Absolute Essential Must-haves for Single-handed Sailing

[xyachtdave]

Hey!

Try being nicer to your crew/wife/girl/boyfriend and see how that goes?

Or you could continue to bark your incomprehensible nautical commands at the crew as you ram the pontoon…’Belay, belay that to the starboard aft cleat!’

 

[Poignard]

Plenty of fenders and a sense of humour .

 

[Wing Mark]

The only really essential item is a boat?

In one!

Everything else is arguable and depends on what sort of singlehanded boating people want to do.
I guess even sails are optional for some people.

You don't need much to get out on the water in some manner shape or form.
Having different 'stuff ' will influence what you do and hoe you do it, what conditions you can cope with etc etc. And maybe affect your enjoyment of it.

Maybe there's a selection of 'stuff' which becomes more 'essential' singlehanded than with a crew?
are there any gadgets/aids/whatever which you'd rather have than a crew?

 

[Wing Mark]

Plenty of fenders and a sense of humour .

And third party insurance!!!

Maybe the real essential is sufficient skill/experience/judgement/common sense to not mess it up too badly, too often?

Having jumped back into yachts after some years, I'm aware that skills need re-learning or sharpening, I need to learn lots of intricacies about my boat and a bit more about where I'm sailing.
A crew is very valuable in that learning phase.

 

[Roberto]

The only really essential item is a boat?

And as the boat introduces risks, after one has decided his/her own personal level of acceptable risk the only essential items are those to attain it.

Maybe there's a selection of 'stuff' which becomes more 'essential' singlehanded than with a crew?
are there any gadgets/aids/whatever which you'd rather have than a crew?

A tether comes to mind.

 

[Kukri]

My first single handed passage of around 50 miles:
No VHF
No autopilot/self steering
No lazyjacks
In fact not much that is today regarded as essential, my only electronic aids were a seafarer flashing light echosounder and a hand held RDF set.
Did have a safety harness (that I did not use on that passage as the weather was ideal) but self inflating lifejackets, plbs etc. were decades away in the future as was GPS and small yacht sized RADAR.
Life was so much more simple then and navigation so much more satisfying, but I would not willingly do without many of the none essential toys that are now available.

1971. Only thirty miles, but no echosounder, no RDF, no harness, kapok lifejacket that I didn’t wear. Did have a chart, a lead line and a compass. The electronic(s?) was a transistor radio for the Forecast.

Cotton sails, manila ropes.

 

[Wansworth]

My first single handed passage of around 50 miles:
No VHF
No autopilot/self steering
No lazyjacks
In fact not much that is today regarded as essential, my only electronic aids were a seafarer flashing light echosounder and a hand held RDF set.
Did have a safety harness (that I did not use on that passage as the weather was ideal) but self inflating lifejackets, plbs etc. were decades away in the future as was GPS and small yacht sized RADAR.
Life was so much more simple then and navigation so much more satisfying, but I would not willingly do without many of the none essential toys that are now available.

Liked that,reminds me of a simpler time

 

[srm]

Try being nicer to your crew/wife/girl/boyfriend and see how that goes?

Lots of offers to crew - "let me know if you ever want a crew" "I would love to come out sailing, let me know next time you are going out" . . . .etc. etc.
But, when put on the spot there was always something important they had to do. After a while I would smile at the offers, and forget them. There were times the boat needed to be moved by a certain time and girlfriend / wife genuinely had other things to do, or took me to the start of the passage and latter picked me up at the destination.

Crew were much more reliable when I was running a charter yacht /sailing school and people committed to the time and actually parted with money to sail.

 

[eebygum]

1) A continuous 'what would I do if X happened' stream of thought
2) A very tidy boat so that you can find things quickly and easily
3) A preparedness to abandon the plan mentioned by a previous poster, if weather or other factors suggest it might be a good idea

Agree with 1 & 3 which is summed up by the military strategy…. “No plan survives the first contact with the enemy (ie the Sea)” This saying has been attributed to Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke the Elder and Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz and I’m told is still taught at Sandhurst.

Always be prepared to change you plan and have a plan B and C etc in mind;or as someone else has mentioned… think and plan for the worst case scenario…. Helps me when I go out solo.

 

[Laminar Flow]

Reading this post I kept thinking Kukri must be the ancient (very ancient) mariner until I read the last 2 lines.

I was merely impressed by the evident quality of the museum exhibit he had apparently visited (I was about to ask him where it was) and not to mention his remarkable ability to retain it all. His use of ancient Greek syntax was simply evidence of the impression the exhibit had made upon him.

 

[Rappey]

The only really essential item is a boat?

The next essential thing to have is knowledge of plumbing, electrics, mechanics, carpentry etc.
Without those your not going to get very far when things fail.

 

[Concerto]

1971. Only thirty miles, but no echosounder, no RDF, no harness, kapok lifejacket that I didn’t wear. Did have a chart, a lead line and a compass. The electronic(s?) was a transistor radio for the Forecast.

Cotton sails, manila ropes.

If I remember rightly, my first singlehanded sail was in 1969 (or maybe 1970) when I was 15. In fact it was a singlehanded pursuit race of about 18 miles in the Medway. The yacht was my parent's CR Holman Northerny 34 which was only 2 years old. There were 8 competitors and I came 2nd with the largest boat - the winner beat me by less than a ¼ mile. Beating with the 150% genoa and no auto pilot made it "fun" and hard work as there was about 12 to 14 knots over the deck whilst beating. The wind was a north east. so a beat down river and a run back to finish. I did have a compass, echo sounder, log and wind instruments. Knowing the river was very useful, so I did not have keep checking the chart. My parents were very trusting to allow me to sail their pride and joy singlehanded, although they helped get the sails up after leaving the mooring and coming back aboard to help drop the sails and return to the mooring. Doing that at such a relative young age (only been sailing for 4 years) was very unusal and everyone else was of a similar age to my parents or older.

 

[Kukri]

This was my boat in 1971. I bought her in West Mersea in 1969 and sold her to Maldon in 1972, and I wish I knew what became of her, as she was a lovely boat.

Cruising involved an ex-Army groundsheet over the boom, a Primus stove and a sleeping bag on the bottom boards.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Autohelm and lifeline would be at the top of my list then you get to the nice to haves.

 

[LadyInBed]

absolute-essential-must-haves-for-single-handed-sailing.
Easy - The will to do it!
And anything else that makes it easier to do it.

 

[grumpy_o_g]

A few memories of some of the passages made with family and/or friends (to remind of why you decided to go single-handed in the first place).

 

[fredrussell]

The thing I find indispensable when single-handing is the Tiller Clutch. The ability to let go of the tiller for a few seconds and at the flick of a lever have it stay exactly where you left it whilst you tack/adjust sails/scratch your balls etc is a wondrous thing.

 

[Skylark]

Now for the one item I have found not useful and almost a waste of money - radar. Having used it on a number of boats on very rare occassions, I would say 99% of the time it was unused compared to the Mark 1 eyeball. Much better to fit AIS.

A bit of thread drift……

Training and knowledge is required to use radar. It then takes a fair amount of regular use to develop a reasonable skill and expertise.

Radar is a very versatile piece of equipment and has several uses.

AIS is something completely different and I, personally, would prefer not to compare the two.

Radar

 

[Koeketiene]

A bit of thread drift……

Training and knowledge is required to use radar. It then takes a fair amount of regular use to develop a reasonable skill and expertise.

Radar is a very versatile piece of equipment and has several uses.

AIS is something completely different and I, personally, would prefer not to compare the two.

Radar

Radar training (CPA calculations in particular) were beaten into me during OTW training.
Yet, in the last 25 years (on my own boat), I had to use radar 'in anger' maybe twice.
I fitted radar on my two previous boats, current boat doesn't have radar.
And I can't honestly say I miss it.

 

[Koeketiene]

1. I always boil a kettle on before I set off and fill a thermos. You never know if/when you will have the time at sea (you might be too busy, the weather might be too bad, ...). Also, keep some of these handy (Tactical Foodpack) - easy to prepare in even the most challenging weather.
2. Know every inch of your boat and even more importantly, where all your kit is stowed.
3. It's a mistake to believe that this or that bit of kit is essential or will save your life. There is no substitute for common sense. And before you do something, think it over at least twice and really consider all the possible consequences/outcomes.