Ideas for simple/cheap (ha!) changes to potentially improve single-handing

[JumbleDuck]

I was sniffy (hah, hah) about tillerpilots until I got one with my new boat. Best thing since sliced bread, single-handing wise. Not desperately cheap, but there are second hand ones around ... I have an antique Navico 1800XL which just keeps going.

 

[chewi]

Besides the things already mentioned, two things you could add to make life easier is a tiller clutch (http://www.force4.co.uk/force-4-tillerclutchx-keelboat-model.html?sqr=tiller clutch&#.V5tZCzWD6Jc) and a hand held VHF.

With hanked sails I cannot see any advantage of taking your halyards back to the cockpit, so do not alter this. If in the future you changed to a roller genoa, then a change aft would be very worthwhile.

If you do a lot of marina berthing or rafting, then make sure you have midships cleats as they will make mooring so much easier.

On my Westerly Fulmar (32ft) all my winches are oversized and self tailing, so I can do almost all winch work with one hand. Recently I added a one touch winch handle by Lewmar, this makes fitting or removing the handle much easier. They are not cheap, but I would not like to sail without mine (I still have 2 locking and a straight handle onboard as well). Fit winch handle pockets in the cockpit and possibly one on the back of the mast, but do not leave the handle at the mast as a genoa sheet can lift the handle out.

I'm fascinated by your reasoning here as I'd go the other way round!
The only masthead line that's NOT led to my cockpit is the roller genoa halyard, because It's not useful there, but with hanks you could drop it any time from the cockpit, especially if you have a downhaul.

 

[sniffyjenkins]

The traditional way of furling headsails on rigs like yours is to have a a Wykeham Martin furling gear on the jib, but not on the staysail. The reason for this is that the jib is both on the bowsprit and is usually the first to go when the wind gets up. It is set flying as it furls round the luff wire. A number 2 size would I think suit as it goes up to a sail area of 100 sq ft. Together with a downhaul on the staysail. much lower cost than a furling sail, although you only need to fit a low cost Plastimo unit which is much cheaper than others.

You can easily convert your main to slab reefing. Does not need to be single line, particularly if you still handle the reefing at the mast. It is not a lot less work than roller reefing but gives a much better reefed shape, although you have fixed reef points rather than infinitely variable with roller. I converted my Eventide - essentially the same mainsail gear as your boat to single line slab reefing with all controls led back to the cockpit (including halyards and topping lift). Also converted the sail to loose foot and have a stack pack with lazy jacks. all a vast improvement on the original, but you need a lot of hardware, and with the sail modification is likely to cost around £800 using new parts. Good investment if you are keeping the boat.

That headsail setup is exactly what I'm thinking: downhaul on staysail, some sort of furler on the jib. OK, good to know my ideas are going in the right direction. Interested also in the mainsail changes, but I think the headsails are what we'll change as a priority. We are selling the boat (see signature) and those interested have all expressed an interest in having an 'easier' set up. If I can do a few things to make sail handling simpler, less stressful when single-handing, etc., and therefore make the boat more sellable, I will. Having said that, in the meantime we're still sailing Marschallin, and I am also getting old, erm, I mean fancy trying a slightly simpler life

 

[PhillM]

I fitted a jib down haul rigged back to the cockpit. It's very handy, even with crew onboard.

Big thumbs up to a tiller pilot.

Other simple things like adding a sheet bag so there is somwhere to keep the flask and biscuits at hand are useful and cheap.

 

[charles_reed]

Suspect that you may be trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
I bought my boat 26 years ago because it had been designed as a single-hand offshore racer.
Since then I've seen no boat which approaches it for single-handed suitability.

Suggestions (I'm ignoring the futile request for cheapness, but in order of desirability):-

1. An electric autopilot - the all-in-one versions are cheap but leak and pack up. You'll find no-one into single-handed racing using one. Look for one with separate control head, actuator and heading unit. As you don't mention whether the craft is wheel or tiller-steered, it's impossible to be more specific.
2. Single-line reefing - great and providing it's designed with low-loss (ball-bearing) pulleys easily used - I have my first 2 of 4 as single-line. However there is a limit - with a 4:1 ratio, quite a small reef results in a lot of string in the cockpit.
3. Lazyjacks - work well with fully battened sails, but not so well with conventional - whilst about it why not a "stakpack". IMHO boom roller reefing is an invention of the devil, totally unsuitable for a single-hander. Bypass and convert to slab-reefing.
4. Anchoring - if you're in the minority who indulge, have a "good" anchor (copies of anything work worse than originals), an electric anchor windlass and a mix of chain and textile rode.
5. Coming alongside, I've found midships cleats no benefit, but essential for rigging springs.
6. Roller-reefing foresail - I use both, roller and conventional foresails - on a 7/8 rig reefing the main is the main mode of depowering and I've found roller headsail convenient but not essential. On bastardised IORIII, derivatives I guess it's essential, to cope with that excessive fore-triangle.

PS I have single-handed for 30 years, do about 2k nm a year and make passages. Anyone with a little foresight can single-hand any boat (the largest I've seen was 72' long), occasionally.
If your request was for the occasional single-handing forgive my being a trifle didactic, but your approach appears to be one of asking for support for your prejudgements. Of course experience will correct any of your errors of judgement.

 

[Poignard]

I find the only tricky part of single-handing is entering and leaving marina berths, or negotiating locks.

Master the techniques will allow you to do that and the rest is comparitively easy.

When you're in open water you can just heave-to to set or take in sail. The boat slows right down and becomes more stable. Also useful if you want to use the heads, prepare a meal, do some chartwork or just have a rest.

 

[Concerto]

I'm fascinated by your reasoning here as I'd go the other way round!
The only masthead line that's NOT led to my cockpit is the roller genoa halyard, because It's not useful there, but with hanks you could drop it any time from the cockpit, especially if you have a downhaul.

From my experience I have found if you drop a hanked sail, it rarely drops on deck. That means you have to go on the foredeck. Controlling the drop and being close by is my prefered position. Also the extra blocks and aft jammer causes more friction and more likely to jam if there are any twists in the halyard.

 

[Tranona]

That headsail setup is exactly what I'm thinking: downhaul on staysail, some sort of furler on the jib. OK, good to know my ideas are going in the right direction. Interested also in the mainsail changes, but I think the headsails are what we'll change as a priority. We are selling the boat (see signature) and those interested have all expressed an interest in having an 'easier' set up. If I can do a few things to make sail handling simpler, less stressful when single-handing, etc., and therefore make the boat more sellable, I will. Having said that, in the meantime we're still sailing Marschallin, and I am also getting old, erm, I mean fancy trying a slightly simpler life

Personally I would not do anything if you are selling the boat. Your boat is what it is and any serious buyer will recognise that. Those who raise ease of handling on viewing simply will never buy. You can easily explain why your boat is as it is to serious buyers, but no doubt if they want to do the sort of things I suggested then leave it to them to do it. You need to sail the boat for some time to work out what will make life easier, and there is no one solution - as you have seen from the suggestions here.

Having been involved Griffiths designed boats, mainly GHs and Eventides for over 35 years I have seen all sorts of rigs and layouts. Some people are very happy with old fashioned gear, but others have gone the other way and some of the later boats had very efficient modern tall sloop and cutter rigs with all controls lead back - just like a modern boat. As I said I have modified my rig and deck gear over the years to suit my way of sailing (and of course as funds became available).

I think if i had your boat I would get rid of that long bowsprit - it is really not necessary. Shorten it it to about 2' and move the inner forestay back behind the sampson post, and even take it back to a sloop rig with a 120% genoa. Cutter rigs, particularly with that type of bowsprit may look romantic, but are both unnecessary and a PITA to use. The design never envisaged that arrangement and although they can suffer from heavy weather helm, moving the headsail tack forward a couple of feet and modifying the rudder to add balance forward of the pivot point transforms the boat. See if you can find pictures of Moondancer, which is the ultimate GH 31 built by Mark Urry. That has these types of these changes, and is a cutter and can say from sailing her that she is as well balanced as any boat of her type and a joy to handle. Other boats have been similarly modified over the years, and I did much the same to my Eventide.

 

[Contest1]

Tried to add
Apperantly the drum acted like a furler but only to reduce sail. Still hoisted by the main halyard.

 

[NOHOH]

Make your next boat a ketch.

Reefing becomes a simple matter of letting the mainsail halyard go...the sail falls into the stackpack guided by lazy jacks. You remain perfectly balanced on genoa and mizzen alone. The mizzen can act as a riding sail. All the sails are correspondingly smaller which makes them easier to handle without the need for gigantic or electric winches....and of course cheaper to replace.

The mizzen mast can act as a receptacle for all kinds of aerials/radar/windgenerators without the need for expensive and heavy stainless goal posts. The rig is generally less stressed.....being smaller...and in two parts....so things tend not to break.

Serious cruising boats are often ketch-rigged....depends what you want to do with your boat really.

 

[Contest1]

Oops. Deleted post accidentally.
Was refering to a short handed sailing book were there was reference to a modified roller boom that had a furling drum fitted were the handle normaly is.
Presumably sail is raised and drum is loaded. Sail is then reefed by hauling on the furler line and tensioned by the main halyard.
Often thought of convertingmy Centaur but never got around to it.

 

[pvb]

Make your next boat a ketch.

Reefing becomes a simple matter of letting the mainsail halyard go...the sail falls into the stackpack guided by lazy jacks. You remain perfectly balanced on genoa and mizzen alone. The mizzen can act as a riding sail. All the sails are correspondingly smaller which makes them easier to handle without the need for gigantic or electric winches....and of course cheaper to replace.

The mizzen mast can act as a receptacle for all kinds of aerials/radar/windgenerators without the need for expensive and heavy stainless goal posts. The rig is generally less stressed.....being smaller...and in two parts....so things tend not to break.

Serious cruising boats are often ketch-rigged....depends what you want to do with your boat really.

Ketches are a bit old-tech these days. Modern sail-handling systems have effectively made the ketch rig redundant for most boats.

 

[PhillM]

From my experience I have found if you drop a hanked sail, it rarely drops on deck. That means you have to go on the foredeck. Controlling the drop and being close by is my prefered position. Also the extra blocks and aft jammer causes more friction and more likely to jam if there are any twists in the halyard.

Two ways around that, either keep the sail full with tension on the sheet or back it. Either way it ends up on the deck and with the downhill tensioned, stays there until you have calm clear water to go forward and stow it nicely.

It's really useful outside busy harbours like Hamble or Portsmouth where you can guarantee the moment you go forward a large mobo will tear past with their wake leaving you hanging on to the pulpit like a corn dolly in a f9.

 

[Tranona]

Make your next boat a ketch.

Reefing becomes a simple matter of letting the mainsail halyard go...the sail falls into the stackpack guided by lazy jacks. You remain perfectly balanced on genoa and mizzen alone. The mizzen can act as a riding sail. All the sails are correspondingly smaller which makes them easier to handle without the need for gigantic or electric winches....and of course cheaper to replace.

The mizzen mast can act as a receptacle for all kinds of aerials/radar/windgenerators without the need for expensive and heavy stainless goal posts. The rig is generally less stressed.....being smaller...and in two parts....so things tend not to break.

Serious cruising boats are often ketch-rigged....depends what you want to do with your boat really.

When was the last new boat for serious cruising built with a ketch rig? Yesterday's solution to yesterday's problem. No need with modern sail handling gear to have the cost, complexity and weight penalty of a 2 masted rig.

 

[prv]

When was the last new boat for serious cruising built with a ketch rig?

Aren't Amels still mostly ketches? Those are certainly "serious cruising boats".

I accept the efficiency argument, but I did still like having two masts on Kindred Spirit.

Pete

 

[dom]

Not to reopen this old chestnut, but I am 100% in the "PLBs are 100% necessary" camp

Edit: ....when it comes to singlehanding!

 

[Daydream believer]

Don't agree with the Single line reefing comment, the Selden way of doing SL is in my view cr*p... My SL is literally that, a single line tied off on the under boom eye, up to the aft reef cringle, back down to the boom end block, along the boom, exiting around the forward end block, up to a block on the reef point forward, back down to a turning block at foot of mast, through organiser and back to clutch. Reefing technique is to release kicker (boom strut) and mainsheet, haul on reefing line until boom is lifted up and chocka at the clew end, then ease the halyard, pulling down the tack end... Tension halyard, tension kicker, pull in mainsheet....

That is how mine works. I see absolutely no point in putting blocks in the boom. If something goes wrong you are B..g..d.& it creates friction
This system is easy, I tend to release some halyard at same time as i reef though, but that is just my way

 

[NOHOH]

When was the last new boat for serious cruising built with a ketch rig? Yesterday's solution to yesterday's problem. No need with modern sail handling gear to have the cost, complexity and weight penalty of a 2 masted rig.

You`re entitled to your opinion, of course....but just because things are `new` doesn`t necessarily mean they are better. For example I prefer a low revving diesel engine without an ecu... so it won`t one day tell me it isn`t going to start until I attach a computer to it and address error number whatever. I don`t want in mast reefing because it is heavy, complex and when it jams it will be exactly the wrong time....and I don`t want a slamming flat-iron shaped hull (good for `furniture design` and walk in fridges, I`m told) with a slapping sugar-scoop stern and with a bolted on/falling off fin keel which may go just a little faster and will be easier to `park` in godawful marinas full of charter boat numpties who don`t know their halyards will bang in the breeze and keep all around awake. I also don`t want integrated wiring systems where everything `talks to each other` and are incomprehensible to anyone who doesn`t have a computer with the right `code`. The wonderful old maxim of KISS has been sacrificed on the altars of accountancy and advertising....... just as in many present day cars.
The old ways of doing things can often be better.....and if you think a ketch rig is `complex`.....maybe (with respect) you are just looking at it in the wrong way.

 

[Daydream believer]

You`re entitled to your opinion, of course....but just because things are `new` doesn`t necessarily mean they are better. For example I prefer a low revving diesel engine without an ecu... so it won`t one day tell me it isn`t going to start until I attach a computer to it and address error number whatever. I don`t want in mast reefing because it is heavy, complex and when it jams it will be exactly the wrong time....and I don`t want a slamming flat-iron shaped hull (good for `furniture design` and walk in fridges, I`m told) with a slapping sugar-scoop stern and with a bolted on/falling off fin keel which may go just a little faster and will be easier to `park` in godawful marinas full of charter boat numpties who don`t know their halyards will bang in the breeze and keep all around awake. I also don`t want integrated wiring systems where everything `talks to each other` and are incomprehensible to anyone who doesn`t have a computer with the right `code`. The wonderful old maxim of KISS has been sacrificed on the altars of accountancy and advertising....... just as in many present day cars.
The old ways of doing things can often be better.....and if you think a ketch rig is `complex`.....maybe (with respect) you are just looking at it in the wrong way.

Reading your post I note that you have not given one point that demonstrates how a ketch rig is better than the modern single masted rig.
In fact what you have done is show that you are not really prepared to understand more modern designs within the yachting world that clearly make things better. It is also better suited to modern living styles.

Perhaps you would note that It Took Sir Francis Chichester more than twice as long to get his ketch rigged boat around the world than Sir Robin knox Johnson did in Saga ( & before you comment on Saga's autopilot issue remember gypsy Moths hull problem & awful design)

Finally to take your last point I would add that my current new Volvo is infinitely better than the new Herald I had when i was 17. The fact that I now send it to a garage to have it serviced once a year instead of every 3 months suits me fine

 

[NOHOH]

It depends what I think is better and what you think is better...and , by the way, I gave several reasons in my first post in this thread as to why I think that a ketch rig MIGHT BE MORE SUITED TO THE OP`S ORIGINAL REQUEST TO IMPROVE SINGLE HANDING. Using phrases like "that clearly make things better" and "more suited to modern living styles" are, I`m afraid just specious claptrap with no validity as an argument...so are not worth the consideration to address them.
Ps You might also like to consider that it might be all down to the fact that your wife DOES understand you!!