How to heave to?

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richardh10

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Just been reading the offshore thread with interest, and likewise all of my sailing has been coastal. Hopefully in the not too distant future I will be able to do some ocean sailing, and as I will probably be singlehanded, I will need to know how to heave to.

So. What steps do you take from sailing to heaving to, assuming for the moment that you are doing so to take a rest rather than avoiding some mega storm!

Cheers
 
richardh10 said:
Just been reading the offshore thread with interest, and likewise all of my sailing has been coastal. Hopefully in the not too distant future I will be able to do some ocean sailing, and as I will probably be singlehanded, I will need to know how to heave to.

So. What steps do you take from sailing to heaving to, assuming for the moment that you are doing so to take a rest rather than avoiding some mega storm!

Cheers
Click to expand...

Tack but leave the jib as is.

Let main out. Adjust steering until stable.
 
Personally I just sheet in the sails and then tack the boat leaving the headsails backed, then lash the helm to leeward. If I'm planning on staying hove to for a while then I'll swap the runners round, if just for dinner or something then I'll leave it all be.
 
and I would do the same as Parsifal and st599... (although adding that if the genoa was fully out at the time I might furl it half way before going into the tack...)

Although if I wanted to generally point in the original direction then it would be a tack, sheet genoa in on new tack.. then tack back to original course leaving the genoa backed...

Effectively the genoa is trying to sail you backwards and the main is trying to sail you forwards.. they balance.. and if you have the tiller down to leeward then that is counteracting the genoa...
 
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Just to add that every boat is a bit different as to the final position of the rudder. You just have to see what feels right at the time. You will end up drifting slowly at about 45° to the wind so it is worth taking that into account when deciding what tack you choose.

If you are considering going offshore single handed and have never heaved to before I agree that a study of Heavy weather sailing would be a good idea (if it does not put you off !)

Good luck :)
 
I usually do the headsail aback / tiller tied down thing but with the headsail 1/2 furled, 'cos we have a large genoa.
By accident I have found that with no headsail and main sheeted flat amidships, the boat makes much less way and just oscillates a few degrees either side of the wind.
Probably wouldn't work for all boats or for long periods, but worth a try.
 
If your headsail isn't too big and your winches and arms are you can just heave the headsail to windward. This was demonstrated to me earlier this year as I was about to tack and the skipper said something along the lines of "don't need to fanny about tacking, just do this". He put a couple of turns on the lazy sheet winch, flicked of the working sheet and pulled like ****. Two seconds later we were hove to! And I was giggling to myself.

Forgot to add: The nice thing was we stayed on stbd tack which is the better one to use ;-)
 
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In stronger winds you can heave to without a headsail.

Sheet the main in, head up to wind and let the boat stop: when the bows fall away from the wind, you steer back up to the wind, but you won't be able to get the bows back through the wind: lash the helm hard over in that direction.

Once you are properly hove to, the keel will be going sideways through the water, producing big eddies downstream of itself, like a stalled aerofoil.
 
richardh10 said:
Just been reading the offshore thread with interest, and likewise all of my sailing has been coastal. Hopefully in the not too distant future I will be able to do some ocean sailing, and as I will probably be singlehanded, I will need to know how to heave to.

So. What steps do you take from sailing to heaving to, assuming for the moment that you are doing so to take a rest rather than avoiding some mega storm!

Cheers
Click to expand...
Practice whilst in a nearby quiet bay first. There is no definitive thing that will work with every boat, and a few lightweight modern deep-fin boats just won't heave to reliably - they are always at risk of tacking or gybing themselves if the wind strength varies.
 
oldvarnish said:
By all means buy it -it's a great read. But I've carried it on several boats now and your boat never quite seems to fit into the book's examples.
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Well you're not supposed to follow the book to the letter. It outlines various storm tactics and then gives you accounts of what other people have experienced and been through. At the end of the day only you can decide what the best tactic is for the conditions you're experiencing on your boat. Heavy Weather Sailing is just there to give you some ideas and encouragement.

It's worth reading several editions too since the tactics and experiences in the early editions are very different to the latest version. I think it's a reflection on how yacht design has progressed and how different types of boat require different solutions.
 
Barnacle Bill said:
In stronger winds you can heave to without a headsail.

Sheet the main in, head up to wind and let the boat stop: when the bows fall away from the wind, you steer back up to the wind, but you won't be able to get the bows back through the wind: lash the helm hard over in that direction.

Once you are properly hove to, the keel will be going sideways through the water, producing big eddies downstream of itself, like a stalled aerofoil.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Sister ships to mine ( although we are all equipped with dedicated staysails and storm jibs ) have written of gilling along quite comfortably in steady 40knot winds and the evil gusts/squally bits, just using a triple reefed main and helm down a bit/autopilot assisting..

When I had a junk rigged 21footer, with no foresail, the same applies tho I made a dedicated trysail. Roger Taylor has written more on this from more experience in MingMing, his sistership ..
Heaving to is as much about slowing down , 'going passive' and patiently sitting it out staying warm dry and fed, with searoom enough that you don't have to bash on , I would suggest.
 
You've probably worked out by now that there's no definitive answer for the same boat as you need to fiddle about a bit with most boats to get things nice and stable. The principle of mainsail trying to sail against the genoa with the helm down (is trying to tack the boat) is universal.

The things to experiment with are: size of main, amount/size of genoa/jib, helm position.

I will reinforce the suggestion about heaving to on a Starboard tack. It makes the majority of vessels 'give way vessels' to you.
 
Martin_J said:
and I would do the same as Parsifal and st599... (although adding that if the genoa was fully out at the time I might furl it half way before going into the tack...)

Although if I wanted to generally point in the original direction then it would be a tack, sheet genoa in on new tack.. then tack back to original course leaving the genoa backed...

Effectively the genoa is trying to sail you backwards and the main is trying to sail you forwards.. they balance.. and if you have the tiller down to leeward then that is counteracting the genoa...
Click to expand...

+1 ... and use it to slow down and stay clear of bad weather.

Unfortunately on our boat we continue to progress but at 1-2kts - haven't been able to really stop the boat or sail at less than 1kt.
 
Barnacle Bill said:
In stronger winds you can heave to without a headsail.

Sheet the main in, head up to wind and let the boat stop: when the bows fall away from the wind, you steer back up to the wind, but you won't be able to get the bows back through the wind: lash the helm hard over in that direction.

Once you are properly hove to, the keel will be going sideways through the water, producing big eddies downstream of itself, like a stalled aerofoil.
Click to expand...


That's my preferred method too.

Anyone seriously interested in heaving-to should read Pardey's 'Storm Tactics'. They make the point that you are NOT hove-to if your boat is making ANY forward progress at all. To judge this you drop a piece of kitchen paper over the lee side and hope that it stays in the same place. I have to say I have found this difficult to achieve and generally make something just under one knot about 30 degrees off the wind.
This negates one of the advantages of heaving-to in that you leave behind the windward slick of smooth water you have created and make yourself more vulnerable to breakers.

That's their theory, and it makes sense to me.
 
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