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I have a quick question. I really never sailed with a jib alone so I thought I'd try it out yesterday. Well, the winds were very very low. As a matter of fact, I was moving but the speed was not regitering on my gps. Anyway, going that slow and with just the jib out I noticed that I couldn't turn into the wind. If I wanted to turn I had to gybe (?). Is there a way to tack into the wind going this slow, or is that just the way it is? Also, I have always wanted to sail into my slip, and I have noticed other boats doing this with good control with only their jib, but after experiencing this yesterday, I don't know if I can do this with just the jib up. So for those that sail into slips, or have tried, is it better to do this with the main up instead of the jib, or should you still do this with a jib only? I'm not sure what to do. I am thinking of this because if I ever had to do this because of motor failure, then I'd sure like to know which type of sail configuration would be the best for this. Especially since I couldn't turn into the wind yesterday in a faint breeze with just my jib up.

I'll be looking forward to what you all have to come up with.

thanks

Its possible but its tough...you are exposing one of the weaknesses of the boat - the relatively low mass means little momentum which means you must have 2-3 kts to get the head through the wind..tough with just jib...

Definitely mainsail up to come to dock under sail

Agree with Catigale One tip would be to fall off as much as possible to get moving and as you start your turn let out the sheet so you are not pulling a tight sail through the wind

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In my ASA sailing courses last summer they taught us how to dock under sail. As you observed, it could become a mandatory solution in some emergencies. However, noting what Eric posted, they never had us docking downwind. We'd always find an upwind dock, the largest, deepest and widest avaiable . . . mainsail only.

They were teaching the ASA couse, PLUS inviting us to join their sailing club. For something like $250 per month you get to reserve anything in their fleet up to a 31-footer, as many times per month as you want, no added costs.

SO ... that was the point. In an emergency, they wanted everyone to have some idea of what to do. We started with the Capri 22, then an Ericsson 27. I think that lesson is valid. It's fine to "sail home" as long as your assigned slip is (prevailing) upwind. My slip is 98% DOWNWIND and immediately adjacent to the rock retaining wall. I do not ever try to "sail home".

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Thanks for your comments. I'm glad it wasn't just me that found it hard if not impossible to turn into the wind on just the jib. I will have to try docking with just the main as soon as I can build up the courage to do so. I would think it would have to be a crew of 2 at least to pull this off. Not sure if I'd be able to do it on my own. Anyway, I guess I will have to experiment.
Thanks again

Hmmm...docking solo, under sail...

Make sure the dock is plastic...



I did pull this off at Wareham with the wind behind us...furled up the genny three boat lengths from the dock and coasted in like a pro...ended at dock with just a bit of boat speed that I could snub off with a dock line on a cleat...timing was pretty close though..

Catigale wrote:Hmmm...docking solo, under sail...

Make sure the dock is plastic...



I did pull this off at Wareham with the wind behind us...furled up the genny three boat lengths from the dock and coasted in like a pro...ended at dock with just a bit of boat speed that I could snub off with a dock line on a cleat...timing was pretty close though..

showoff

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