Changing sails

[25931]

I suppose that modern gadgetry has deprived the cruising sailor of the pleasure of crouching on a pitching foredeck ,in the dark trying with frozen fingers to hand a recalcitrant headsail whilst being used as a breakwater by every third wave which would have activated an automatic lj had one been worn.

 

[capnsensible]

Ships were wood, men were steel.

 

[Neeves]

I suppose that modern gadgetry has deprived the cruising sailor of the pleasure of crouching on a pitching foredeck ,in the dark trying with frozen fingers to hand a recalcitrant headsail whilst being used as a breakwater by every third wave which would have activated an automatic lj had one been worn.

Rubbish

We have a furling 150% Genoa and if the winds are such that we need to furl very much we take the whole thing off and replace with a self tacking jib. Catamarans are dogs to windward and even more so as the Genoa is furled and it loses all shape, much better an unfurled smaller head sail. Off the wind it does not matter.

Having said that - if the desired direction is a hard beat - we stay at anchor

Jonathan

 

[Sandy]

Whatever makes you think that? I use a lifejacket with a Hammar auto system that should stop the lj self inflating with a green one over the bow.

 

[Gary Fox]

Was this intended for the Contessa 32 thread

 

[Daedelus]

Mrs D had a hammar lifejacket as very occasionally she would go on the foredeck and was concerned that the normal auto lifejacket would inflate unexpectedly and push her off the boat. She changed her mind after we did the sea survival course. Part of the course was to jump from a diving platform into a deeper than usual pool. We were given clear instructions to ensure the manual release of the lifejacket was to hand and jump with one hand covering it.
I could see her nerving herself to jump (she didn't like the height above the water) and then she jumped, you could see her going down with the jacket not auto inflating and apparently her feet touched the bottom without auto inflating and she then pulled the manual trigger which worked and she shot to the surface. Her wishes for the future of the hammar manufacturers if repeated here would get me permanently banned. I never knew she could swear so well. We got her a different type of lifejacket and I did all the foredeck work.

 

[Stemar]

Having said that - if the desired direction is a hard beat - we stay at anchor

If it matters, I just put the engine on. 28hp in 24ft works wonders . If the winds over about 25 knots, I'll go to the pub, whether it matters or not. 25kts with wind over tide in the Solent isn't nice, and I'd sooner go upwind then up tide.

 

[JumbleDuck]

If it matters, I just put the engine on. 28hp in 24ft works wonders . If the winds over about 25 knots, I'll go to the pub, whether it matters or not. 25kts with wind over tide in the Solent isn't nice, and I'd sooner go upwind then up tide.

I used to be purist about sailing - to the extent that i once took two days to get from Colonsay to Iona - but I read an article by the Blessed Thomas which completely changed my mind. "Your engine is probably the most expensive and time consuming thing on your boat" he wrote, "so you might as well use it."

And use it I do. I can't remember when I last did a serious beat upwind. First choice is always "Go with the wind", second choice is "Stay where we are" (these two reversed if at Crinan and the coffee shop is open) , third choice is "start the engine" and the last resort is "beat to windward".

I also discovered that my boat goes very nicely on jib alone for anything from a run to a beam reach. The combination of this discovery and my new engine policy meant that when I bought a beautiful new mainsail from Nicolson-Hughes it was only hoisted twice in the first three week trip out west.

 

[laika]

I suppose that modern gadgetry has deprived the cruising sailor of the pleasure of crouching on a pitching foredeck ,in the dark trying with frozen fingers to hand a recalcitrant headsail whilst being used as a breakwater by every third wave which would have activated an automatic lj had one been worn.

If you miss it that much you can always install a removable inner forestay. Not only do you get foredeck time with a hanked on headsail you have to deploy the inner forestay too.

I've had the sea land on my head whilst wearing a non-hammar lifejacket on many occasions and never had one auto-deploy on me. Might this have been an issue for older automatic lifejackets which isn't so prevalent for modern ones?

 

[RupertW]

I used to be purist about sailing - to the extent that i once took two days to get from Colonsay to Iona - but I read an article by the Blessed Thomas which completely changed my mind. "Your engine is probably the most expensive and time consuming thing on your boat" he wrote, "so you might as well use it."

And use it I do. I can't remember when I last did a serious beat upwind. First choice is always "Go with the wind", second choice is "Stay where we are" (these two reversed if at Crinan and the coffee shop is open) , third choice is "start the engine" and the last resort is "beat to windward".

I also discovered that my boat goes very nicely on jib alone for anything from a run to a beam reach. The combination of this discovery and my new engine policy meant that when I bought a beautiful new mainsail from Nicolson-Hughes it was only hoisted twice in the first three week trip out west.

I don’t agree with the motor part except maybe for the last couple of miles of multiple tracks but you are so right about using ja n without main for modern boats.

We found that gusts over pressed us and rounded the boat up to wind with no control when reaching and broad reaching with main up. Now we tend to keep reducing the main as the wind gets up.

 

[johnalison]

I have evil memories of going up to the foredeck and back multiple times between Flushing and Ostend on our Mystere. I think that that cured me of the idea that furling jibs were inferior jobs. Getting the wet and salty sail back into the cabin wasn't very clever either. I last did that in 1987. When we changed to a Sadler 29 with a furling jib we had no trouble keeping up with our cruising companions in a 32, who always ended up with too much or too little jib. The only time I have had a lifejacket deploy on me was when I got the toggle caught when trying to get out of the foredeck hatch in our then Cirrus while under way. For some reason the family seemed to think it was funny.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I don’t agree with the motor part except maybe for the last couple of miles of multiple tracks ...

"Multiple tracks"? That said, it's a personal thing, and if someone prefers to sail upwind, good luck to them.

 

[25931]

If you miss it that much you can always install a removable inner forestay. Not only do you get foredeck time with a hanked on headsail you have to deploy the inner forestay too.

I've had the sea land on my head whilst wearing a non-hammar lifejacket on many occasions and never had one auto-deploy on me. Might this have been an issue for older automatic lifejackets which isn't so prevalent for modern ones?

You could well be right. I had one go off in (rather heavy ) rain but that was some years ago.

 

[dom]

I used to be purist about sailing - to the extent that i once took two days to get from Colonsay to Iona - but I read an article by the Blessed Thomas which completely changed my mind. "Your engine is probably the most expensive and time consuming thing on your boat" he wrote, "so you might as well use it."

And use it I do. I can't remember when I last did a serious beat upwind. First choice is always "Go with the wind", second choice is "Stay where we are" (these two reversed if at Crinan and the coffee shop is open) , third choice is "start the engine" and the last resort is "beat to windward".

I also discovered that my boat goes very nicely on jib alone for anything from a run to a beam reach. The combination of this discovery and my new engine policy meant that when I bought a beautiful new mainsail from Nicolson-Hughes it was only hoisted twice in the first three week trip out west.

One just needs to be careful to avoid exceeding the engine's max angle of heel when doing this - often around 15-18 degrees. Beyond that can affect splash lubrication of the crankshaft, can wreck the turbo, and dramatically increases the risk of engine runaway. In this case, basically as the boat heels too much, excess lube oil is splashed onto the cylinder walls, some of which can then combine with the injected diesel and away the engine goes ?

Any sign of this happening and one must get the boat back on its feet ASAP!

Most engine manuals will specify the maximum permissible angle of operational heel.