Advice on charter boat

nedr

nedr

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I am heading off to warmer climes in September, having chartered a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 34.2 for a week sailing the Ionian. Managed to persuade/enthuse 4 others to come with me, all sensible folk but with little experience (one about Competent Crew level, the others bits 'n' pieces). I am used to sailing tiller-steered, cockpit-mounted mainsheet, side-decked winched, slab-reefing (i.e. seamanlike) boats , usually two-handed, but quite often solo (smaller boats). I notice that the charter boat in question has a coach-roof mounted mainsheet; all the winches seem similarly placed to allow maximum cockpit space (it also has in-mast furling mainsail). Bearing in mind the comparative greeness of my crew, I am a little concerned that should we need to dump the mainsheet for any reason, this set up is not ideal should I be at the wheel as my limited experience with coach-roof mounted mainsheets is that they are considerably less efficient & are harder to use, and obviously I couldn't start it myself from the wheel. Any good tips, on this subject or indeed any other, to ensure that the trip produces 4 new sailors rather than 4 frightened mutineers?
 
Don't helm.
I rarely take the helm when I'm skippering novices. It's easy to tell someone to bear away a bit or aim at that bit of land or whatever while you're keeping an eye on everything else and also within reach of sail trim gear.
The crew will also feel more involved if taking turns on the wheel.
It's can be a very freeing and rewarding experience allowing you time to think ahead, and quietly keep the boat in order which helps everyone else relax too.
Enjoy.
 
You are unlikely to meet conditions where dumping the mainsheet in a hurry is ever required. You are more likely to be worried about why there is not enough wind to make the boat move properly without using the engine! You are likely to only experience wind in the afternoon for a couple or 3 hours. If it looks like there is any strength in it roll away a few turns in the mainsail to keep the boat balanced and under control. Remember you are on holiday - not an endurance course!

I had my Bavaria 37 in Corfu for 10 years and can only remember 3 or 4 times when I had to dump the main, and soon learned to avoid such situations.
 
CFarr said:
Don't helm.
I rarely take the helm when I'm skippering novices. It's easy to tell someone to bear away a bit or aim at that bit of land or whatever while you're keeping an eye on everything else and also within reach of sail trim gear.
The crew will also feel more involved if taking turns on the wheel.
It's can be a very freeing and rewarding experience allowing you time to think ahead, and quietly keep the boat in order which helps everyone else relax too.
Enjoy.
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Thanks CFarr, good advice. Helps that it's a wheel..."Turn the wheel a bit to the left" rather than "Put helm up/down", "Luff up", "bear away".
 
Must agree to Tranona.
The two times we chartered in the Ionian we only had one day with the wind exceeding Bft 4. The other days were mostly spent searching for the wind.
If it gets a bit breezier, just roll away two turns of the main and the jib. Never hat to dump the the main.
Just sit back and enjoy the sun.
 
Lots of good advice. As you don't say when in September you're going it's difficult to give a prognosis - but the probability is that you'll motor everywhere (except about a 25% chance of a breeze during the last week in Sept).
No need to be excited about heavy weather, but every reason to bone up on anchoring technique whether stern to at a quay or floating free in an anchorage.
The afternoon winds, to which Tranona refers, are sea-breezes, about a mile off the coasts of mountainous islands - usually about Bf 3, but sometimes gust 5. farther out you'll have zilch.
Standard stern gear so not as controllable as more modern boats with a saildrive, motors 3GM Yanmar or 2003 Volvo. As you're going towards the end of the season (you don't mention the charter co) check everything thoroughly before accepting handover - there's one Greek charterer famous for lack of preparation.
Enjoy yourselves - no need to sleep with ones lifejacket on (as my wife did on her first night aboard). But that was a long time ago, over 1/2 century.
 
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charles_reed said:
Lots of good advice. As you don't say when in September you're going it's difficult to give a prognosis - but the probability is that you'll motor everywhere (except about a 25% chance of a breeze during the last week in Sept).
No need to be excited about heavy weather, but every reason to bone up on anchoring technique whether stern to at a quay or floating free in an anchorage.
The afternoon winds, to which Tranona refers, are sea-breezes, about a mile off the coasts of mountainous islands - usually about Bf 3, but sometimes gust 5. farther out you'll have zilch.
Standard stern gear so not as controllable as more modern boats with a saildrive, motors 3GM Yanmar or 2003 Volvo. As you're going towards the end of the season (you don't mention the charter co) check everything thoroughly before accepting handover - there's one Greek charterer famous for lack of preparation.
Enjoy yourselves - no need to sleep with ones lifejacket on (as my wife did on her first night aboard). But that was a long time ago, over 1/2 century.
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We are going 3rd weeek of September (14th -21st). The charter company is Nautilus Sailing. Will def. check things over. Only other time I chartered was on Norfolk Broads: early season, first customer to take boat out, fittings were pinging off/seized/malfuntioning left right & centre!
 
Every med charter boat I've sailed in the past decade (well ok, only 4) had in-mast furling and whilst I wouldn't have it on my own boat it was a blessing the two times where I was effectively single-handed (crew did not want to participate) and was a bit rusty after having not sailed much in the preceding years: Reefing super-easy. As well as giving more room for lounging, it could be argued that not having the traveller in the cockpit has safety benefits and is one fewer thing to watch out for.

Regarding dumping the main: as others have said: if your crew have any inclination to participate they'll get most enjoyment from steering, leaving you to watch everything else. You shouldn't need to dump it though: just don't sail on the ragged edge with novice crew. In-mast makes reefing early trivial.
 
nedr said:
We are going 3rd weeek of September (14th -21st). The charter company is Nautilus Sailing. Will def. check things over. Only other time I chartered was on Norfolk Broads: early season, first customer to take boat out, fittings were pinging off/seized/malfuntioning left right & centre!
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Have quite a good reputation - from which centre? I'll check with JimB who knows them all.
 
wully1 said:
As opposed to?
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Well, I was being a little facetious. I used to sail with someone who had in-mast furling & it was forever jamming. It was retro-fitted & I was also a little wary that the extra weight on the mast could cause stability problems. I also think that coachroof mounted mainsheet travellers are harder to manage (maybe something to do with acute angles). I guess most of these problems have been addressed in more modern boats. The one I am chartering dates back to 2000, so we will see.
 
Good advice to let others helm, but take it over yourself when mooring. (After all, its your credit card which will get punished if you hit anything) If you are unused to mooring stern to, my advice is always to make your turn well away from the jetty, giving yourself plenty of time and distance to get the boat going backwards under control and pointing in the right direction. The people who get into difficulties mooring stern to are usually the ones who get close inshore before turning and then find they lack the space to get the boat lined up right.
As for dumping the main sheet, I sail a bigger boat with a full battened main and coach roof traveller and winches and have never needed to do it. I sail in Turkey where sudden increases in wind speed are fairly common and am often single handed, and rather than dump the sheet I luff up, and pull a reef in if the gusts are getting too big. Unless you are sailing on the limit in winds where you really should be reefed anyway you are very unlikely to have any need to dump the sheet.
 
nedr said:
Well, I was being a little facetious. I used to sail with someone who had in-mast furling & it was forever jamming. It was retro-fitted & I was also a little wary that the extra weight on the mast could cause stability problems. I also think that coachroof mounted mainsheet travellers are harder to manage (maybe something to do with acute angles). I guess most of these problems have been addressed in more modern boats. The one I am chartering dates back to 2000, so we will see.
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Charter operators choose their boats and equipment for simplicity of operation, recognising that they are going to be used by novices most of the time. The inmast furling is designed to work easily if you follow the instructions. Stability is not an issue as the mast section is smaller, lighter and the boat was designed to have the rig. As others have said there is no way you will ever get anywhere near the limits of the boat. Relax and enjoy.
 
Nautilus have a good reputation so the boat should be fine.

Here are a couple of tips.

When furling away your main, keep a little tension on the outhaul so it goes in smoothly - best way to avoid it sticking.

I'd consider taking a small labeller with you and labelling the clutches so they know which rope is which. Also get them to look carefully at the colours of the ropes so they can work out for themselves which go where.

Go about 4 boat lengths out before dropping your anchor when Med mooring, wait for it to hit the bottom before going astern, and if you have novice crew just get them to put the chain out as fast as possible, then stop putting it out when you're about half a boat length from the quay. You can always put out another metre if necessary and it should mean you can retain steerage.
 
catlotion said:
wheel-steered, coach roof mounted mainsheet/winches, mast-reefed boats? :)

I found the in-mast reefing system on our charter boat a bit odd to be honest...
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I'd not have a cockpit mounted main sheet - had that on my second boat and thought it had the potential to maim...
My current boat has in mast reefing and I'm not sure I trust it... I don't mind the crappy shape as it's a cruising boat and any sailboat is going to have a pretty rubbish sail shape- unless you go mega high tech. The dammed thing jammed the first time I tried to use it, wouldn't unfurl then wouldn't furl so we ended up going round in circles until I got the sod free. Since then it's been all sweetness and light, now I know how it works. Still don't fully trust it...

What's wrong with wheel steering? You get plenty enough feel from them and if you're the kind of oaf that hacks along with it cranked all the way over with a massive rooster tail then you'd probably be better off with a mobo anyway.
 
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agree with the don't hog the helm bit - with a full crew i prefer to skipper from the pushpit where I can oversee things without doing everything (and can lend a hand in extremis)

but also, if the weather is gusty allocate mainsheet trimmer as a role to one of the crew - and make clear the (non technical) command given if they need to ease in a hurry

i once skippered a very skittish Sunfast 36 beating up an extremely gusty (5 - 25 knots) Kyles of Bute with inexperienced crew. It simply tacked uncontrollably if got a big gust without de-powering instantly.
There were three "mainsheet" control ropes, fortunately all differently coloured - traveller, fine tune and mainsheet. Depending on the gust it was "dump yellow", "dump red" or "dump blue" - nice and simple and worked a treat.
 
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