hove to

[kmclemore]

Here's a nice video of heaving-to..... hope it helps?

http://www.videos.sailingcourse.com/heaving_to.htm

[Hamin' X]

We discussed heaving to at some length in this thread:

Click Here

Here is the article that I referenced in that thread, in case you don't want to read the entire thread:

Click Here

Also, one of the main reasons for heaving to in rough seas, is to minimize the breaking of waves over your boat. This is accomplished while hove to by, forming an upwind slick on the water. The slick is the area on the water upwind from the hull, as you are drifting. Your bow will be about 50 degrees off the wind and you will be drifting backwards about 130 degrees from the direction that your bow is pointing. This means your drift will be 180 degrees off the wind, but the wind will not be abeam of you. The slick is caused by the hull "smoothing out" the surface as you drift. The waves tend to break into the slick, before they reach the hull, because they have nothing to build on. Your drift rate is substantially reduce by the drag imposed by your keel and properly set rudders.

Anyway, read the article. I have practiced this maneuver in moderate winds, but only on lakes and with waves <2ft. It is fun to practice and you will need the practice, because some of it is counterintuitive.

Rich

[deacm]

Do you really do this in "heavy weather' on the Mac???? Due to the light weight of the Mac I would think that the boat would twist and turn with each wave and wind gust to 'pop' you out of your stable hove to condition (not counting the leeway issue mentioned). I could do heavy weather ok in my 12,000 pound displacement 35 ft sailboat in heavy weather, but on the Mac/Odin under 25+ knots of wind, it was another whole story. Can anyone describe for me their actual experience when they hove to in 30 knots of wind? Thanks

[kenthep]

yopu guys are the best! love this sight
-ken-

[maddmike]

OK, as might be expected I have over the years in Zeno's Arrow on several occasions had to both heave to and ride out storms on a sea anchor and discussed my experiences in previous threads. However, here is the general drift from what I learned and am still learning-take it for what it's worth. (1) Heaving to in moderate conditions is acceptable and safe (35 to no more than 40 kts of wind and seas to 8 ft.)-Above this sea state the MAC does not ride well (or safely). I have been knocked down twice while heaved to in heavier conditions than those stated above. The stronger the wind the more the MAC tends to remain 'stalled' with the bow starting to point more off the wind. I believe this is because of the high profile of the boat, small centerboard and the tendency of the boat to 'skid' to leeward more than other keelboats. When this happens you put yourself more abeam the seas and sooner or later you're going to take a breaking wave over the boat. Generally these waves just push the boat sideways like a lost surfboard riding the foam to shore. However, when one breaks directly on the boat this does not happen and the boat (because of the hard chimes) tends to slam over rather abruptly. The only way I've found to avoid this is to get the bow to windward with a sea anchor or whatever device you can attach to your anchor line before you play it out (even using one of your sails will work somewhat in a real emergency-keeping the boat about 10 degrees off the wind-but with a stock centerboard the boat will still behave much like on a mooring). The advantage is even though you are swinging through the eye of the wind when a wave hits it tends to push the boat back around against the sea anchor line. Of course, the idea is never to find yourself in such conditions in the first place. But if you do for some reason and the boat starts getting scary and you feel you are in real danger. My suggestion with a stock center board is reduce sail area as much as possible, but leave something up-remain heaved to-but then play out your anchor line with as much drag as possible (don't use a crew member it's considered rude ) It can be done, I know;but I have to admit the 'pucker factor' is directly proportional to how well prepared in advance you are for going through a well thought out response to rapidly deteriorating conditions. Hopefully you will never have to use any of this advice-but should you-It's nice to know it can and has been done successfully a number of times in the past. MM

[Frank C]

... on several occasions had to both heave to and ride out storms on a sea anchor ...

... more abeam the seas and sooner or later you're going to take a breaking wave over the boat.

... when one breaks directly on the boat this does not happen and the boat (because of the hard chimes) tends to slam over rather abruptly. The only way I've found to avoid this is to get the bow to windward with a sea anchor

Mike,

Your experience brings to mind one of the "design criticisms" that make Macgregors too light for serious cruising ...

Roger's target is lightweight trailering with lots of cabin space. Therefore, the Mac has no bulkheads to help stiffen the cabin structure, and uses rather large, and thin, Plexi windows. Both of these would seem inadequate to sustain a massive breaking wave - much less support the standing rig.

Presumably (hopefully) you endured these events while in the cabin?
Did anything down there alarm you, and how well did the rig endure?

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Mike,

One more question: Do you always attach the sea anchor to the bow or have you also tried a bridle arrangement to keep the bow a bit off (15-30 degrees) off windward?

As a coastal cruiser, I've never had my Mac out in winds above 30-35, although I've windsurfed in a bit higher than that. Even with a little storm sail, it can get hairy real quick, especially getting the board in and out with the big waves that come with that wind. The most I broke was a mast once in a wave but I've seen others have their boards smashed into bits. No doubt that Frank is correct that you wouldn't want a Mac hit on the beam in a big breaking wave...just seems like it would be too flimsy for that...plenty tough for coastal cruising though. Of course, you have used the Mac for blue water. but likely experienced a few white knuckle MacMoments that you may not have had on a heavier cruising boat.

[maddmike]

Frank,

I'll get back to you next week with answers-just a bit busy at the moment. MM

[delevi]

My five cents worth on heaving to. It was the first thing I was taught by the Mac dealer when we went out for the first of two test sails.. part of their package. Very valuable skill for reasons already mentioned by others. I would like to add that the main should be reefed, at least on the M. Otherwise, you will need to luff the main, which will ruin it in a hurry in severe conditions. If the main is unreeefed and not luffing, the boat will go into irons, rather than stay in the hove-to groove. Perhaps the helm can be adjusted some, but what I found works best is a reefed main, sheeted in like on a close reach, backwinded jib and helm locked to windward. Speaking of reefing the main; heaving to is very useful when you need to reef.

Leon