Heaving-to

[David Morton]

I have just started reading Pardey's "Storm Tactics" and they make it plain early on that heaving-to is the key to managing big storms. I have found that both my CD25d and my CD31 heave-to with relative ease, at least in the moderate winds I have had the chance to test them. I have no experience, however, with the use of a sea anchor or drogue to assist in maintaining the proper 50degrees off wind orientation and windward slick they say are essential for success. Wondering if anyone has experience with this equipment. Any suggestions on acquiring same, and even if you think they are necessary given our heavy full (almost) keel as opposed to the more modern fin keels.?

Dreaming of blue water,

David

[Jim Walsh]

I've practiced heaving-to, but never used it in anger. I've found it most comfortable in heavy seas to close reach with a scrap of the yankee providing the drive and the wind vane doing the steering. Orion rides comfortably over the seas and you tend not to lose too much ground. I used this technique a couple hundred miles offshore in 16 to 20 foot seas and winds pushing 50 knots.
I carry a Galerider Storm Drogue but I've never deployed it in anger either. If I couldn't carry a scrap of sail I'd consider its use to keep my head up. It would also be handy to keep me off a lee shore if I lost the rig and engine.

I like "Handling Storms At Sea" by Hal Roth. I keep a copy on the boat. It works just like a brand new snowblower in your garage. (It never snows when you have a brand new snowblower)

[Capt Hook]

I've practiced heaving-to, but never used it in anger. I've found it most comfortable in heavy seas to close reach with a scrap of the yankee providing the drive and the wind vane doing the steering. Orion rides comfortably over the seas and you tend not to lose too much ground. I used this technique a couple hundred miles offshore in 16 to 20 foot seas and winds pushing 50 knots.
I carry a Galerider Storm Drogue but I've never deployed it in anger either. If I couldn't carry a scrap of sail I'd consider its use to keep my head up. It would also be handy to keep me off a lee shore if I lost the rig and engine.

I like "Handling Storms At Sea" by Hal Roth. I keep a copy on the boat. It works just like a brand new snowblower in your garage. (It never snows when you have a brand new snowblower)

Jim,

Could you expound on how you heave to on Orion with a cutter rig with a self tending staysail.

Which sail(s) do you use and if you use the yankee, how much of it.

[Jim Walsh]

Everything is dependent on the wind stregnth but I furl (drop) the staysail and use the main and yankee, reducing sail area as needed. I just sheet in the main and tack, without touching the headsail sheet.
Here's a basic tutorial from YouTube;
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nUSYSquI3bY

[Steve Laume]

The best storm tactic is to pay careful attention to the weather reports so that you do not need to employ storm tactics, Steve.

[David Morton]

Jim, sounds like you are comfortable using a furled yankee in high winds. I've wondered about the integrity of the furling system in those conditions and fear for an unintended release of the furled sail from some mechanical failure of the drum or such. The last thing you would want is to suddenly be faced with a completely unfurled headsail.

[mgphl52]

The best storm tactic is to pay careful attention to the weather reports so that you do not need to employ storm tactics, Steve.

Regardless of the weather report... it can (frequently does) change once you're out there...
I'd rather know how to handle adverse conditions than just sail for very short distances.

[Jim Walsh]

Jim, sounds like you are comfortable using a furled yankee in high winds. I've wondered about the integrity of the furling system in those conditions and fear for an unintended release of the furled sail from some mechanical failure of the drum or such. The last thing you would want is to suddenly be faced with a completely unfurled headsail.

I am. The chance of getting my aging self out on the foredeck to drop a headsail and raise a storm jib in rising winds and seas is about nil. Those are things I did when much younger and it wasn't fun then either. I have complete trust in my rig, including the furling systems. I felt slightly uneasy with my furling staysail this season but after a seasons use I'm confident that I assembled and installed it correctly so it has my full trust. Furling systems have become the norm inshore and offshore. I'll bet I could count on one hand the number of boats I saw arrive and leave Bermuda that weren't equipped with furling headsails.
I could always secure my yankee in a blow and resort to my staysail but Orion just felt and handled very well using the yankee in the manner I chose. She remained quite maneuverable and the self steering system handed the helm very well indicating the sail combination chosen was well balanced for those particular winds and seas. It was pretty comfortable below secured in my bunk by the leeboards, but the sound of the wind and seas seem alarming initially. We really do have very solid and seaworthy boats.

[John Stone]

It depends on where you plan to sail. For offshore work, I'd make sure you are set up and equipped to handle the kinds of weather you hope never to see. Better to have it and not need it. For more coastal sailing you don't need as much because you have the advantage of pretty accurate weather forecasting. I'd still want at least a double or triple reef main and a reefable stays'l.

I do not have furlers on the Far Reach. Still use hank on sails with a jib down haul. I also do not have a club footed boom on the stays'l--it has two sheets with deck leads and dedicated winches just like the jib.

My boat is set up very similar to Taleisin. I have a Bereau of Ordenance 8' sea anchor (same as Taleisin). I paid $100 for it. It's kept in a nylon bag I made for it, with a huge galvanized American made (that should appeal to you Roberto!) swivel and shackle secured to it. I had my anchor rollers cast from the same patterns used to casts the rolllers on Taleisin so that I could use as much of the info they recommend without having to reinvent the details.

I have a storm trys'l I keep bagged and bent on to a dedicated trys'l track when I sail the Far Reach offshore. I have hoisted it while sailing locally just to test it but I have not used it offshore . . . yet.

The Pardey's have only used their sea anchor twice I think. They used it when the conditions were so rough and there was so much wind that Taleisin began to forereach out from behind the protective slick.

I have never had to use the sea anchor. But my plan, if I ever have to use it, is to employ it as close as possible to the manner the Pardey's suggest. I would of course modify that plan however the situation dictated if I was not getting the results I needed. The Jordan Series drogues described by Hal Roth sound excellent. It seems a lot of offshore boats use it. But it is a totally different technique I think. It's more for running and less for heaving-to. Not saying it can't be used that way it just not the employment manner I have ever read associated with it. I don't have any experience with it so I can't offer more. In a perfect world I think I would have one on board, along with the drogue, but since I only feel a need to dedicate the space to one or the other I have chosen to go with the 8' drogue.

Something else to consider is that our Cape Dories are not much different ballast/displacement and WLL/displacement ratio than the Hess Designs. So, I reason they would behave more similar than dissimilar as opposed to a CD compared to a more modern light ballast/displacement ratio boat. At least that is my thinking. I'm not advocating one over the other, just explaining what my reasoning was for the course of action I have chose. Every skipper has to decide what he or she thinks best.

I have heaved-to the Far Reach a couple times but never in big seas. Last December, during our passage to the BVI, we hove-to under double reefed main--sheeted tight with tiller secured to leeward with doubled 3/8" shockcord. It worked fine. If I back wind the stays'l it's even better though I did not do that last December. If the situation was more dire then I would absolutely drop the main and employ the storm trys'l.

Regarding Steve's comment about planning around the weather--heck yeah, I agree. But on a long passage there is just no way to know what you are going to run in to. I had a hell of a time trying to dodge tropical depression Bonnie on the way back from the BVI this last spring. I sailed home 19-31 May--before the official start of hurricane season and I still got tangled up with a tropical revolving system.

[Sea Hunt Video]

I have a Bereau of Ordenance 8' sea anchor (same as Taleisin). I paid $100 for it. It's kept in a nylon bag I made for it, with a huge galvanized American made (that should appeal to you Roberto!) swivel and shackle secured to it.

I smiled when I read your post John. More importantly, it appeals to the guys who do the testing at Practical Sailor. The January 2017 issue once again recommends against purchasing any anchor shackles made in "China". Period. Presumably, this would include shackles used on a sea anchor. Most of these shackles have no mfg. branding. Some only say "China"; others are completely unmarked. PS recommends American-made shackles like Crosby 209A and Campbell (orange pin). The PS tests were done on 3/8" shackles. I assume their recommendation against "China-made" shackles would apply to any size shackle.

All other considerations aside, there is something trustworthy and reassuring to be said for "American Made". I will now get off my soapbox and sit quietly on the dock of this thread, sip a Guinness, and learn more from knowledgeable Cape Dorians about "heaving to"; furler prep, etc. Very educational thread. Thanks David.

I wish all a Happy New Year Felice Anno Nuovo

[John Stone]

Roberto, I'm with you 100 percent. I paid a lot of money for my chainplate bolts to get paperwork certifying where they were made. All my shackles, and my anchorchain too, are US manufactured.

[David Morton]

I will now get off my soapbox and sit quietly on the dock of this thread, sip a Guinness,

Hey, Roberto, I believe we all want what is best for our boats, regardless of state of origin, and the science does support your caution about Chinese made anchor shackles. I am glad, however, that your passion has not turned to obsession, as I noticed a positive reference to a non-USA made beverage. Long live Irish breweries!

John, thank you for your detailed response. Unfortunately (?), I still use the self-tending club foot on my staysail, so employing my jib is my only option for heaving-to. I am a bit concerned about laying the backwinded yankee hard against the staysail stay as I heave-to and wonder about the risk of chaffing damage to the sail. Not sure if allowing the yankee to pass thru the slot first, and then hauling on the windward sheet, is as effective in heaving-to. Jim?

David

[John Stone]

David
Club footed headsails have vertues . . . and lots of sailors love them.

I don't see why you can't use your stays'l. You can have a reefable stays'l too. I think you are correct about not backwinding your yankee across the forestay. I would think it's much better to let it pass through and then winch it back as a back winded sail. What does Jim do?

Best
John

[David Morton]

John, my staysail is self-tending with the boom on a traveler and a single sheet. The closest I could get to backwinding it would be to move the traveler to windward, and pull the sheet in tight. The clew would end up just a few inches on the windward side of midline. That would also entail getting up on the deck to manually adjust the traveler and, even then, would probably not be very effective. It is on a furler, so it can be reefed, but not effectively backwinded.

David

[Neil Gordon]

John, my staysail is self-tending with the boom on a traveler and a single sheet. The closest I could get to backwinding it would be to move the traveler to windward, and pull the sheet in tight.

David, you could rig a preventer that would hold the boom further out from the center line, although that would also require a trip to the foredeck (or some complicated additional rigging).