should stay on the mast. I meant that all the lines for hoisting and reefing a particular sail should be together, on the mast or in the cockpit, either works, just don't split them up.

Thanks for posting a clarification. I had read through your post twice and was a little confuzzed but this makes it very clear. I am at the moment in the start of negotiations for a ketch and if all goes will will be a first for me so every hint on this type of rig I am reading with interest.

[Seahunter]

Reefing the main on an older heavy ketch from the cockpit is a bit dicey. As for the Auto pilot holding in a 30 Knot wind; good luck. The manual will tell you what the cutoff wind speed will be and if it shuts down when you're on deck dealing with tangled rigging, I don't need to paint the ugly picture.