Heaving to Info needed !!!!!!!!

Jobs_a_ good_ un

Jobs_a_ good_ un

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I have just finished my RYA dinghy level 1 & 2 and i was explained how to heave to but cant quite rememember how to do it
I remember you turn into wind ?
Then put the have the jib one side and the rudder pointing the opposite way
Do you release the main ?
I sailing cardiff bay this weekend and want to practice so any info would be good
Regards
 
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leave the main drawing nicely

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Hmm - that ain't gonna slow you down much is it?!

Yup - sheet the jib in hard on the windward side, but then the helm should be set to leward to turn the boat into the wind. The main should be left idle. You'll have to play around to get it to set right - but result in a slow drift leward likely with a slight forward motion.
 
In essence yes, but depending on the boat it may well bear off afterward. The idea is to put her in "irons" and keep her there. The backed jib stops her turning up to windward but you must also trim the mainsail to stop you turning to leeward which may mean a little trial and error. Ideally if your boat has a well balanced sail plan you can let the rudder go but more commonly you will need to lash it to put the boat head up to windward as the backed jib will want to turn you to leeward however you trim the main. Have a play! Find out what your boat does. It's very useful to know and very few sailors practice it enough. No two boats behave the same. Very easy to do with a catamaran on purpose or by accident (doh!)
 
I'll agree with boatbuilder as to how you get there and with Fireball as to the final position. One thing I'd add is to start off on a port tack so that you heave to on a starboard tack and therefore have right of way over most other sailing vessels.

Starting off again should be easy: centre the tiller, bring the jib through, sheet in the main and off you go.

Have fun!
 
In our Wayfarer we found it easier to back the genoa while lying head to wind. I found that tacking with the genoa backed pushed the bow round too quickly .. in strong winds it would go right round and gybe itself before stabilising.

We used to turn upwind till the boat starts to slow, then back the genoa while there was still steerage way, and let the main right out. Centre board half up. With the helm hard to lee, the tiller extension would sit in the bottom the boat, and hold the tiller in place.

You can also "lie to", with both sails let right out and the centreboard fully up. That's a very stable position if you need to stop for a minute or so to sort out some gear or something.
 
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leave the main drawing nicely

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Hmm - that ain't gonna slow you down much is it?!

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Well, it works! You dont want the main rattling round in the breeze - leastways I dont when I heave to, which as I am single handed most of the time, I do quite a lot. I always sheet in until it is drawing and quiet. The backed jib acts as a brake, and the helm to looard makes sure the jib does not pull her back off the wind into sailing mode. End result usually around 0.5kt headway, and lying nice and comfortable to the sea for brewing up coffee and food, or sorting something thats gone wrong. You have to get the main drawing to push against the braking effect of the jib, otherwise the backed jib just pulls the head round off the wind to the point where the boat starts sailing again. She will also be beam on to the sea and rolling much more. A properly hove to boat has a very comfortable motion even in quite a big sea, compared to when she is crashing along or just lying dead in the water with the sails flapping loose.

One boat I had actually did better with the helm nearly midships, as she would turn too much into the wind and the main woud shake, but usually it is helm to lee.
 
heaving to doesn't mean stopping the boat completely. You can do that by just letting the sheets fly and you'll drift slowly downwind which is the effect you are describing - backing the headsail will serve only to accelerate the drift.

When truly hove to you will fore-reach at 1-2 knots thereby creating a water flow over the rudder and giving you control. The design of the boat will determine exactly how it's done but typically it will involve main sheeted in, headsail sheeted to windward and helm set to turn into the wind.

To adjust for the characteristics of a particular boat it may be necessary to experiment with rolling away part of the headsail and adjusting helm angle. The main sheet tension can be adjusted but not to the degree that it is allowed to flog.

Heaving to may be done to slow down for various reasons, e.g. waiting for a change in conditions, to ease motion or to ride out heavy weather. In the last case a flapping main would be a disaster.
 
Simple way to remember the technique is to tack without touching the jib sheet, bring the tiller hard back the other way and secure it, and adjust the main so it doesn't keep driving you through the water.

My boat heaves to beautifully; stops dead in the water, doesn't yaw about, and as somebody above said, to set off again release the tiller, release the secured jib sheet, pull the other in, and off you go.

Its a very simple and very effective technique for temporarily parking while you have lunch, set lines/fenders before entering a marina, have a pee, etc.

As SWMBO is not confident enough in her sailing ability to do a full MOB recovery if I was to go overboard, I have ensured she knows how to heave to so there is at least some possibility of getting me back. I realise this is opening a whole new topic!
 
The way I remember it (and teach it) is "Sheet in the foresail hard then leave the sheets alone; then go tiller to boom, tiller to boom". I.e. tack (first tiller to boom), thereby backing the jib, then push the tiller towards the boom again to counterbalance the force on the jib.

Once you're settled tie the tiller off hard over (a bungy cord with loop and bobble works for me) and gently adjust the mainsheet to keep the boat from heading up or bearing away excessively - depending on your boat you maye need the mainsail flapping, drawing very slightly or sheeted in - experiment.

Once the mainsail is "balanced" you should be able to pretty much leave it all alone and get on with whatever else you were planning to do.

So "Sheet in the jib, Tiller to boom, tiller to boom, balance the mainsail". Enjoy.
 
Heaving to is a recognised technique in MOB recovery. You do a crash tack without touching the sheets then steer for the person in the water. You will be going too fast to lift them out there and then but the backed headsail will slow you down enough to pass them a life ring and danbouy. You can then sort yourself out and sail/motor back to them upwind so you can stop and recover.
 
Yes release the main.

We heave to like this between races in our Wayfarer and for lunch. If we had good result it could bne for up to an hour before the next start!

As others have said done properly you should make a both little leeway (providing your centreboard is down) and go slightly forwards.
 
Its a normal Jib I think with the rope so you can pull it in

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wayfarercotswold.jpg
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Heaving to is also a useful technique for taking a reef when short or single handed. The boat is stable even in fairly strong winds and moving up to the mast is much easier & safer. The helm can normally be left alone during the process.

TonyD
 
Brilliant .. an excuse to post a photo. This is the "genoa", the "jib" is only 2/3 of the size. The reason I ask, the genoa is quite powerful when backed, and you may need the centreboard quite far down to get the boat balanced.

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The further down the centreboard, the more effect the rudder has. Raise the centreboard too far and the backed jib starts to dominate. What we used to do was pu the board half down, helm wedged over, then maybe adjust the board till she's sitting nicely. Often this was when reefing in worsening conditions, and the boat does sit pretty quiet even in a lot of wind.

If you're lying to, both sails flapping, always have the board right up. That lets the boat slither sideways in wind or waves, rather than "tripping" over the board. Again, that's a very stable position for MOB recovery, or a bit of a onboard maintenance. Not so good for the sails, of course.
 
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