Soloing the X in gusty conditions

[Be Free]

I sit on the high side with my feet braced against the low side seat. It's mostly habit from many years of sailing a racing beach cat. In the end though, my weight is well under 5% of the weight of the boat. I don't think it is going to make a whole lot of difference to the trim of the boat no matter where I sit. Now if I had an extendable tiller and a trapeze harness...

[OverEasy]

How about a Handheld Remote controller the autopilot and one of those rock climbing or roofers harness???

Just don’t drop the remote or let the batteries run flat!
You could be stuck on a very long tack!

[NiceAft]

The admiral and I have sailed many times with a heel in excess of 40 degrees, but never in winds as great as what you experienced.

I find that while sitting on the windward side seating, and having my feet squarely planted on the leeward side seat, I am comfortable. As previously mentioned, good slip resistant foot ware is important. I wear Sperry boat shoes.

Now, if you are heeling that far, you hardly have any forward speed, so you are not going to be able to tack. In that sort of wind where you have the concerns you expressed, give discretion the better part of Valor, start the motor.

[DaveC426913]

In the end though, my weight is well under 5% of the weight of the boat. I don't think it is going to make a whole lot of difference to the trim of the boat no matter where I sit.

That is not my experience at all. It is certainly quite a noticeable difference in heel depending on which side I sit on.

Not only heel but pitch. The boat's performance is noticeably improved by sitting forward as compared to behind the helm. Others have confirmed this.)

[DaveC426913]

The admiral and I have sailed many times with a heel in excess of 40 degrees...

Sorry, that cannot go past uncommented.

Your Admiral has been on the boat when it heeled at 40 degrees more than once?

That is some special lady you've got there.

[Jimmyt]

The admiral and I have sailed many times with a heel in excess of 40 degrees...

Sorry, that cannot go past uncommented.

Your Admiral has been on the boat when it heeled at 40 degrees more than once?

That is some special lady you've got there.

+1

[NiceAft]

Yes she has, and yes she is.

She is from Long Island, NY; her dad had a power boat, and she loved going out on it. Boats don’t scare her


By the way, October 19th is our 47th anniversary.

[OverEasy]

Weeeeeeeeee!

[OverEasy]

Weeeeeeeeee!

She’s a keeper!!!!

[JeffJuneau]

Thanks Dave, NiceAft, Be Free, pitchpolehobie, and starscream for explaining your strategies for staying in your Mac when heeling a lot. It helped me visualize how you position yourselves around the helm. I am wondering if my seating setup is hampering my use of the same approach. I have a seat attached to the helm seat platform, that partially blocks my ability to fit my legs between the seat and wheel when trying to get my feet up on the leeward opposite-side back rest. My 26M came with the seat. I have some fairly gripey sailing shoes, so I’ll experiment with wedging my feet up on the opposite side. I also agree that keeping people weight on the upwind side of the cabin seats makes quite a big difference in the amount of heel my mac experiences. Appreciate the tips.

[OverEasy]

Maybe you could modify the seat somehow into a “quick-release” that you could remove and stow in the cabin?

That way when you have those days when you want to sail aggressively you have the option…

..,just thinking…..

[dlandersson]

+2

The admiral and I have sailed many times with a heel in excess of 40 degrees...

Sorry, that cannot go past uncommented.

Your Admiral has been on the boat when it heeled at 40 degrees more than once?

That is some special lady you've got there.

+1

[Drifter]

I can't really understand 1/3 of what you lot are talking about but it sounds hella fun and I wanna try!

[NiceAft]

I can't really understand 1/3 of what you lot are talking about but it sounds hella fun and I wanna try!

When you heel in excess of 40 degrees, anything and everything below, not secured, goes flying. You also are not making much headway, but holding on makes for a fun ride. Also, the look on other boaters faces is a riot. They think you’re heading to Davy Jones Locker.

[Starscream]

Sorry, I missed a couple of questions in this thread that I should have answered.

For the downhaul I first rigged it through the halyard tack-point. That was a mistake, and didn't work. It has to be attached to the top slug, so that the pulling force stays vertical. There's a dual turning block at the base of the mast, and another on the starboard side of the cabin top, led back to dual jammers mounted beside the winch. I used a 1/4" line for the downhaul. It's a nice option, because once the sail is down and the downhaul is jammed, the sail won't be going back up, as it occasionally used to, in the gusts.

Two motors: the big boy Etec90 and a Honda 2.3 kicker. The kicker doesn't get much use tho. Both of them were down and freewheeling, since I ran the little guy at the dock to refresh the gas.

If I was set up to reef, I would have. I'll figure that out next year. The sail has reefing points, and there's the reefing hook on the mast, but I have yet to try it. I'll need something to properly attach the sail to the boom; I know, sail ties, but I don't actually know what a sail tie is, or how to use it. I'll think about a single line system. The thing is, the way and where that we use our boat if it's reefing weather we are usually tucked away somewhere, and reefing weather doesn't occur often so far inland. Our boat isn't used much as a daysailer, it's more a water-camper. In camping mode it's hard to prep the cabin properly for life at 40 degrees. Wakes are bad enough to deal with!