How to start single handing

[Kukri]

How to start singlehanding?
I'm surprised it is a question that needs to be asked!

You sit on your sofa for an eveing or two (or in your bath if you prefer) and work through, blow by blow, how you'd get your boat on and off it's mooring solo in decent weather under power. Not too taxing - surely?

Then you do the same for how you'd get the sails up afterwards. And down again. (motoring into wind under autopilot perhaps?) Move by move. What could go wrong? How would I cope if it did? Think all the options through. How serious would an error be anyway? (not very, in decent weather). What would I do if it got a bit out of hand? (Is the anchor ready to drop by gravity - quickly?). How do I cope with steeering and sail-work simultaneously? Use of autopilot (I'd be stuck without one). How do I reef solo? (Easy! You heave-to and reef there. Foolproof) So learn how your boat likes to heave-to, it's a lifesaver in more ways than one for singlehanders. Can I balance her to sail with the tiller lashed without the autopilot? Find out how.
Then go out do it in a F2/3 and do it to prove you can. And heave to. And reef - yes, even in a F2/3. Then sail around a bit and heave-to again to unreef.
And anchor and unanchor. Try raising the main at anchor before setting off - it's one less thing to do once underway if conditions permit.
Then do it all over again next time there's a F4.
Then undertake a 30 mile solo coastal trip to prove you can navigate and sail alone.
Pretty soon you'll find all of this is just a matter of an organised mind, an organised boat and a well rehearsed sequence - and there is great pleasure and satisfaction to be found in it.
Then one day you'll get 'caught' by more wind than you wanted and find yourself heaving-to to reef for real with spray flying is just the same as doing it any other time and it works just the same - heave-to and the mayhem magically abates, you get on with the job and behold - all is under control again! I CANNOT emphasise the usefulness of heaving-to for a singlehander, even if only to make a sandwich, a cup of tea or take a dump if it's all getting a bit much, and you'll soon be away, shouting at the wind as the spray flies with 2 reefs in, half the genny out and the lee-rail under wondering what all the fuss was about.

Later comes managing fatigue, sleep etc after 18hrs etc. That's another learning curve.

It's all a progression. Take it step by step and learn to recognise the difference between your ability and potential over confidence, but if you've taken it progressively as suggested you'll not be likely to overreach yourself unexpectedly.
And if in doubt; heave-to and have a re-think in slow time!

But for me, a decent autopilot is a must. Call me a wimp if you will.

This is a very good post.

There is the question of size.

Best to start small, because the idea of single handing a bigger boat is disproportionately more worrying, so you may never start at all.

By small I really do mean small. 18-22ft. Best if she has no engine.

Best if she is kept on a mooring.

Have a try with a passenger who knows how to sail but does nothing.

Dropping a mooring is something anyone can do. Do it under sail and plan which way you will go after dropping the mooring (maybe back the jib to choose your tack, etc),

Picking up the mooring is the hard part, but you will succeed, because otherwise you will turn into Vanderdecken.

Success at this will start to bring confidence.

The older how-to books - EF Knight’s “Sailing”, FW Cooke’s “Seamanship for Yachtsmen”, etc. - are the best for learning this.

Transfer these skills to a bigger boat.

You really do need to develop confidence in your boat.

 

[Poignard]

Once again apologies
this post arose from a earlier post relating a tale of a voyage with a crew and suggested that the OP was likely to end up on his owh if he did not include his family in sailing the boat but was taken at face value on how to learn how sail single handed and then degenerated Into a critique of the merits of auto helms

Well that's what happens in forums.
It may have gone off in a direction you hadn't intended and didn't like, but it has been a lively and interesting discussion so thank you for that.

 

[TNLI]

Picking up a mooring - Yes I agree. However---
Do you really think that someone just learning to SH is going to need to change the masthead bulb at the start. Especially as he/she would have deck lights for motoring. Similarly sleeping underway will be quite a long way off. Starting early after a nights rest one can sail for 18 hours without having to sleep quite easily. At 5 kts that is 90 miles. It is mostly a daylight sail in the summer.
Not many SH sailors will be going that long on their first few sails. More like 3-4 hours , I would suspect.
Then why would they want THREE kitchen timers . (Surely they can boil the eggs before they leave ) One will wake them easily enough IF they manage to get to sleep in the first place.

Sorry, I should have stuck to the thread's title, and not drifted off topic, into advanced SH disaster management. The 3 clocks are used just like the 3 TP's, one does not work as advertised, and 2 to wind up. The idea of just thinking one is enough, is not going to increase your life expectancy.

Anyway back to basics, and safety lines etc. Every boat is different and there are a number of different ways of staying clipped on, but here is my basic safety rig for a small sloop:

1/ Heavy duty U bolt, or two in the cockpit area, with 2 lines, (One on each side), led all the way to the bow from the side deck adjacent to the aft cockpit area. Some folks prefer webbing if they have to stand on the safety line at some point, as it does not roll under foot. With some boats like my own, the safety line is right up on the cabin top side, not the deck.

2/ 5 point harness, (One strap for down under), that is comfortable enough for you to wear 24/7. The one I used was from a damaged top of the range inflatable life jacket, that I cut off.

3/ One dog lead permanently attached to each safety line and the cockpit U bolt. I used D rings on one end and the real McCoy Gibb clips on the other. Some chandlers and sail makers do make those types of safety leash, and the main one I've got is from West Marine, You might need 4 in total for a bigger yacht if the upwind deck safety line does not allow you to reach the mast.

4/ Once you have it all rigged up with 3 or 4 leads, make 100% that you can not finish up so far overboard that you can't pull yourself back on board.
Such a system allows you to avoid being unclipped at any point.

5/ How not to forget to clip on: Leave the cockpit dog lead dangling over the top wash board so that it's hard to miss as it's right in front of your nose when moving from the cabin.

It's very important to practice whilst safely in port exactly how you are going to move around your boat, without unclipping. It's one bad idea to think that just because it seems to be a calm day, it's safe to SH without clipping on. The main reason for that is that your brain needs to regard clipping on as something normal that you do every time. Otherwise you can easily be in the cabin when something rather disturbing like a loud fog horn signal, or engine fire alarm causes you to panic, and miss out on the clip on routine.

In reality it will takes some time to figure out where to attach the deck safety lines, and how long the dog leads need to be. In many cases you will need to install new through bolted attachment points.

PS: I use the term dog lead, for a safety line from the lifejacket or harness D ring to the deck or cockpit safety line. I did have a good sailmaker make mine last time , as I could not find any of the length I needed. For the cockpit I did need to use a short line between 2 U bolts.

VHF and various electronic display.

See if it's possible to move or install them so they can be operated, or at least seen from both the cockpit area, and your berth. Oddly enough that is much easier on a small boat than a big one. I did install a few repeaters in my last yacht, and a below decks compass is almost essential if using a wind vane.

Final comments:
I don't think single handing any type of boat offshore is a good idea if it has not been designed and built with SH in mind, unless you are happy that it can be modified or converted to make it easy and safe to do so. That often means a fair amount of work leading the sail controls aft etc. In general terms the aim is to stay off the deck and in the cockpit, or below.

 

[TNLI]

[QUOTE="TNLI, post: 7826215, member: 180426" you might contact the RNLI and let them follow you out on a flat calm day for a slow safe trip around the harbour.

I hope the RNLI would politely tell anybody asking for this sort of escort - where to go! They're not there for handholding outside of emergencies.
[/QUOTE]

Sorry, that was meant as a joke, although you can ask when they are out training by sending an e mail. That way if you run into trouble, they will not be too put out. The record for incidents and even accidents associated with the very early stages of leaning how to sail on your own is not too good, although oddly enough the actual hull loss rate for a single hander circumnavigating is slightly better than that for boats with a crew of 3 or more.

 

[Kukri]

Sorry, I should have stuck to the thread's title, and not drifted off topic, into advanced SH disaster management. The 3 clocks are used just like the 3 TP's, one does not work as advertised, and 2 to wind up. The idea of just thinking one is enough, is not going to increase your life expectancy.

Anyway back to basics, and safety lines etc. Every boat is different and there are a number of different ways of staying clipped on, but here is my basic safety rig for a small sloop:

1/ Heavy duty U bolt, or two in the cockpit area, with 2 lines, (One on each side), led all the way to the bow from the side deck adjacent to the aft cockpit area. Some folks prefer webbing if they have to stand on the safety line at some point, as it does not roll under foot. With some boats like my own, the safety line is right up on the cabin top side, not the deck.

2/ 5 point harness, (One strap for down under), that is comfortable enough for you to wear 24/7. The one I used was from a damaged top of the range inflatable life jacket, that I cut off.

3/ One dog lead permanently attached to each safety line and the cockpit U bolt. I used D rings on one end and the real McCoy Gibb clips on the other. Some chandlers and sail makers do make those types of safety leash, and the main one I've got is from West Marine, You might need 4 in total for a bigger yacht if the upwind deck safety line does not allow you to reach the mast.

4/ Once you have it all rigged up with 3 or 4 leads, make 100% that you can not finish up so far overboard that you can't pull yourself back on board.
Such a system allows you to avoid being unclipped at any point.

5/ How not to forget to clip on: Leave the cockpit dog lead dangling over the top wash board so that it's hard to miss as it's right in front of your nose when moving from the cabin.

It's very important to practice whilst safely in port exactly how you are going to move around your boat, without unclipping. It's one bad idea to think that just because it seems to be a calm day, it's safe to SH without clipping on. The main reason for that is that your brain needs to regard clipping on as something normal that you do every time. Otherwise you can easily be in the cabin when something rather disturbing like a loud fog horn signal, or engine fire alarm causes you to panic, and miss out on the clip on routine.

In reality it will takes some time to figure out where to attach the deck safety lines, and how long the dog leads need to be. In many cases you will need to install new through bolted attachment points.

PS: I use the term dog lead, for a safety line from the lifejacket or harness D ring to the deck or cockpit safety line. I did have a good sailmaker make mine last time , as I could not find any of the length I needed. For the cockpit I did need to use a short line between 2 U bolts.

VHF and various electronic display.

See if it's possible to move or install them so they can be operated, or at least seen from both the cockpit area, and your berth. Oddly enough that is much easier on a small boat than a big one. I did install a few repeaters in my last yacht, and a below decks compass is almost essential if using a wind vane.

Final comments:
I don't think single handing any type of boat offshore is a good idea if it has not been designed and built with SH in mind, unless you are happy that it can be modified or converted to make it easy and safe to do so. That often means a fair amount of work leading the sail controls aft etc. In general terms the aim is to stay off the deck and in the cockpit, or below.

Good stuff:

(2) interesting

(4) is SOP for me because I am absent minded and easily distracted, just like hanging the starter key on the seacock.

Am fitting two identical multifunction chart plotters, back to back, one in cabin, one in cockpit. They can share a card. Paul Rainbow pointed out new Raymarine remote control for them.

 

[Buck Turgidson]

Sorry, I should have stuck to the thread's title, and not drifted off topic, into advanced SH disaster management. The 3 clocks are used just like the 3 TP's, one does not work as advertised, and 2 to wind up. The idea of just thinking one is enough, is not going to increase your life expectancy.

Anyway back to basics, and safety lines etc. Every boat is different and there are a number of different ways of staying clipped on, but here is my basic safety rig for a small sloop:

1/ Heavy duty U bolt, or two in the cockpit area, with 2 lines, (One on each side), led all the way to the bow from the side deck adjacent to the aft cockpit area. Some folks prefer webbing if they have to stand on the safety line at some point, as it does not roll under foot. With some boats like my own, the safety line is right up on the cabin top side, not the deck.

2/ 5 point harness, (One strap for down under), that is comfortable enough for you to wear 24/7. The one I used was from a damaged top of the range inflatable life jacket, that I cut off.

3/ One dog lead permanently attached to each safety line and the cockpit U bolt. I used D rings on one end and the real McCoy Gibb clips on the other. Some chandlers and sail makers do make those types of safety leash, and the main one I've got is from West Marine, You might need 4 in total for a bigger yacht if the upwind deck safety line does not allow you to reach the mast.

4/ Once you have it all rigged up with 3 or 4 leads, make 100% that you can not finish up so far overboard that you can't pull yourself back on board.
Such a system allows you to avoid being unclipped at any point.

5/ How not to forget to clip on: Leave the cockpit dog lead dangling over the top wash board so that it's hard to miss as it's right in front of your nose when moving from the cabin.

It's very important to practice whilst safely in port exactly how you are going to move around your boat, without unclipping. It's one bad idea to think that just because it seems to be a calm day, it's safe to SH without clipping on. The main reason for that is that your brain needs to regard clipping on as something normal that you do every time. Otherwise you can easily be in the cabin when something rather disturbing like a loud fog horn signal, or engine fire alarm causes you to panic, and miss out on the clip on routine.

In reality it will takes some time to figure out where to attach the deck safety lines, and how long the dog leads need to be. In many cases you will need to install new through bolted attachment points.

PS: I use the term dog lead, for a safety line from the lifejacket or harness D ring to the deck or cockpit safety line. I did have a good sailmaker make mine last time , as I could not find any of the length I needed. For the cockpit I did need to use a short line between 2 U bolts.

VHF and various electronic display.

See if it's possible to move or install them so they can be operated, or at least seen from both the cockpit area, and your berth. Oddly enough that is much easier on a small boat than a big one. I did install a few repeaters in my last yacht, and a below decks compass is almost essential if using a wind vane.

Final comments:
I don't think single handing any type of boat offshore is a good idea if it has not been designed and built with SH in mind, unless you are happy that it can be modified or converted to make it easy and safe to do so. That often means a fair amount of work leading the sail controls aft etc. In general terms the aim is to stay off the deck and in the cockpit, or below.

or have a helo in close formation:

 

[TNLI]

Yep, chase boats and a chopper escort definitely help when sailing a giant surf board, without clipping on. It must be cool to be able to sail a boat, (Sorry you will have to put up with me using that term, cos I'm trying to build an offshore motor sailor class lifeboat that doubles up as a fishing boat), to the edge of a catastrophic failure. or beyond in many cases and not have to deal with the consequences, after they fish you out of the Oggin, or tow your badly damaged boat a thousand miles back to the nearest suitable repair centre, (Or hire an offshore O & G rig support crane barge and tug, plus another serious vessel for the entire repair and engineering team).

Alas I'm in the safety and reliability first game, with the, how the many dollars will it cost a very close question second. I do appreciate how good this type of extreme sailing is in terms of developing some of the new safety and Comm's systems, the MOB systems and mini EPIRB's in particular. Some of the new composite rigging and hybrid Carbon hull panel materials are also going to result in some very interesting increases in fuel efficiency and even collision damage resistance for the well funded coastal rescue, (The latest RNLI offshore boats have Carbon fibre composite panels that are far better than the expensive Monel plates that were used to make some USCG rescue boats like the USCG 36500 design, (Last of the full displacement boats, and equivalent to a Rother, although more powerful), I thought long and hard about copying. Those plates were fixed to the waterline to allow those lovely boats to be able to deal with the ice in river estuaries, as wood is not the best material for a hull in an ice field, and steel is just too heavy for that particular application, (It results in the need for a bigger engine, and that will reduce the range of the vessel).

My own offshore rig is about as far removed from the Vendee game, and the need for speed as it's possible to get. It consists of 4 standard scaffolding poles, and a 6ft offcut. You can buy or find such standard poles almost anywhere in the world, so no need to start begging, if, or rather when in some cases, the A frame breaks due to some serious finger trouble, or a collision.
The normal standard pole is 20 ft long, (My boat is only 27ft LOA at present), So if you broke the rig because one of the hinge plates, (Easy to lower or raise until it fails), bolts fell out, and the resulting fiasco results in the entire rig falling over the side when the opposite pin or hinge plate fails in a permanent manner, or one of the alloy poles is too badly bent to be of any use, it's still possible to take the 2 poles that are lashed to the side deck, and assemble another A frame rig with twin fore and aft stays.
The composite rigging and operating lines for the Vendee Globe surf boards, (I presume they are too light to sink if the hinged depleted Uranium ballast bulb snaps off, or has its main Jesus pin pulled out). is also very interesting in terms of using some types for floating rescue, or towing lines in particular, once the cost of the 1mm secondary rigging lines goes below 1K dollars per foot, plus postage.
Yes I know it does not stretch and will need a spring or thick bungee added. Trying to handle steel cable towing lines, or dealing with the consequences of a snap back, (Potential fatal if you get in the way), or the simple inability to carry a spare main line due to lack of space or weight issues, can all be overcome with these new fangled composite lines.

If you are bored enough to read my posts, and are in the process of throwing any offcuts in a rubbish bin, PLEASE go green and think of those less fortunate, who are building a useful offshore rescue boat, (If I don't sink during sea trials, or when bound for Trinidad). Alas the TNLI do not own a car, apart the Renault Twingo fold back roof one that I abandoned, (Too many bullet holes to pass an MOT).
One planning related safety point, DO NOT GO ANYWHERE NEAR TRINIDAD, without an armed escort vessel. The passage just South of Trinidad just opposite Venezuela has a significant number of anchored merchant vessels all over the place. Very few of them are illuminated, as they are sort of abandoned until you get to the Western end, where there will be O & G vessels waiting to load LPG etc. If you go sailing past some of those vessels at night, you might finish up with an RPG hole!

The entire area around T & T and even as far as Grenada, and along the coast past Columbia can be very dangerous in hijack or shoot first terms. The situation is further complicated by what was an exodus of people trying to flee Venezuela, mostly in small boats, for Trinidad. Many of them are in desperate need of medical attention due to a serious lack of drugs and doctors in Venezuela. When combined with the normal transhipment shoots outs between rival drug gangs crossing hells channel at night, and the BBC finally admitted to the fact that 40,000 people fled to Trinidad last year by boat, it's not quite as safe as transiting the English Channel at night. Sorry, off topic rant over.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Just cast off and do it. You will work it all out as you go. If you can't, then it's not for you. One thing for sure, trying to work it all out before you go, is pointless. The caveat is that I am assuming you know how to sail and handle your boat with a crew, if you can't do that, don't cast off single handed as you will risk your life and others. However, some people have, with just less than 8 hours of sailing experience, set off singlehanded and have now sailed round the world multiple times.

Just do it, don't talk about it.

 

[Kukri]

Single handing is safer in one respect - you are not distracted by the crew.

On the other hand, you need to keep thinking two steps ahead. This isn’t the same as planning everything in advance, but you do need to think two steps ahead.

 

[Quandary]

Amused by the idea that if you are singlehanding you should wear a life jacket, for what purpose?
Surely it is only prolonging the agony.

 

[srm]

Truth be told, I never gave it much thought, though I did start at an age when one is still immortal.

Likewise, took one of the school's enterprise dinghy out by myself when an odd number turned up for sailing afternoons.
A friend let me sail his 30 ft gaff yawl as a student, so I used to hitch hike down to Brixham and day sail, Stuart non-Turner never started so sailed on and off the mooring.
Got my own boat and had to move it from one anchorage to another so got a lift to the boat and headed off with the tide.
Since then regarded single handed manouvering and passage making as normal, and in many ways preferable to having to keep an eye on the crew.
Contrary to some previous posters I find bigger easier, up to 40 ft anyway, more stable and more time to hoist the jib etc..

Just take the boat out for an afternoon and see how you get on, though getting back in does put the adrenalin up and sharpen the focus. Great sence of achievement afterwards, but it soon becomes part of your sailing norm.

My biggest problem with singlehanded sailing has been keeping insurane coverage, they tried to limit me to daylight hours only, though in Shetland that could be around two months uninterupted sailing. Eventually they agreed to keep my cover for planed passage of no more than 18 hours, required as that allowed the working of tides on coastal passages.

 

[TNLI]

Amused by the idea that if you are singlehanding you should wear a life jacket, for what purpose?
Surely it is only prolonging the agony.

Depends where you are when you decide to hang onto the backstay, whilst trying to point Percy at the pond, after incorrectly thinking that you can hear a freak wave at night before it breaks, or see a rather unfriendly wave train off Portland Bill.

I always wear a manual inflatable lifejacket with my harness when SH day sailing. After that I just wear the harness, even when taking a shower. Not too good when some big ships horn starts blasting away!

 

[WoodyP]

Amused by the idea that if you are singlehanding you should wear a life jacket, for what purpose?
Surely it is only prolonging the agony.

It's to aid recovery of the body.

 

[Kukri]

Singlehanded sailing includes using the tender.

 

[TNLI]

My biggest problem with singlehanded sailing has been keeping insurance coverage, they tried to limit me to daylight hours only, though in Shetland that could be around two months uninterrupted sailing. Eventually they agreed to keep my cover for planed passage of no more than 18 hours, required as that allowed the working of tides on coastal passages.

I'm insured for 3rd party only at present, as it will be another year plus to finish off my hull up project boat, then about 6 months to a year, according to how much of the build fails the various tests. If one of the main watertight bulkheads splits, and my sums as regards the big question every boat designer, builder and lunatic skipper always asks himself, "Can it sink", and my answer turns out to be in error, then it might be a few more years before I start looking for an insurance company that will offer an agreed value hull policy for a potential 2nd circumnavigation, (If I get forced too far North by a hurricane located in the Caribbean sea).

So does anyone know if Pantsandus, who fully insured me for an extended Atlantic circle from Florida, (2 North Atlantic crossings), down to Brazil and back around to the Cannery Islands, in a Pacific Seacraft Dana 24, (Classic long keel heavy plastic sloop), and then the full circumnavigation, (Steel Van der Stadt 34), from the same Bonito and Atun port in Gran Canarea, via the ditch to the land down under and South Africa for 3 years, will be interested in a sensible quote for another hull loss policy ??
It would be good if an offshore insurance expert could comment on which companies will provide full coverage.

 

[TNLI]

Single handing is safer in one respect - you are not distracted by the crew.

On the other hand, you need to keep thinking two steps ahead. This isn’t the same as planning everything in advance, but you do need to think two steps ahead.

I've only got one step until I need to lift a leg over the lower washboard, although it's a big step !

 

[Kukri]

I've only got one step until I need to lift a leg over the lower washboard, although it's a big step !

Two…

 

[TNLI]

Just cast off and do it. You will work it all out as you go. If you can't, then it's not for you. One thing for sure, trying to work it all out before you go, is pointless. The caveat is that I am assuming you know how to sail and handle your boat with a crew, if you can't do that, don't cast off single handed as you will risk your life and others. However, some people have, with just less than 8 hours of sailing experience, set off singlehanded and have now sailed round the world multiple times.

Just do it, don't talk about it.

I agree about not trying to SH until you can skipper your boat to a safe and sensible outcome every trip, or the boat you plan on using for SHing, (He was a Chinese single hander), Even if you are a real ace of the base, you should read some books, preferably about SH sailing, and about the passages or trip you are planning. It also helps a lot if you make sure your weather routing skills are as good as practical, unless you have 2 lightning proof Sat systems and a pair of matching credit card enabled experts to figure out what you should or should not do about some rather unplanned side effect of global warming, like a TRS, (Tropical Revolving Storm), developing over Blighty and trying to follow you, until a full hurricane teaches you good a last lesson about why I will fit a second recording Barograph before I plan to set sail.

Yep, just cast off and sail, then you can join that long list of immortals that were never seen or heard from again!

 

[LadyInBed]

Depends where you are when you decide to hang onto the backstay, whilst trying to point Percy at the pond.

Center Cock pit, so I get nowhere near the backstay.
A plastic milk bottle does a job for me, then tip it out over the side, which I can just reach.

 

[[70521]]

Amused by the idea that if you are singlehanding you should wear a life jacket, for what purpose?
Surely it is only prolonging the agony.

Depends where you are sailing.

I was on the very edge of a rescue south of Stonehaven in August. A small fishing cuddy capsized. By the time the RNLI got to them two people had been in the water for about three hours a third had sat on the upturned keel. They were discovered by a passing RIB. Being 10 nm away all I could do was watch for a swimmer in the water. Seeing the Shannon Class Lifeboat, Ian Grant Smith, from Montrose pass me a 30 kts was impressive.

I'd like to give myself a chance should I ever go overboard and round the UK you are never that far from another vessel. I just wish somebody would manufacture a combined AIS/PLB. I want to wake up every vessel in the area and the Coastguard at the same time.