Dinghy cruising: sailing a small open boat in heavier weather

Following on from my previous post and Facebook pleas for advice

Tips on what to do next time

Firstly, thank you to all of you who so kindly took the time to offer advice, tips, words or wisdom and encouragement. They were greatly appreciated. As a mountaineer and a mountain leader, I always encouraged students to use hindsight to analyse difficult situations they encountered in the ‘hills’. So, with this in mind, here is what I have gleaned from your comments. Now I need to go away and think about it and where necessary, act upon it. Apologies to anyone who sees their comment somewhat précised or paraphrased.

Why didn’t things work?

The navigator is an amazingly seaworthy boat with a variety of sail configurations. She is a strong, stable, well built, small open coastal cruiser in which I have complete faith and trust. In far more capable hands, she has proven herself on some amazing offshore passages and voyages. People expressed surprise that a Welsford boat could not sail to weather at about 55-60 deg off the wind and so get me to another position. Basically, it isn’t the boat! It can do all of that and so much more. In which case it was me!!  So, I handled things badly in some way due to lack of experience. From what I can remember, things went like this.

The events:

After a couple of severe gusts during which we heeled rather severely, and with increasing windspeeds and lumpier seas developing, I turned to windward and ran downwind under mizzen, main and jib and slightly out to sea to get space from the lee shore that was slightly parallel and ahead of me.

 I then managed to turn head to wind in a trough and dropped the main between lazy jacks and tied sail up whilst avoiding being sea sick…..a first for me!! Now under jib and mizzen, I ran further downwind and out to sea slightly whilst I tried to regain some composure before deciding that such a course was not an option. With mizzen practically at right angles to the transom, I furled some of the jib.

This course would take me along a rocky coast with few natural bays or gullies that I could safely get into. I would be in danger of crossing possible severe over-falls around Start Point and then having to turn northwards to get onto a broad reach to make the safety of Dartmouth; around 10 miles at least. A mile and a half into the wind behind me were the steep cliffs at the harbour entrance to where I could make out far calmer water and so rightly or wrongly that was elected for option. 

When I came to tack around, I would get so far and then stall; or Arwen just wouldn’t make the turn. When I gybed, a similar result happened. I tried pulling the mizzen base in to help make the turn; backing the jib; centreboard fully down; centreboard up. I just could not get to head to wind before being blown sideways at the bow and turned back downwind.

Why might this have happened apart from my inexperience and incorrect sailing strategies?

Some people suggested it may very well be that the jib and mizzen don't have enough power to drive the boat to windward when the windage from the hull is increased due to high angles of heel. As the sails become more horizontal they lose power, and as the hull becomes more vertical there's more surface area for the wind to push against.  Add to that the force of the waves striking the windward side of the boat, and clawing off to windward would certainly have been a challenge.

The boat needs a certain amount of "horsepower" to overcome the push of the wind on the hull and rig so it can go to windward.  There is a windspeed and sea state combination where it’s just not possible to do that.

As one person observed “If you think about the physics, you can see why turning into the wind with only jib & mizzen would cause problems. At the point where you are beam on, force is being applied to both ends of the hull, almost a guaranteed stall”.

So, what could I have done differently – your tips and thoughts

This is where I have plenty to think about and go out and do so thank you to you all. Suggestions included:

        “To turn upwind in such situation next time, reduce the lateral force on the bow which was pushing it away from the wind direction, by using reefed main and mizzen only”.

        “Difficult rudder control suggests imbalanced sails so just the reefed main would be better option as there are less sails to deal with and it makes running and reaching easier. A mizzen has tendency to head boat up into wind, so use just reefed main”.

        “When tacking, release the main (or mizzen sheet) and back wind the jib to allow the bow to come through the eye of the wind? Only when on the other tack release the back-winded jib and sheet in the mizzen”.

        “Drop the main and put up a small trysail?”

        “Think of your mizzen as an ariel rudder. Take all your sails down, she should sit more or less head to wind.  Ease the mizzen out and she will bear away downwind. To sail towards the wind, sheet the mizzen in and then sheet in the headsail.   If you were in a lumpy sea with a lot of wind you probably didn’t have enough power to close haul with just a headsail and mizzen.  Make sure you always have a lot of sea-room and try sailing “full and bye” a few points off the wind which will give you more speed.  When you are on the move, water passing over your rudder will allow you to tack, choose your wave, try backing the headsail and mizzen if possible to help you round.  To gybe, let the mizzen out, again make sure you have sea-room”

        “Deep reef the main and sail with headsail, main and mizzen. Reef early and keep to windward with loads of sea room to allow for heavy weather manoeuvring”.

        “Fully down centreboard would be my choice in those conditions”

        “In winds from 16-20 knots hold sheets in hands, not in jammers to let them go fast in case of a gust and go downwind if possible”.

        “Dumping the main and the mizzen and just tried with your jib would have given a good start. If you didn’t have the horse power you needed, reef the main and start off again, SLOWLY until you have the sail area that provides the power you need without being over powered”.

        “It helps to reduce the amount of centre-board in stronger winds when sailing upwind as it balances the boat better.  The greater leeway you generate is balanced by reduced heel, leading to better speed through the water which then makes manoeuvring easier. Also, with reduced sail the boat will become unbalanced to a degree as the centre of effort changes position, so adjusting the board can correct this.  Once the boat is set up with one of the rig options sail along and feel the weight on the helm and adjust the board to see what difference that makes”.

        “You will need to have main up with triple reef. And storm jib up to go upwind...and that is if the boat is not overpowered, with your size and weight, I think in those conditions it is better to run. Should you have no space (lee shore) your thinking was correct and jibing would have been the way to turn the boat. If the speed hinders you, you can throw some rope out the transom to act as a sea anchor. Also, a bucket well tied will do. Hove to [was another option to consider]”

        “When the wind shifts like that, go straight to jib and mizzen.  The wind you had was too much for even a double reefed main.  Then, look for shelter downwind or on a beam reach.  With that much wind, and leeway, a beam reach is all you can expect.  Tacking under jib and mizzen is not easy even in ideal conditions.  Gybe all the way around instead. I think I'd have run downwind under jib and mizzen to the closest thing resembling shelter”.

        “Your mizzen has a huge impact on your ability to tack or gybe, especially if you don't have speed. When tacking, as you come head to wind, loosen the mizzen sheet a bit or she can stall you out head to wind, then retrim after you are through the tack. Also, don't loosen your jib sheet to soon as you want that power for as long as it's available. In some conditions, I'll let the jib backwind  (fill on the backside) to push the nose across before I loosen the sheet. If you do that, be prepared to quickly release the old working sheet and trim in the other side as you come through the tack”. 

        “Running downwind or on a broad reach, you want to make sure your sails are out far enough or the boat will want to come back to windward. Get the mizzen out perpendicular to the transom. When gybing, just grab the foot of the mizzen and pull it across without touching the sheet. That moves it quickly and helps you finish the gybe. You definitely want the jib out when sailing downwind. If you end up in irons after sorting out a reef or making other adjustments, loosen the mizzen sheet, grab the foot of the sail and pull it in towards the transom while pushing the tiller the to the same side and the boat will quickly back you off the wind”.

         “The center-board is key as that's your pivot point for the power generated by your jib and mizzen. If that wasn't down, it's tough to turn the boat!!”

          “You need lots of boat speed ... but at the same time you are reefed down, so have less sail up and so less power. Try bearing off, getting the boat going as fast as possible, pick a flat-ish bit of sea and then sail her round. Also, make sure the plate is fully down”.

          “Try "backing" the mizzen. I sometimes lash mine far over to leward before an attempt to cross the wind. Then, if you can at least get her up dead into the wind, or near enough, the mizzen will  do the rest, but prevent getting caught in irons. Once the jib backs, you're sure to complete your tack. Just be ready to free up that mizzen once the tack is done! *You can practice this at anchor with a bit of wind, lash the mizzen to one side or the other and watch as the bow swings opposite the "backed" mizzen. This is also a great way to sail out the anchor with control”.

          “Drop the main. Straight away preferably into lazy jacks. Immediately you have a balanced rig with centre of effort lower. Ease the jib and mizzen and head off away from danger e.g. the rocks. If still being tested by the wind, wind in a bit of jib... If still over powered with that rig, it is probably time to go straight to the motor”. “While of course it's good not to rely on your motor, there's nothing wrong with using it when need to!” “Don’t think it’s a failure if you have to use your outboard for a bit of extra power, to push you through those waves when going to windward, unless you have a mean machine racing yacht, beating to windward in heavy weather is always a misery, only the purist won’t pop the engine in forward gear with a few revs on to keep the hull moving through the water”. “Would have put the engine on as soon as I realised I didn't have full control of the boat. I know you were trying not to use the engine all summer but surely the reason you carry an engine is to be an alternative means of propulsion when sailing isn't working and rowing not possible. This was such a situation. Well done for making the right call and thanks for sharing”.

Follow up actions to consider

1.       “Consider buying yourself a storm jib. With a storm jib, a heavily reefed main and some practice you’ll be ready for the Straights of Magellan”. 🙂

2.       “Check the weather forecast more carefully and look at a number of different sources of weather information”

3.       “Have a contingency plan for such an eventuality – know which bays you can run downwind to”

4.       “On a calmer day try all the different rig options to see how well they balance.  This will give you more knowledge on how the boat reacts, thus what is best for tougher conditions.  Also you will have a few options for adjusting the shape of the sails, which will also affect the balance and power, so worth adjusting those as well”.

5.       “Start sailing and trying out your boat in days with marginal weather. When its hairy enough but not disastrous conditions and feel your boat. Start challenging yourself.4. Take this as a learning experience and do what u r doing, re live it analyse and ask yourself what u did right or wrong. Then when out in those rough days test yourself under controlled conditions”.

6.       “Practice reefing in good weather until you can do it in a few seconds without thinking”.

7.       “Seems to me sailing in lighter winds with the various sail configurations will help you learn how your boat handles. Next time you'll be calmer, because you recognise that calm is the key to making everything go smoother”.

Other points people made:

“One of the other key things is to make sure your motor has a fuel hose and tank, so if you have to motor for 45 mins into a gathering gale or whatever you don't suddenly run out of fuel from a top tank as I have seen happen to a mate”. [which is an interesting point as I have a 3.5hp Tohatsu which has an internal tank and I can motor for about 40 minutes on mid revs; and yes I have frequently hung off the back to refuel in wavy conditions – not pleasant]

“Anchor and wait it out; put up mizzen to keep pointing into the wind”

My thanks to you all – it has been a really helpful discussion with lots of points to consider. Thank you to all of you below for your tips, reassurance, encouragement. Greatly appreciated and I will let you all know how I get on over the next few weeks.

Thanks to

Bill      Denis      Roger      David      LJ      Ken      Lisa      Nick      Kevin      Tim      John      Mike

Michael      JW      Duncan      Stuart      Quecon      Ed      Alexia      Graham      Chris      DK

Patrick      Tim      Joel      Paul      Dana      Albert      Mattias      Ignacio      Doug      Richard      Justin

Jim      Thomas      Melissa      Cornelius      Grldtnt      Geoff      Seb      Scott      Wade

And one other conundrum!!

Michael and Richard, looking at a photo of Arwen spotted this.......the perpetual crease I always have in the sail. 

“Do you have a loop around the mast at the tack? it looks like the boom is pulling the bottom front corner of the sail away from the mast. Put a loop around the mast before the sprit boom is fully tensioned. That is very likely what the problem is ... it is a huge  gap and will be altering the angle at the throat so you get the crease. Sail corners have to be kept close to the spars they are attached to. In the photo it looks like you have the downhaul going into the cockpit ... it should be close to the mast. But just pull the tack forward to get rid of the gap first and see what happens. Basically the throat of the sail is cut with a certain angle. If the angle is distorted, particularly reduced, by either the yard angling lower (usually downhaul tension is inadequate which you have looked at already) or the tack moving back, then get that crease. The sprit boom is very powerful for pulling the clew back and a lot of that tension will be along the foot”.

Well here are the photographs in question:

 Now over the years John has patiently explained several times how to remove the crease and I have acted upon everything but it still remains and so this now raises tow other questions

1. did the sail maker alter the cut of the sail and I never noticed because I don't know enough about sails?

2. and the more likely - did I do something silly when building Arwen, deviating away from the plans, in such a way to cause this problem?

I am beginning to think the answer is yes to question 2.  

Firstly, I built the cockpit coaming about an inch and a half higher than the plans suggested. I'm sure I had a stupid reason at the time for doing so but here is the golden lesson, when you have never built a boat before, NEVER, NEVER deviate from the plans without checking the implications with the designer first (sorry John!). The designer designed it with the coaming height in mind for a reason!!

Secondly, I am now looking for the plans again to check measurements. Comments from Michael and Richard have made me think not only is the cockpit height wrong but that the coaming has come to far forward into the cockpit itself by what looks like three inches or so. So did I forget to cut excess of the deck king plank during the building phase and just put the coaming on without checking? Plausible, given I built it each evening after a long school day and normally didn't start building work until 9pm each night. 

At present, I can get plenty of tension on the downhaul but what it does, due to its position, is it pulls the tack away from the mast into the cockpit in order to clear the coaming; and that is the likely cause of the crease.

Now I could put the downhaul halyards down through the deck in front of the mast by attaching a single line to the tack, running it through the deck and then attaching it to the downhaul block and tackle. In this way I could haul the tack down as far as the deck but then I couldnt apply any more tension. if I did this, what other adaptations would I have to make to the top yard halyard attachment point; and to the sprit boom attachment point on the mast?

If anyone has any advice or suggestions on the viability of this or about the possible problem of the crease, do please let me know because I have done something daft and so am not showing off John's brilliant design to best advantage and that isn't fair on him or his amazingly, wonderful boat 'navigator'. 

I'm sure I was never this thick or stupid as a mountaineer!!