Well, what do you think?

[MadMacX]

Hi guys,

I went out today for a brisk afternoon of sailing. Wind was 17-20+ MPH, all whitecaps, foam in water, and a pretty good chop. I had my backup stock Doyle mainsail up with one reef in, left the jib furled and had about 50% CB down with full rudders. I was having a nice time of it, for just a mainsail, usually between 4.8 and 5.5, one time 5.9 (GPS). The mainsail looked terrible, it had a HUGE belly and the outhaul/reef just would not pull the foot tight. In raising the sail I tried to get the halyard as tight as possible, but I just couldn't get the boat to stay in one place long enough to pull her down like I wanted it (I've got to work on that), so there were a few small wrinkles around the sail slugs. This is my first sail since I tensioned the shrouds (300 upper/250 lower), and set the mast rake (93 degrees) plus, the conditions were the most robust I have sailed in.

I was on a beam reach, just cruising when all of a sudden I got a pretty significant puff of wind, the boat first tried to turn to wind, then heeled over to 45+ degrees (Lev-O-Gage was buried), so I let the Mainsheet out and then the boat just popped up and turned to wind. I had the mainsheet out quite a bit to begin with so I was kind of surprised when it acted like this. Thinking I must have done something wrong I tried to re-create the event and see what could be the reason. About 45 minutes later it did it again, however, this time I kept the mainsheet where it was and fought the wheel to keep it on tack. I would not let it turn to wind and finally it stayed, sort of, on course. I believe that the reason for this type of event was the condition of the sail, principally the HUGE belly. If I had my No. 1 sail on the boat, I know that it would have been much flatter and tighter across the board. So, what do you think? Rookie mistake, or just the wrong equipment for the conditions?

BTW, I only sail single handed, so sometimes I may not be quick enough on the draw.

Thanks,
Pat

[delevi]

Pat,

Try the follwoing:
Tension the reefed clew before tensioning the halyard.
Rather than sailing on just the main, try going to the second reef and use your headsail, even if it's a small amount. This is important to ballance the boat... mainsail makes the boat go to windward, headsail makes the boat go leward. Together, they balance out.
Too much headsail (for a Mac) isn't good in heavy seas because it's bow heavy, thus the jib may be counter-productive in big seas.
Try a partially furled jib. If the problem persist, use a bit less jib and overtrim it a bit. Basically your mainsail will provide all the drive while the small, slightly overt-trimmed jib will keep the bow from rounding to the wind.

Leon

[bubba]

Something I just added to my wheel is a friction control to hold the wheel when I am single handing my mac M. I got it from BWY for about $20.00 with shipping and it took about an hour to install myself and it is made for Mac's wheels. The wheel friction control is the next best thing to autopilot so when I need to tighten the bag out of my sails, grab a steak for the grill or go pee it works fine.

[opie]

You sound like a much more experienced sailor than I, but I will give my opinion anyway.

I was out recently in similar conditions, my X heeled over greatly in puffs, but it kept a straight track, heeling to maybe 30+ degrees. I had 1 reef in my original (old) Doyle sail, and no headsail. No battens. The sail had a belly but was not flapping. I was pulled in fairly tight on the mainsheet. So far, no difference than your setup. My only difference maybe was the centerboard position. Are you sure about the 50%? As you know, it is not quite a linear relationship, line-out to depth-down. I adjusted the CB so that it stayed on course without lee or weather helm. I think I was at 35 to 40% down. 50% was too much and I had weather helm at that setting. Therefore I am guessing you were tripping on your CB. I held the mainsheet in hand all the time, ready to release if I heeled too much, which was for me, over 30 degrees. Several anchored boats that I spoke to, as I downwinded near them after each run up wind, said that my boat looked very tender as it heeled so quickly. That is true, it would go over in a flash, for sure, but that is just the boat, right? I agree with the reply that suggested the use of my headsail would make things easier, and it does for me, but I was using only my mainsail for practice. I mean, there may come a point in time when you don't have a headsail for some reason of damage or circumstance.
I also could get only 4's and 5's on the GPS. I have never seen anything above 6.8kts so I wonder how some sailors get those higher speeds.

As for singlehanding, I single-hand all the time even when the admiral or kids are on-board. Admiral can help with docking, but no help with sailing. As for my auto-pilot substitute, I use a bungee cord with adequate success.

On lessoned learned each time I go out in high winds and swift tides is that you must have SPEED to make a tack. If not, the X will just head part way up and not make the turn. Other sailors here in the past have blamed the X or M for bad characteristics of tacking, but it is SPEED into the tack that makes for success. I need maybe 2+ kts true (GPS could be reading current component as well) to tack.

[ronacarme]

I singlehand our 2001 X alot, and when the winds are up, I often sail with full main and no headsail, with helm balanced by 3/8 of the CB line out.
I agree with Opie 100%, except that our boat does not sail as well to weather with the main reefed, perhaps because the reefed (90 sq ft ?) main's area is not much more than the area of the hull and rigging. Adding our tiny 25 sq ft storm jib with a 4 or so ft tack pennant helps direct airflow around the reefed main and aids sailing to weather.

To flatten the reefed stock main reasonably, we do the following steps in order....
1.loosen the mainsheet enuf to support the aft end of the boom on the topping lift...our topping lift is set to raise the aft end of the boom a foot or so above its sailing position
2.put front cringle onto the horn on the gooseneck
3.tie aft cringle down tight to boom and pull it tight aft to tension foot
4.raise the main and tension the halyard
5.release the topping lift

Ron

[delevi]

Ron,

You're right about the headsail. Even a tiny bit like 25-30 square feet of headsail makes a huge difference, particularly upwind. I remember one time I was sailing 25-30 kts with just a reefed main (can't remember why.) I couldn't break 3 kts. Once I rolled out a tiny amount of jib, I accelerated to average speeds in the mid 5s. Hit 6-7 on occasion but the seas that accompany such winds really slow you down.

I have never seen anything above 6.8kts so I wonder how some sailors get those higher speeds.

Lots of practice, the right conditions and plenty of mods to the boat i.e. quality sails and added ballast make a big diff. Had speeds over 11 mph (not sure how much of a role the current played in that.) On most days, if you can hit 6-7 knots, you're doing great.

[MadMacX]

Thank you for all the good information. Opie, you might be right about the CB. I was using Tahoe Jacks spreadsheet on the CB, to line out numbers, and I was out 11 1/2", so it was actually more than 50%. I'll back it off next time. My mind keeps telling me that more is better, guess it's my fixed keel training.

Leon, the info on the jib makes more sense now that I think about it. I usually pull it out, but this time I thought maybe I'd just try the reefed mainsail by itself. Please don't ask me why, because I don't really have a good answer. I just thought I'd give it a try. BTW,I don't question what you say about sailing in heavy weather, anyone that sails SF Bay knows heavy weather!

Bubba, I have A/P on my boat, but at low speed it just will not hold the boat on a steady course. Like I said, I really have to work on that. When I get the main up about 3/4 of the way the boat starts to turn, and I can hear the A/P clicking while it turns the wheel, but the boat just doesn't seem to respond. This isn't the first time this has happened, so maybe the A/P isn't working properly. I sail primarily on inland lakes so I very seldom use the AP.

Ron, I do just about what you say, just in a different order. I went 1, 2, 4, 5, 3. I'll try your sequence next time.

Leon, both you and Ron say to tension the reefed clew BEFORE you raise the main, but doesn't it make it hard to raise the main all the way? It would seem to me that if you have tension on the leech already, that the luff would have to work against this tension to get all the way up.

It's really great that you guys take the time to put your thoughts to words. It helps us newbie owners understand how our boats work.

thanks,
Pat

[ronacarme]

Pat.....I use the sequence 1-5 to first tension the foot of the main, and thereafter raise the main and tension the halyard and thereby tension the luff, all while the boom aft end is supported by the topping lift so there is no tension on the leach as yet.
Thereafter, I release the topping lift so the aft end of the boom is now supported by the leach, so the weight of the aft end of the boom now slightly tensions the leach. Thereafter, I sheet in the mainsheet (and if desired the vang) which further tensions the leach. Thereafter, we bear off on the desired course and sail away.
Ron

[delevi]

Leon, both you and Ron say to tension the reefed clew BEFORE you raise the main, but doesn't it make it hard to raise the main all the way? It would seem to me that if you have tension on the leech already, that the luff would have to work against this tension to get all the way up.

You don't tension the clew until the sail is raised to its top or reefed position but with the luff still being a bit loose. Then you get the clew or reefing clew as tight as possible. Then use the winch to put tension on halyard. The topping lift per Ron's method is a personal choice, but I don't think it will do anything for adjusting sail shape other than keep the boom off your head. Mine is controllable from the cockpit and always slacked off when the sail is hoisted. I'll take the slack off to reef but fully slack it before cranking down the halyard. If your halayrd isn't run aft so as to use the winch, you can try a trucker's hitch. It will give you a 2:1 advantage. Basically the foot and leech (outhaul or reef line) works against the luff tension(halyard.) You put maximum tension on the one that you can without mechanical advantage. Then tension the other where you can use mechanical advantage. BTW, if you plan to sail in heavy air often, observe the draft of your sail after applying these techniques. If the sail still has a belly, you may consider investing in some quality sails. No matter how good your sail shaping controls are, a fat sail will still be a fat sail. You don't need to take me seriously. I spend other people's money for a living

Cheers,
L.