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EASLOOP

EASLOOP

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17 Dec 2001
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The Medway, Kent, UK
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Brisk sailing on Sunday on the Medway. 15+ knots SW. Eventually swept us onto a mud bank but did manage to get off with the aid of a kedge and a willing son in our tender. Glad we sailed with the tender attached.
Anyway, question is 'why could we not get the bows through the wind when tacking?' Many times the boat would just fall off the wind and we had to go about via a full circle in the opposite direction. Must have been a badly set mainsail/jib or? Also, with the foresail down is it normal to lose power and hence steerage? I think this is what put us into the mud.
We are a novice so any suggestions will be gratefully received.
 
go faster when you tack and hold the foresail backed(untacked) until she's gone through the wind. If no foresail ,-go faster! Thats the usual trouble on single sail dinghies such as toppers and oppies anyway. Generally if you have no foresail at all the boat is less easy to manouvere . all IMHO of course!
 
Hi
The problem could be one of many, or a combination of things.
I assume you were sailing the East Anglian? They are usually reckonned to be reliable handlers.
1/ Dirty bottom
2/ Unbalanced rig, all boats handle differently but many traditional boats don't like just mainsail or just jib.
3/ Failing to keep enough speed to give power through a tack. In breezy conditions there is a tendency to pinch too much to avoid heeling. Keep the boat moving well or the rudder can't work.
4/ Unfamiliarity with boat. Some need to be sailed round gently, others like to have lots of helm. Only practice will tell.

Hope you overcome this problem, a boat which won't tack reliably is a pain.

Dan
 
I second cookieboys' back the jib/genoa advice.

I used to try and tack too fast, and get the jib over too fast, and often stalled head to wind.

Now I turn the helm more slowly, (so that the boat curves around the turn, rather than trying to slide sideways.. which is guaranteed to slow you down).

In addition, the genoa isnt let go until it just starts to try and fill on the other side, (this is a close call, and the timing, and the action, comes with practice). The rougher the sea, and the more likely a stall, the longer I leave it.

Once through the wind, I try and wait for the jib to be hauled in, before getting onto the tack, (again, this takes some timing and judgement, as you dont want to remain stalled head to wind).


practice in winds where there wont be a problem, then you will be ready when necessary.

Cheers

Richard
 
Make sure you have enough boatspeed for your momentum to carry through the manoeuvre which may mean easing off from close-hauled to gain speed first. Then ensure that the bow comes round at a steady pace at which juncture take care on two points in particular.

1. Don't heave the headsail through the foretriangle as over enthusiasm here will result in a backed sail and thus a stalled tack.

2. Until you know your boat's likes and dislikes, let the bow swing right through the wind until perhaps to the close reaching angle, then once sheeted in on the new tack you can come back up to close-hauled.

Doing this will help to prevent you getting into 'irons' when you can neither sail off one way or the other.

By the way we had a race downriver on the Medway on Sunday with never less than 16knots rising to 25 knots plus by the end of the day, around Bee Ness, and gusts in the mid 30's, so I expect you were on the putty in a bit of a lee just below Gillingham Marina on the Gillingham side?
 
Were you a dinghy sailor before moving on to bigger boats? Dinghies have relatively large rudders and one gets into bad habits by relying too much on brute force on the rudder rather than getting the sail balance right. Withy a dinghy you can make a rapid movement, swing the bow through the wind, and then even give a few waggles to help the boat round. Larger boats don't work like that. Also in a dinghy you tend to let the foresail fly the moment you decide to go about. In a larger boat you immediately lose drive. Keep the foresails pulling until the last moment.If you lose way the rudder becomes useless.
As others have said, the trick is a slow steady swing, building up a swinging momentum whilst you still have speed.
 
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Also in a dinghy you tend to let the foresail fly the moment you decide to go about.

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I'm glad you don't crew for me ... no flapping in my boat!!
 
I endorse all the advice given; in stronger winds our boat prefers leaving the jib as long as possible so it backs, and brings the bow round. It is then easy to let off the sheet, and pull the other sheet in as quickly as possible.

As an ex dinghy sailor I used to put the tiller over too quickly, and found the best tactic was to sailround an imaginary buoy. This keeps the way on, and allows the boat to get round.
 
The usual suspect, at this time of year, is...

...a dirty bottom.

East Anglians are quite well behaved, usually.

Mirelle is exceptionally good, but even she will play silly beggars once she has a really dirty bottom.

It creeps up on you - you think "It's not worth scrubbing her, at this time of year...we'll be laying up any minute!" and the damage is done.
 
Think of the boat as pivoting around a point halfway along its length--the more sail forward of that point, the more the wind will push you away. More sail aft will push you around into the wind.

Probably, if the wind was up, you had a reef in the main, which would push your centre of effort forward. You can get around that by reefing or changing the headsail at the same time.
 
In addition to this great advice so far. If you do stall , and the boat stops, reverse your helm quickly, and as the boat is driven backwards by the wind, the stern will swing round and get you into the right position to heave in the sails and go off on your new tack. (Catamaran trick)
 
Re: The usual suspect, at this time of year, is...

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Mirelle is exceptionally good, but even she will play silly beggarsonce she has a really dirty bottom.

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As a novice I've never thought of this. My 27 long keeler has a very dirty bottom at the moment - been in Windermere for 4 years without coming out. Is this a general thing - should I expect her to handle noticeably better once she's been scrubbed and antifouled?

To echo earlier remarks, I have had the problem originally described, so I keep my tacking speed up and back the jib until the main is fully powered on the new tack - that's sorted out the problem for me.

Steve
 
Ah! But perhaps not a (successful) racer of dinghies?

Ignoring the delights of roll-tacking. think about where the centre of effort of your sails is. If it's forward of your pivot point - roughly the centre-line of your keel - the boat will tend to bear away, if it's aft of the pivot point, she'll want to luff up. You can move the centre of effort of the sails by adjusting the sheeting: sheet in the jib and/or ease the main, the c-of-e moves forward and you tend to bear away; ease the jib and/or sheet in the main and you'll tend to luff up. Do this just before a tack and it will help you into the tack.

A rudder that's not dead ahead will tend to slow you down and slowing down makes the rudder less effective: a double whammy. Therefore you want to use as little rudder as you can get away with and keep your speed up. The help you get from adjusting the sails will reduce the amount of helm needed and help keep your speed up through the tack.

Once you're past head-to-wind you're trying to bear away to close-hauled. So keep the jib backed until you're well through the wind and ease the main slightly. When you're almost on your intended course get the jib over and sheeted in quickly and, as it's tightened in, pull in the main again.

Result: smooth, accurate, fast tacking (and, if they're doing it well, a crew who feel as though they've been working hard together as a team.) Doing this in a dinghy, with a little controlled rolling to help the steering, you can sail without a rudder and, if you do it well, a spectator shouldn't be able to notice the difference.
 
Agree with these comments & you were also towing a dinghy which, if heavy, will only compound the problems.........but then it helped get you off the putty!!!!!

Also is your rig set up right yet - did you not have queries about that before??
 
Thanks very much everybody. I would have got back on the forum earlier but domestic events prevailed.
GIN. Yes, we were on the putty but on the shore opposite and just down river from Gillingham marina. That happened because concerned that we might not be able to control the boat amongst those moored up I let out the foresail and promptly lost way. there went steerage and the wind did the rest. We pulled ourselves off with a kedge and my son in the tender.

Once again , thanks everybody. I will print this lot out for continuing reference.
 
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Catamaran trick

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Catamaran necessity - at least, on all those I've sailed.

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Only if you dont know what you are doing, or are a bit slow, or just darn lazy.
 
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