IOW ferry

Any idea why yachts seem to leave sails up when they are using engine as well?
Must make it more difficult handling when entering harbour.
PMH.jpg
 
Any idea why yachts seem to leave sails up when they are using engine as well?
Must make it more difficult handling when entering harbour.
For 2 reasons. First, because some yotties are ignorant of the ColRegs and still believe that leaving their sails up when they are under power gives them the rights of a sailing vessel. Second, because sailing into your berth gives you willy waving rights as a proper yachtsman and keeping your sails up whilst motoring into harbour might fool some people
 
Stops rolling and acts as a dampener. In a calm sea a yacht will still roll a lot as they have a lot of weight up high but the main sail up and in tight will stop this.

I can do little beyond pull a rope that's given to me, but does it also give you other options should your engine decide to join the choir invisible at a bad time? + does anyone gain any extra speed from this if you're coming in on the ebb, to make enough progress to stop the nasty polluting boats from trying to overtake you?
 
I can do little beyond pull a rope that's given to me, but does it also give you other options should your engine decide to join the choir invisible at a bad time? + does anyone gain any extra speed from this if you're coming in on the ebb, to make enough progress to stop the nasty polluting boats from trying to overtake you?

Its not about gaining speed in almost all cases. Take Portsmouth harbour for example.

I would rather keep my main sail up and take it down inside the harbour where its nice and flat rather than have crew on the deck outside where there it a lot of fast wake etc. It's much more about crew safety and when they can best take it down.

I can't remember the last time I ever saw anybody motor into a berth with the main up....that is just stupid.
 
I was on the floating river pontoon on Sunday when some chap managed to let go his spinnaker. Watching him desperately try and hold the lines as he went airborne was one of those Candid Camera opportunities lost. Watching the yacht launch against it's warps and drag the pontoon was something else too. It'd take a fair bit of grunt from a mobo to simulate.
 
Any idea why yachts seem to leave sails up when they are using engine as well?
Must make it more difficult handling when entering harbour.

Stops rolling and acts as a dampener. In a calm sea a yacht will still roll a lot as they have a lot of weight up high but the main sail up and in tight will stop this.

Yes, it is a defence mechanism against those Mobos coming in at speed and creating massive wake. :p

Seriously, though, having a main hoisted and pulled in tight is no harder to handle than the main lowered, and the boat is going to roll a lot less.
 
I can't remember the last time I ever saw anybody motor into a berth with the main up....that is just stupid.

I nearly did it once, as I forgot the sail was still set :). We'd gone to "Solent rig" (furled jib, main amidships, 2200rpm :) ) as the wind dropped, and I forgot we needed to take it down at some point.

As for sails up through the Portsmouth entrance, another possibility beyond those already mentioned is that they might be planning to stop the engine and sail again once clear of the narrows. I've certainly done that when heading all the way up to Port Solent.

Pete
 
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