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Heaving-to in a C25

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/21/2003 : 14:20:28

We practiced heaving to in our C25 this weekend. Here is what I did (in about 10 knots of wind).

Brought boat head into the wind.
Sheeted the main flat and directly amidships.
Wound the genny up to about 90 %.
Backed the genny to port so that the boat would fall off the wind on the starboard tack.
Put the tiller hard over to port so the boat would try to head up to the wind (turn to starboard, counteracting the backed genny).

It worked fairly well, but the boat gradually fell off to port or else rounded up into the wind, while we made about 1.5 knots. I would like to be able to lash the tiller and forget about sailing for a while. Perhaps next time I will hook up the tiller pilot to keep headed just off the wind. The main was sheeted flat and contributing nothing to this (but it's inherent stability).

Is there another way to do this? Is it just that it doesn't work well with the C25 fin keel?

By the way - you may ask why did I want to heave-to in the first place? We were in the middle of a flock of "working birds" and had a good chance to catch some dinner if we could get slowed down and get some bait on the bottom.

Indiscipline 1978 FK #398

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Bill Holcomb
Admiral

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USA
769 Posts

Response Posted - 04/21/2003 : 17:29:24

Hi Jim,

The easiest way to heave to on a C25 is to simply tack the boat and not touch any of the sheets as you do so. The jib will quickly be backwinded, and the main will be in its "normal" position. As the boat slows down, you may want to lash the tiller to leeward.

With the boat in this configuration, you'll sort of do a "falling leaf": first heading up till the jib gets more pressure on it than the main; then falling off to leeward until the main gets more pressure. Depending on the breeze, you'll probably have around .5 to 1 knot of boatspeed.

Bill Holcomb - C25 Snickerdoodle #4839

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 04/21/2003 : 17:52:15

thanks, I'll try it.

Indiscipline 1978 FK #398

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Stu Jackson C34
Admiral

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844 Posts

Response Posted - 04/22/2003 : 01:06:57

Jim

Bill's right. I would add to that: play with your mainsheet a bit. Depending on the wind strength, you can better balance the boat with the main trim once the jib is backed and the helm is down. Don't necessarily just center the main / boom.

Stu

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luckystar
Navigator

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USA
236 Posts

Response Posted - 04/22/2003 : 01:46:12

I remember asking about this along time ago and the Great Bill Holcomb came to my rescue then. he's right and do play around with the main, lash the tiller. even now with autopilot, I hove-to all the time to make lunch, change cds or just take a rest from trimming and fighting our quirky wind days. Plus this saves battery power for that anchorage I'm sure to get to when I get to it.
Bill's the man!

Patrick Burnett, Little Rock, AR
S/V Lucky Star #2707 1982 SK/SR<br>
<img src="http://www.proxycreative.com/clients/luckystar/luckystar_0602_sm.jpg" border=0><br>
http://www.proxycreative.com/luckystar.html

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ronrryan
Admiral

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USA
561 Posts

Response Posted - 04/22/2003 : 22:11:15

Take a lunch. Heave to for lunch. Dont be in a hurry. Try various amounts of jib rolled out: 90, 75, 50%. Try various settings on the mainsheet, and try various amounts of tiller to hard over. You might want to take a little spiral pad, and make notes, after the third setting or so, one begins to disremember. Above all, change only one thing at a time. After a while, you will find the perfect settings. Of course, the next time, the wind will be different, the chop....well, you get the picture. It is said the old timey salts sailing wooden sloop boats in New England could so adjust their sheets and heave to, that they could "park" their vessel and leave it in their skiff to row off briefly. I never achieved that level, they must have been some sailors. Fair winds, ron srsk #2343 Orion SW FL

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.