Sailing a Cutter

[Athene V30]

After advice from those who sail cutters, please. Now have a Vancouver 274, cutter rigged.

The boat sails very well as a sloop but is not a close winded boat and I have tried a coulpe of times with the yankee and staysail but find close hauled this is not effective as I cannot sheet the staysail tight enough to give any power without backwinding the main.

Presumably on a close to broad reach it would work better with both headsails (and main) then as wind goes further aft drop the staysail and keep the yankee working effectively?

Or do I just treat the staysail as a small jib for heavy weather?

What do others do?

 

[prv]

Our previous boat was a gaff yawl with jib and staysail.

I always set both unless the wind strength required the reduction in area from furling the jib.

Upwind, I would sheet the staysail in hard, then bring in the jib until just before it started backwinding the staysail. I didn't have a problem with the staysail backwinding the main.

Across the wind, she reached beautifully with all four sails drawing.

Dead downwind, the big barn-door gaff main tended to blanket both headsails. I would set main and mizzen on opposite sides, and on a short leg usually roll away the headsails (or leave them flopping). On a longer leg, I would pole out the jib on the same side as the mizzen using a boathook. Sometimes I would sheet the staysail hard amidships as a steadying sail, though I'm not sure if it really did anything.

Not sure how much of this would apply to a bermudan cutter without a bowsprit.

Pete

 

[Babylon]

I've been sailing my V27 for seven years now.

Upwind, despite the backwinding of the lower luff of the main, you should still get more drive with the stays'l set than without, making 0.5kt of difference in speed, sometimes more. With all plain sails set in up to a moderate F4, the main function of the stays'l is to increase the speed of the air over the leeward surface of the main, thus increasing lift - ie the slot effect. The backwinding of the main is in fact evidence that this is happening, rather than adversely effecting the drive.

Sheeting in the stays'l (or indeed the Yankee) too tight when close-hauled is counterproductive: Vancouvers simply cannot point as high as modern fin-keeled sloops. You'll be better off cracking off onto a fine reach, trimming for that and keeping up your speed - ie maintaining your VMG to your windward destination, even if it means putting in extra tacks. Certainly in a Channel or Solent chop you need to keep up your speed else momentum falls off and takes ages to recover, also you might miss stays when tacking.

When trimming sails, trim the Yankee first then the staysail then the main. When tacking singlehanded, concentrate on getting the Yankee over and sheeted first, even if it means letting the staysail flap for a second or two.

The staysail comes into its own in higher winds. Its not just a storm jib (we have a separate flatter, stronger storm jib which can replace it on the inner forestay, as both are hanked on). As the wind speed increases:

1. Hand (or furl) the staysail and put the first reef in the main.

2. Furl the Yankee, re-hoist the staysail and put the second reef in the main.

You're now bringing the combined centre of effort of the sails closest to the mast. If the winds increase further, your options continue along these lines:

3. Pull a third reef into the main or hand it completely, keeping just the staysail.

4. Hand the staysail and hoist the storm jib, and/or use the deep-reefed main.

FWIW we also have a No 2 Yankee which can replace the No 1 before getting under way if strong winds are expected. Check that you do have a No 1 and not just the smaller No 2 (as we did when I first bought her) as the difference in lighter airs is considerable.

We have a cruising chute too, but I don't trouble to use it unless we're on longer legs in winds thst aren't strong enough for the white sails.

Finally, I don't tend to set up the running-backstays unless we're sailing in winds of F5 or higher.

PM me if you'd like to chat on the phone.

PS On my shakedown on Sunday in a Southerly F3 gusting 4 in the Solent and a clean bottom I we made 7kn with the wind just forward of the beam! That was full main amd just the Yankee on sbd, port tack is always slightly slower on my boat.

 

[TQA]

I have a New Bombay Trading Company Explorer 44 cutter. I sail in the Eastern Caribbean where winds are usually 15+.My staysail is on a removeable inner stay. In light winds forward of the beam I don't use the staysail. Aft I might for an extra 10th or so. The rig comes into it's own when conditions are 15+ and I might want a sail reduction. She goes well to windward with the genoa rolled away and the staysail with full main. The next step obviously is reefing the main.

Generally I don't tack much so the problems associated with getting the genoa through gap don't worry me too much.

The boat is definitely better balanced with staysail and full main than with a partially reefed genoa and full main.

 

[Neil]

Generally I don't tack much so the problems associated with getting the genoa through gap don't worry me too much.

How do people get the genoa through the gap when tacking?

 

[Babylon]

How do people get the genoa through the gap when tacking?

It just sort of happens, but it helps that the headsail on a cutter is not a large genoa with a deck-sweeping foot, rather a slightly smaller sail with a high-cut clew - a Yankee. (Add a staysail and you've got much the same total sail area forward of the mast as a sloop with a genoa, but with easier individual sail handling, plus you can see forward under the foot of the Yankee.)

When tacking: as you go through the wind, 2/3rds of the Yankee sail area is forward of the inner forestay anyway, so the pressure of wind forces this lot through the gap and the last 1/3 of the sail then meekly follows. Sometimes there's a momentary pause as the clew or sheet bowlines snag on the inner forestay - which gives one the chance to quickly haul in most of the new working sheet by hand - and then off you go on the other tack.

But don't tell everyone - else there'll be a sudden rush of people buying cutters!

 

[Babylon]

Generally I don't tack much so the problems associated with getting the genoa through gap don't worry me too much.

Do you wear ship?

 

[rotrax]

We have an Island Packet 350.

It is-since we deep sixed the 130% rail sweeping Genoa for a 100% Yankee-easily managed by two late sixties sailors.

Our boat has roller reefing on both the Yankee and Staysail.

It has a self tacking Staysail-an Island Packet feature-which uses a Hoyt boom. Older models were self tacking, but with a boom affixed to the foot of the Staysail.

Not all cutters can have a self tacking Staysail, but if the Vancouver can be modified it might be worth considering.

The replacement Yankee is very much easier to handle, we have really good visibility under the sail and it tacks so much better.

The procedure that works best is to backwind the Yankee, by then the Staysail has self tacked and then release the old sheet while recovering the new live sheet.

With a little practice it is possible to trim without using the winch.

Our boat has not lost any speed, is easier to manage, has better visibility and is easier to tack and furl.

The big Genoa was too heavy in light winds and flapped and slopped about, it would be a bugger to put away or furl if the wind got up and it was easy to get the UV strip stitching damaged in the shrouds.

The Yankee is just right.

Have a look to see if there is the option to have a self tacking Staysail-it makes our sailing less physical and is easier on the kit.

Good Luck.

 

[rotrax]

Do you wear ship?

This question was asked on the IPHOMEPORT-the Island Packet owners website and forum recently.

A very experienced IP sailor said "I dont know what all the fuss is about-last time I sailed to Bermuda it was Port tack there, Starboardtack home."

Its the Trade Winds you see.........................................

 

[GHA]

How do people get the genoa through the gap when tacking?

Light airs sometimes roll half the Yankee away, otherwise it usually pulls itself through. Looking at getting rid of the bowlines attaching the sheets to the clew this season with a soft shackle, the knot seems to be the bit that gets stuck.

 

[TQA]

How do people get the genoa through the gap when tacking?

Mine is not quite a deck sweeper but it is close. If I need to tack it with the staysail stay in place I try to keep tension on both sheets pulling quite hard on the lee side sheet to get the knot round the stay. maybe one in ten times I need to go forward and manually get it round.

 

[rotrax]

Mine is not quite a deck sweeper but it is close. If I need to tack it with the staysail stay in place I try to keep tension on both sheets pulling quite hard on the lee side sheet to get the knot round the stay. maybe one in ten times I need to go forward and manually get it round.

The American method of avoiding the knots catching is to use a long single sheet, cow hitch it through the cringle and run it to both sides as normal.

 

[prv]

The American method of avoiding the knots catching is to use a long single sheet, cow hitch it through the cringle and run it to both sides as normal.

Not sure what's American about that - it's how we used to do dinghy sheets when I was a kid, and also how I did the jib and staysail sheets on Kindred Spirit.

Pete

 

[Babylon]

Our Yankee sheets were originally such a single sheet cowhitched, but I didn't like the fact that the rope was permamently distorted (and weakened) at the hitch, so I cut it in half and make up the usual bowlines. That way the sheet can be end-for-ended each year.

Snags aren't a frequent problem. The trick on the Vancouver is to come smartly through the wind, let the Yankee back for a moment with the old sheet still under tension, then let fly and haul in the new one. Ffff...wuK! Get the timing right and you don't have to grind at all.