How much heeling?

[tgalea]

Hi everyone,

Since me and my wife have been "self-learning" on a 23ft sailing boat we bought a few months ago we always resort to this forum when we get stuck with something. Please have some patience with us!

One question we have is in relation to how much or rather what is the safe limit of our boat when she heels ? The boat is an old (1963) triple keel and we are not to comfortable when the boat starts heeling since we are not sure if we are being dangerous or rather if the degrees of heel is normal for this boat ?

Any ideas how we could go about figuring this one out ?

Cheers
Tyrone

 

[vyv_cox]

There is an old "rule" that an acceptably stiff boat would heel 20 degrees in 20 knots of wind apparent under full sail. Many modern boats would not satisfy this, due to lighter displacement and larger sail area. My Sadler 34 would not, but the later ones with the Stephen Jones keel will. I have no experience with a triple keel boat but I would think this rule should apply to every configuration.

 

[DoctorD]

A boat usually tells you if shes heeling too much since she becomes harder to steer with a tendency for the boat to want to turn strongly into the wind. If you find you are having to hold the tiller continually at a big angle away from the centreline and it takes more strength than is comfortable to steer her straight then you need to reduce sail and stop her heeling so much.

Every boat is different in this regard so experimenting is a good thing to do.

Good luck and good sailing

Graham

 

[billmacfarlane]

There's no hard and fast rule re how much a boat heels. Each and every boat is different and the degree of heel is dependent on various factors including ballast ratio ,sail area , hull shape and so on. I think the rule that Vyv mentions is the 20/20 rule by a designer called Chuck Paine , designer of the Victoria Range but it's not a rule that all boats adhere to. As a rule of thumb , if you think the angle of heel is excessive and you're tiller is constantly up round your ears , shorten sail and see if that improve matters. Likewise you can experiment with sail trim to find an angle of heel you're comfortable with. There's no hard and fast rule . Experimenting with your own boat , while measuring things like amount of leeway the boat makes at various angles of heel is the way to find the optimum angle for your boat , which is also comfortable to you.

 

[extravert]

I don't know what the safety implications are for a triple keel, but for performance 20 degrees is the usual maximum heel. When racing my boat (an X99) it is one of the jobs of the main trimmer to keep the angle of heel within 20 degrees from vertical. Any more than that then 2 things happen.... 1) the keel starts losing grip which means excessive leeway and 2) the underwater shape of the hull changes such that the boat is trying to turn to windward. This requires weather helm to keep the boat straight. When the rudder is off to one side like this it creates drag, just look at the eddies coming out from the stern to see this.

Another reason for not going beyond 20 degrees is that it is very hard to make tea.

 

[Guest]

Hi, I've got a similar problem( slightly smaller boat) plus a lot of initial tenderness-tilt when you step on the deck edge. My boat is also triple keel.
Was debating wether or not to hang another lump of old iron on to the centre keel.
Have just decided to trundle along more sedately for a bit until I get to grips with the sail balance. Reason for the more modest approach will be found in Cignet's post above. I can't stand soggy feet!!

Good luck and enjoy, this lark is supposed to be fun.

 

[Jacket]

The '20/20' rule you refer to isn't really an old rule. Most boats from the days before engines won't manage it as if a boat that can carry full sail in 20 knots is likely to be underpowered in lighter airs. If you haven't got an engine you need pleanty of sail to keep moving when the winds light.
Also, I think its aimed more at offshore cruising boats. Its probably a bad thing for your average costal cruiser, which is normally out in winds much less than 20 knots, and so will want enough sail for respectable performance in 10 knots and less.
But going back to the original question. I think most people are answering a different question to what you are asking. People are telling you how much heel is acceptable for optimum performance, whereas I think you are worried about what is safe.
I think the thing to remember is that no matter how much she heels, your boat won't capsise. So just go out and play around with different amounts of sail and you will soon learn at what stage to reef to get the best performance out of your boat.

 

[johndf]

There is no safety limit from the heeling point of view, until you get to the angle of vanishing stability, by which time your mast would be pointing downwards. It is the comfort and performance factors which provide practical limits.


Heeling can be an unnerving experience at first, but it's nothing to worry about. Reefing and avoiding sailing close-hauled are the best ways to reduce heeling. To avoid it altogether, you could get a motorboat, but that would deny you a lot of pleasure.