Single handed or not at all

[Neil Gordon]

>>I discovered that as long as I had someone (or something) to steer the boat for me, I could take care of all the rest. That's why an autopilot is pretty much an essential for a single-handed sailor.<<

David's mostly right and I do like my autopilot. But without one, the main is still fairly easy to raise alone. Have the main ready (e.g., just one last sail tie), power into the wind to gain momentum, shift to neutral, walk to the mast and gingerly raise the main. The bow will blow off but get the main most of the way up and your friendly weather helmsman will turn you back upwind.

I agree that it's all about practice, starting with "kindergarten" conditions and advancing from there.

[drysuit2]

Rollo,
Allrighty then. It sounds like you have just about everything necessary to single hand a CD26.
The roller furling helps a lot.
The slab reefing on the main really helps. [Remember it’s usually easier to shake out a reef than to… well; reef.]
In my opinion you do not need an auto pilot. That money would be better spent on lines, sails, Jack lines, a safety harness etc. Once you learn to balance that boat, all you have to do is tie off the tiller, and she sails herself.
I heave to a lot. When I want to eat, answer natures call, reef, or shake out a reef. It is an extremely useful skill.
The boat is only 26 feet. It really isn’t necessary to bring the halyards back to the cockpit.{probably just more lines to kink, jam or slip on}. BTW when I broke my foot a few years ago I just slid on my butt along the coach roof to go forward.
[That reminds me; do your best to have 3 points on the boat whenever going forward. It just makes it easier to hang on if the boat moves unexpectedly]
Jack lines are always a good idea, if you actually use them. One really important thing is that the jack lines are made of flat webbing, so they don’t roll underfoot. [I’ve made that classic mistake of stepping on a roller furling line, and loosing my balance, more times than I’d like to admit]. As far as harnesses go… the best kind is the kind you actually wear. [I’ve taken a lot of grief over the years because; I usually wear a climbing harness, not the classic chest harness with an auto PFD. I have one, and wear it when I feel really exposed. But it just gets in my way, and I guess I am just used to the climbing harness from my old days of working the bow.]

You also night want to practice your single handling skill, initially with a crew, just until you become comfortable.

Bottom line; a CD 26 is very forgiving as sailboats go.

If you look at minute 5:10 through 7:00 you can see how easy it was to tie off the tiller, and sail under the jib alone. In this sequence I am wearing my waist harness and go forward to shake out a reef in the main. Notice I always have three points on the boat. This was shot with a mounted GoPro camera this Winter. For some reason it's hard for me to find someone to go sailing with when it's 30 degrees out. Go figure.

Fair winds!

<object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id= ... y=0&loop=0" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id= ... y=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/20100685">segue.edited..1.16.11</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user5491924">Frank Messina</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

if the Video isn't showing the url is
http://vimeo.com/20100685

[Dick Barthel]

Once you have a substitute helmsman, the next biggest singlehanded problem is docking and undocking. Handle those two issues, and the rest is developing technique.

Rollo,

And it can't be stressed enough to make sure you stay on the boat. Yet another pilotless sailboat was found in LI Sound just a few weeks ago. And it is certainly not a bad idea to wear your life vest when alone. Then if you do fall over you have a chance at least.

I remember being very conservative with reefs and partially furled head sail when I first started. And with the headsail off the deck you can see a lot better.

Have fun!

Dick

[David VanDenburgh]

At the risk of fueling a controversy (heaven forbid!), I'm going to argue a bit more for the importance of self-steering for the single-hander. (I'm talking day-sailing here, not ocean voyaging.)

If you can leave the helm and the boat will maintain a steady course without any input from you, then you probably have time to do whatever you need to do for the boat - make sail, reef, rig a whisker pole, change a headsail, sort out an override, put fenders over the side to prepare for docking, get your dock lines ready, get the anchor ready to let go, turn on the nav lights, start the diesel, etc. If not, then you really need something that will steer a course for you while you do those other things. Trimming the helm, walking forward to hand a sail and having the boat respond to the shift of your weight by changing course, thereby threatening an unintended tack or jib, rushing back to the helm to correct the course, then repeating the process all over again, is no fun and will quickly convince the single-hander that it isn't worth the trouble to go out sailing. So will finishing a sail outside the harbor, dropping the sails and furling them while the boat drifts broadside to wind and waves and attempts to roll her mast out, rolling rail to rail, while you hang on with your teeth and toenails while tying sail ties and coiling halyards. It just takes all the fun out of it. On the other hand, if you can quickly and easily turn the steering job over to an autopilot that will maintain your course, or keep her bow nicely pointed into the wind/waves, while you move around the boat and do what needs to be done, that makes it easy and fun to go sailing by yourself.

Personally, I would invest in an autopilot before investing in roller furling (which also simplifies single-handed sailing), but to each his own.

One other bit of advice: think it all through before you start, and allow for things to go wrong. Every harrowing single-handed experience I can remember resulted from failing to do this. For instance, there was the time I sailed off the mooring alone in a crowded harbor - I didn't flake the mainsheet down carefully and it picked up a loop and jammed it in a block as the bow swung off the wind. The boat started sailing FAST toward moored boats and I was one very busy sailor dodging among them while still dealing with a partially raised main and a jib still on the foredeck. Another time, I sailed off the anchor, got the anchor and lots of rode onto the foredeck, when the boat heeled more than I expected, the anchor starting sliding over the side, and I had to rush back to the cockpit to steer. Could have been bad. So, I vote for an autopilot as the single best tool for a single-hander.

[rollo_cd26]

Thanks to all for the domestic and technical advice and encouragement. I had no idea that this topic would generate so much traffic! I learned to sail mostly singled handed on a Vanguard FJ and a Flying Dutchman. The CD26 is a new boat for me and a concession to age, I need a bigger more comfortable rig that can spend a full day or weekend out on the water. I have both the Harken Furler and a Navik vane auto pilot, several foresails, two mains, plus a 135% genoa that came with the boat. I was actually thinking that I would safely learn to sail her with the storm jib first. My recent kayaking trip had a harrowing moment that might cause the wife and daughter to consider sailing a good and safe alternative. Both do like the sky and water, but neither have sailed. I am in a hurry to get started, but I am also the author of "No restart diesel blues" and the "Packing Extraction" threads, so there is no immediate threat to other boats on Arkansas Lakes. Until I get the diesel up, I won't be practicing my motoring skills.

[barfwinkle]

Hey rollo

You realized it's just 1 hour & 45 minutes to my boat in Sallisaw (assuming your are in Russellville). Let's get together and maybe plan a day trip for you and with any luck we could have a day on the water in an all most identical boat?

What do you say? Whatever your choice, the offer stands.

Fair Winds

[joelcunningham]

Nice to see so many confident yet sensible single-handers. My 25 is my first boat and just launched May 29th. I too spent many hours ( maybe 500 ) sprucing her up since last October. Never sailed before except two days of sailing school. I know I'll have to develop my skills to go alone since my wife will not be available very often. My head sails are all hanked on, so I think I will run the halyard aft. Vests and jack lines sure sound smart. Sailed OMEGA for the first time on May 30th and she seems well mannered. Good luck and good sailing to all.

[rollo_cd26]

Barfwinkle!

I accept the invite, but it will be sometime in the doldrums of summer as this month is packed. I need to get the back on the water, as my boat is in a large building almost finished except for the damned engine. I am looking for a slip on Beaver or Ouachita for a home. I have relatives in the Fayetteville-Rogers corridor and that is a draw, but Ouachita is a huge lake only 90 minutes from me.

[Bill Moore]

I think an autopilot is the way to go when you are single handing and need to go to the mast. Some day I will have the time and money to install one, but that is not now. In the meantime I use the following.

TILLER ONLY: You wheel people are on your own.

1. Start the engine and head into the wind.
2. Run a length of bungee from the end of the boom to a cleat on the tiller.
3. Go to the mast and raise the main. When you get enough cloth in the air the main acts as a weather vane and keeps you headed into the wind.
4. Before the main goes up, the boom acts as a 10' tiller extension. Just kick it in the desired direction.

This assumes the wind is reasonable. If the wind is howling, I would stay in the slip...

[Dick Kobayashi]

I single hand when I am alone and when there are others on board. Mostly family members and friends feel more comfortable if they know they don't have to do anything. I learned a great deal sailing through my mooring field again and again in all kinds of condition and coming up on my mooring w/o power again and again. It is like the old saw - how do you get to Carnegie Hall - Practice, practice, practice. And practicing is actually fun. I have avoided gizmos of all kinds except for a tiller pilot which gives me an extra pair of hands (mine). these are simple well designed boats that do not need to be cluttered up. I guess I have a semi minimalist approach - but it has worked. Good Luck, Take your time and enjoy the boat.

[Warren Kaplan]

Rollo, I gather you are sailing on an inland lake. I would suggest you start by perfecting your technique for docking and undocking under power. Pick a good day - no wind, no waves. Have someone on the dock to help if necessary. When you are certain that you can come and go singlehanded without hitting anything, go out under power on a calm day, cut the engine, get the sails up, then down, then up, then down... Get comfortable with making and handing sail by yourself in a calm. Then do the same with a little more wind. And you are on your way.

I discovered that as long as I had someone (or something) to steer the boat for me, I could take care of all the rest. That's why an autopilot is pretty much an essential for a single-handed sailor. For inland or coastal sailing, an electronic autopilot (rather than a wind-vane) is best.

Once you have a substitute helmsman, the next biggest singlehanded problem is docking and undocking. Handle those two issues, and the rest is developing technique.

I absolutely agree with Dave. My tillerpilot on my CD27 is priceless. I use for everything from steering when I just want to take a break from the tiller, to steering the boat in under power when I want to start to get the boat "put to bed" after a long sail, to holding the boat on course into the wind when I want to douse the mainsail and secure it. That mechanical extra pair of hands at specific times can make a big difference in the ease of single handing a boat.

[12Sail]

I was wrestling with that first thought of "today is the day" and taking "Ellie" out solo one morning. What I did instead was, with the wind light and the boat still tied to the dock, was "sail in place". I did everything that needed to be done, but never left the dock! So glad i did because i learned quite a bit about my rig that I did not want to discover out on the water.
Another idea to suport the previous post about ensuring you can motor in and out solo, I let out my dock lines but left them cleated so that she could move about 30 feet away but never "get away from home".
So between staying distantly tied to the dock, and sailing in place, my confidence went up significantly and I was well-prepared.

[tartansailor]

I have "down-hauls" installed on all of my hank on head sails.
The down haul line runs through bulls eyes on the stanchions and terminates at the aft cleat.

Not only does a down haul eliminate the need to go forward, but it also prevents the head sail from self hoisting if not tied down correctly.
That tie down chore in bumpy seas is not pleasant.

Dick

[SurryMark]

Remember the first days learning to drive? It's always a pleasure, after these cautious first steps, to read about the same sailor enjoying strong winds, or beating current and shifty puffs to sail to a mooring or into the slip. Remember, boats more or less like these were our cars, coaches, and trucks not so long ago.

[seadog6532]

I have found it to be easier to single hand than sail with a bunch of non sailors on the boat to have to work around. If you just get out and do it you will learn the easy ways to sail your boat by your self. As long as you stay on the boat, an autopilot is a single handers best friend.