Frank Holden
Well-known member
Try it for 3 weeks or more with only two of you - the novelty soon wears off.
Self-steering
- Thread starter zoidberg
- Start date
Roberto
Well-known member
Stemar
Well-known member
2-3 hours for me.
However, I don't see any issue with steering and keeping a lookout, even in difficult conditions. On passage, the autohelm does a better job of holding a course than I can, and I'll be snoozing or reading. Then my 10 minute timer goes off, so I have a good look round, reset it and relax again. Obviously, in poorer visibility, the timer will be set for a suitably shorter time.
Now I have AIS, I also get a wake-up call long before I need to do anything about it, but there will always be THAT fisherman* whose secret good spot is so important he doesn't want anyone to know where he is. Plus, of course, being THAT fisherman, he'll also be far too busy to keep a good lookout, so I'll still be taking a good look round every few minutes.
*Other idiots are available...
However, I don't see any issue with steering and keeping a lookout, even in difficult conditions. On passage, the autohelm does a better job of holding a course than I can, and I'll be snoozing or reading. Then my 10 minute timer goes off, so I have a good look round, reset it and relax again. Obviously, in poorer visibility, the timer will be set for a suitably shorter time.
Now I have AIS, I also get a wake-up call long before I need to do anything about it, but there will always be THAT fisherman* whose secret good spot is so important he doesn't want anyone to know where he is. Plus, of course, being THAT fisherman, he'll also be far too busy to keep a good lookout, so I'll still be taking a good look round every few minutes.
*Other idiots are available...
zoidberg
Well-known member
Stemar
Well-known member
veshengro
Well-known member
A touch more revs and he would have bounced clear over that yacht. .
srm
Well-known member
AIS has greatly helped watch keeping, but I noticed that quite a few large fishing vessels only displayed on my AIS at a couple of miles range, many of them appeared to be Spanish. That was long after I had seen them by eye or radar in poor vis. Other vessels were often on AIS well before I could see them.
Wansworth
Well-known member
Watch keeping is just what it is keeping a watch
srm
Well-known member
Having an efficient self steering gear does not stop you from enjoying hand steering in pleasant conditions.
However, to my mind it is an important safety feature that frees up the watch keeper on a short handed boat to sail the boat more efficiently and adjust sail area/trim. It also makes it possible to spend time to look all around or do other important things such as watch an erratic fishing boat, walk around the deck to check or silence the block that will prevent the off watch from sleeping, wash the salt crystals off their eye glasses, or make yet another hot drink.
Hand steering and watch keeping are two separate activities, and most of the time require two people.
capnsensible
Well-known member
I can quite easily keep a good lookout and hand steer. I'm sure most people can.....
Wansworth
Well-known member
Nice thing about not being wedded to the tiller is you can wander about the boat
Kelpie
Well-known member
In testing conditions I find it doesn't take long before the autopilot and/or Hydrovane can hold a better course than I can. Humans get tired.
Our first long passage was Biscay. I hadn't installed the Hydrovane back then, and only had 400w of solar, which wasn't enough to keep up with the autopilot in fairly strong conditions. I ended up hand helming as much as I physically could.
It wasn't a very enjoyable passage. I was tired, cranky, and probably unpleasant to be around. Our youngest crew member, who was 5, couldn't understand why I was acting like that. We made it through but it wasn't exactly fun.
Fast forward to our recent passages (Gib-Canaries-Cape Verde- Carribbean) and it's absolutely night and day. I've tripled the amount of solar and added a Hydrovane. Hand helming is reserved for pleasant sunny afternoons or short lived squalls. Watches are spent reading (unedited!) Roald Dahl books to the now 6yr old, or listening to podcasts and music.
But each to their own. As Mrs Doyle said- "maybe I like the misery!"
Our first long passage was Biscay. I hadn't installed the Hydrovane back then, and only had 400w of solar, which wasn't enough to keep up with the autopilot in fairly strong conditions. I ended up hand helming as much as I physically could.
It wasn't a very enjoyable passage. I was tired, cranky, and probably unpleasant to be around. Our youngest crew member, who was 5, couldn't understand why I was acting like that. We made it through but it wasn't exactly fun.
Fast forward to our recent passages (Gib-Canaries-Cape Verde- Carribbean) and it's absolutely night and day. I've tripled the amount of solar and added a Hydrovane. Hand helming is reserved for pleasant sunny afternoons or short lived squalls. Watches are spent reading (unedited!) Roald Dahl books to the now 6yr old, or listening to podcasts and music.
But each to their own. As Mrs Doyle said- "maybe I like the misery!"
john_morris_uk
Well-known member
I agree. But for me it’s better not having to.
Kelpie
Well-known member
By the way, anybody thinking about building a vane should consider the kit from Hebridean. Sadly the designer recently passed away, in not sure what that means for the future of the company, but a couple of my friends built them are well extremely impressed.
Kelpie
Well-known member
Interesting. Our tender is built from their plans. They've been a great company to work with and when the dinghy was recently smashed up by a motorboat, they went above and beyond to advise me on how to do the repairs.
srm
Well-known member
Perhaps its having done much of my sailing north of 60N that gives me the experience to doubt this. If all you know is fine weather without cold wind driven rain or sleet that puts most people off trying to peer over their shoulder in to it you are probably correct. The very close unexpected encounters I experienced were at night under such conditions, long before I had the benefit of RADAR or AIS.
As always, skipper's choice and responsibility.
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capnsensible
Well-known member
capnsensible
Well-known member
Absolutely. But having sailed plenty of yachts without a pilot and not using them much on school yachts, I'm happy that most normal people can steer and look out at the same time.
zoidberg
Well-known member
"You know you shouldn't have taken on that singlehanded delivery when you have to clear the wet snow off the windvane gear every 10 minutes, right through the third night...."
Blueboatman
Well-known member
There was a thread some years back suggesting that to sit in the companionway whilst on passage was worthy of keel hauling - some agreed some didn’t
Myself I rebuilt the companionway a bit on the last boat ( as I fid on the one before that one !) to create a 100mm wide flat wood seat and side cheeks to wedge one’s back comfortably against , while the vane or a/p took care of the cold night bits and my job was to look slowly around and head up over the dodger and listen every few minutes .. with toasty toes too . Perfik
Each to their own I guess
Myself I rebuilt the companionway a bit on the last boat ( as I fid on the one before that one !) to create a 100mm wide flat wood seat and side cheeks to wedge one’s back comfortably against , while the vane or a/p took care of the cold night bits and my job was to look slowly around and head up over the dodger and listen every few minutes .. with toasty toes too . Perfik
Each to their own I guess