The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site

Downwind Sailing, Tips and Tricks

After two seasons of bashing to windward up and down the island chain in the Eastern Caribbean, it has been quite a relief to be bearing away and easing the sheets at last. A bit like banging your head against a brick wall, it’s so nice when you stop!

But it has also meant delving into the bottom of the sail locker for long-forgotten items such as spinnaker sheets, and dusting off the memory bank of tricks of the trade that promote safe and effective offwind sailing.

Having started my sailing life on race boats I learned a lot from regatta sailing that is equally applicable in cruising, and was lucky enough to pick up other good tips from local cruising greats who were generous with their personal knowledge.

Here are some of those tips and tricks:


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More Articles From Online Book: Sail Handling and Rigging Made Easy:

  1. Six Reasons To Leave The Cockpit Often
  2. Don’t Forget About The Sails
  3. Your Mainsail Is Your Friend
  4. Hoisting the Mainsail Made Easy—Simplicity in Action
  5. Reefs: How Many and How Deep
  6. Reefing Made Easy
  7. Reefing From The Cockpit 2.0—Thinking Things Through
  8. Reefing Questions and Answers
  9. A Dangerous Myth about Reefing
  10. Mainsail Handling Made Easy with Lazyjacks
  11. Topping Lift Tips and a Hack
  12. 12 Reasons The Cutter Is A Great Offshore Voyaging Rig
  13. Cutter Rig—Should You Buy or Convert?
  14. Cutter Rig—Optimizing and/or Converting
  15. Cruising Rigs—Sloop, Cutter, or Solent?
  16. Sailboat Deck Layouts
  17. The Case For Roller-Furling Headsails
  18. UV Protection For Roller Furling Sails
  19. In-Mast, In-Boom, or Slab Reefing—Convenience and Reliability
  20. In-Mast, In-Boom, or Slab Reefing —Performance, Cost and Safety
  21. The Case For Hank On Headsails
  22. Making Life Easier—Roller Reefing/Furling
  23. Making Life Easier—Storm Jib
  24. Gennaker Furlers Come Of Age
  25. Swept-Back Spreaders—We Just Don’t Get It!
  26. Q&A: Staysail Stay: Roller Furling And Fixed Vs Hanks And Removable
  27. Rigid Vangs
  28. Rigging a Proper Preventer, Part 1
  29. Rigging a Proper Preventer—Part 2
  30. Amidships “Preventers”—A Bad Idea That Can Kill
  31. Keeping The Boom Under Control—Boom Brakes
  32. Downwind Sailing, Tips and Tricks
  33. Downwind Sailing—Poling Out The Jib
  34. Setting and Striking a Spinnaker Made Easy and Safe
  35. Ten Tips To Fix Weather Helm
  36. Running Rigging Recommendations—Part 1
  37. Running Rigging Recommendations—Part 2
  38. Two Dangerous Rigging Mistakes
  39. Rig Tuning, Part 1—Preparation
  40. Rig Tuning, Part 2—Understanding Rake and Bend
  41. Rig Tuning, Part 3—6 Steps to a Great Tune
  42. Rig Tuning, Part 4—Mast Blocking, Stay Tension, and Spreaders
  43. Rig Tuning, Part 5—Sailing Tune
  44. 12 Great Rigging Hacks
  45. 9 Tips To Make Unstepping a Sailboat Mast Easier
  46. Cruising Sailboat Spar Inspection
  47. Cruising Sailboat Standing Rigging Inspection
  48. Cruising Sailboat Running Rigging Inspection
  49. Cruising Sailboat Rig Wiring and Lighting Inspection
  50. Download Cruising Sailboat Rig Checklist
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Dick Stevenson

Dear Colin,
Thanks for this article. Those of us who operate on the more laid back side of sail trim, like (need) to be reminded of the advantages of paying attention once in a while.
An alternative to the Harken blocks you mentioned, which I am sure are excellent, is the Garhauer snatch blocks. When I was pricing things out (almost 15 years ago now) I considered the Harken and Lewmar snatch blocks to be in the jewellery range of pricing. The Garhauer snatch block checked all the boxes, were 1/3 the price and had a larger sheave size (diameter) which is easier on ropes when bringing them around corners. I liked their operation better also, but I suspect that may be personal preference and familiarity. Ours are going fine after all these years even after a few beatings because of operator stupidity.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Colin Speedie

Hi Dick

the Garhauer blocks look good, and I like the way they operate. Good price, too, and I’m sure they would work well. Unfortunately they have never been available in the UK, as far as I’m aware. There are some really good firms that are almost unknown in the UK for there same reason, Colligo Marine being another company producing innovative and interesting deck hardware that I admire.
Those Harken blocks we have are well over twenty years old, and have had a hard life! One of the reasons I like their equipment. Not the cheapest, but the quality and dependability are there.
I’ll check out the Garhauer range when I’m in the USA – interesting stuff!
Best wishes

Colin

Marc Dacey

Dick: I agree with those big old Garhauer blocks, which are perfect for us and for these sort of applications. I have several, acquired over years in anticipation of rerigging “our” s/v Alchemy, which is finally getting her mast back shortly.

Colin: an excellent article for which I have only one suggestion. I would say that the stanchion base or the toerail used with a barberhauler block would be better backed not with “penny washers”, but with an aluminum plate a quarter-inch thick and with rounded corners cut to fit the space. I have backed my winches and genoa track on my fibreglass boat ever since I tore up some track in 28 knots with a 1/2 inch sheet on my No. 3 jib. I replaced the track and went for plates over washers. Nothing has moved or leaked there in over a decade. The sheering forces, as you point out, can be considerable, and I would rather a bent shackle or shorn axle on a block than a hole torn through the deck, which I found spoiled my sail.

Colin Speedie

Hi Marc

I agree, and in fact did suggest so in the piece. Good quality marine ply of an appropriate thickness, aluminium plate or even stainless plate can all be used, and have their own advantages, if properly installed. Penny washers spread the load further, and are again a good policy.
I’ve seen a spinnaker sheet block tear out of a deck due to lack of an adequate backing pad, and any number of boats with bad crazing around deck fittings for the same reason, so I’m right with you!
Best wishes
Colin

Stein Varjord

Hi.
My sailing has been more in racing than in cruising, but a fair amount of the latter too. I’m never content if the boat isn’t going as well as possible, so I always fiddle around to improve a bit here and there, even when cruising. When it’s all perfect, conditions have changed a bit, so this is a job that never ends and those I sail with think I’m mad. 🙂

Extreme racing multihulls are very light and still create insane loads on the gear. Normal deck gear doesn’t survive on those. All loads, also internally in blocks etc need to be balanced. Everything must be light and extremely reliable. If a block breaks while fully loaded, parts shoot out like bullets, fully able to kill at a distance. I’ve seen one such piece shoot clean through the hull side of a spectator boat. Thus fewer parts and a lower total weight is better. Modern materials help, but smarter thinking has become the very big leap forward. The Spectra shackle is just one such undeniable improvement.

A relatively new French brand, Karver has really made quantum leap improvements in deck gear performance and quality. http://www.karver-systems.com/en/ They have proven their understanding of loads and innovative simplicity. Their “High Load Blocks” are nothing short of incredibly good and they have a lot of other gear proving their position as the new top name. They are not cheap, but worth every cent.

Before you discard this as flashy racing gear not suited for a heavy cruiser, think about a 2 pound block with plenty of sharp edges whipping violently around at the end of a rope. How would you like it if that block was a quarter of the weight and still had twice the working load and could handle ten times the amount of brutal misuse? That is not at all an exaggeration.

There are many other good brands of hardware too, (and a few bad ones I will not mention). I think Ronstan deserves a good note, (their best stuff originally from the Danish brand Fredriksen). Quite pricey, but very strong. If you look at Harken, Ronstan would probably be a bit cheaper and at least as good. Often better build quality. The German brand Schaefer also makes very good stuff at a bit friendlier prices. http://www.schaefermarine.com/ Especially their lashing blocks are worth looking at in the context of the topic of barber hauls.
(I have no connection with any of the mentioned brands, but have experience with them all and was sponsored a bit by Fredriksen 25 years ago.)

John Harries

Hi Stein,

I agree that good racing deck gear belongs on a cruising boat. In fact I would argue that good gear is even more important on a cruising boat since there is less muscle available to handle the loads than on a race boat.

We have long used Harken gear, and been very happy with it. I would also endorse the Fredriksen/RWO mast slide systems. We installed one 15 years ago, and it’s still going strong.

One slight clarification: Schaefer is an American company, not German. The founder, Fred Schaefer, was a Norwegian/American—his father was from Stavanger. (Fred was a friend of mine and had the lines to my boat drawn by Jim McCurdy.

Dick Stevenson

Colin, Yes, I am sure Harken has done well by you and I suspect they are the world leaders in hardware design and manufacture. And you buy what is available. I was playing with buying Harken before coming across the Garhauer blocks 15+ years ago at a boatshow. In the UK it would have been Harken or Lewmar for sure. I believe the functional differences may outweigh eachother. I really like the ease of use and the larger sheave, but I suspect the Harken weighs less. That is the down side of some of the Garhauer products and designs, an issue that matters little on my displacement cutter. Then, the price difference was the clincher.
I then found out their product support was impressive for a couple of fiddle blocks where I undersized them and they felt they should have tolerated the strain and replaced them. That said, I wore out one of Harken’s low friction aluminum winch handles and they replaced it for cost, so kudos to both.
Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

David Nutt

Thanks for the great article. A competitive approach to any sport always hones the fine points. Having competed in my younger days nationally as a skier and internationally as a whitewater kayaker I find the skills of my youth still easily come to the forefront in those sports. I never have seriously raced sailboats however and despite having over 150,000 offshore miles I do not consider myself a particularly good sailor when it comes to the fine details of sail trim and eking out those last few parts of a knots. Glad to have these chapters come to the forefront as it is a poor day we do not learn something even if perhaps we should have learned it years ago.

John Harries

Hi David,

Love you comment about the importance of always learning. Even though I raced sailboats of all sizes for decades, I too learned from, and was reminded of, some useful tricks by Colin’s piece.

Colin Speedie

Hi David and John
glad you found the post useful, and yes, lifelong learning is valuable and fun!
I enjoy getting the best out of our boat, not in endless frantic changes (what Tilman was once claimed to have said was the ‘effete fiddling of dinghy sailors’) but just a regular watch with an eye on boat speed.
I’m looking for a balanced helm and good averages – and I think it really makes for efficient and enjoyable passage making – and what’s not to like about that?
Best wishes
Colin

Marc Dacey

Colin, one of the best books I’ve ever found on sail trim is called “Sail Power” by Wallace Ross. It’s over 40 years old, and deals with pretty well the pinnacle of IOR-style boats, but it’s very comprehensive, and it’s where I first heard of barberhaulers and the exotic menagerie of sails these boats used to use to get around the rules! http://www.amazon.com/Sail-Power-Complete-Guide-Handling/dp/0394727150

richard (s/v lakota)

John and Phyllis, f y I: pegasus vii out of lunenburg is nicely anchored behind us…looks to be an island packet 35 green on white if 6ou know them…leaving shortly for anegada so not likely will speak w/ them…beside also anchored is sweet mango…behind them is sleek-looking fontain-pajot cat privileged one complete with sat dome…about 88f and sunny at 0700…east wind around 15…cheers, richard out of tampa bay

John Harries

Hi Richard,

No, we don’t know them, but I think I have seen the boat.

Have a good cruise.