Time to Reef
Part 1
While I was writing my recent article on how to tell if a boat is too big to be sailed safely offshore by a shorthanded crew, and particularly about my steep learning experience when we first bought our McCurdy and Rhodes 56 (M&R 56), it struck me that, while we have this whole Online Book on how to set up the rig, I have never systematically shared the many techniques and hacks that Phyllis and I learned to make sailing easier and safer over three decades of offshore voyaging.
Of course, many of you are are already experienced offshore, but before you pass this by, keep in mind that even after over 50 years of offshore sailing, I’m still learning stuff, so even you will likely find helpful nuggets.
And, better yet, many of you will share things in the comments that I have not thought of.
To be clear, this series is aimed at shorthanded amateur crews who want to keep things safe and stress free offshore.
And it will be of particular benefit to couples where, as is common, one partner has less experience and therefore can be (justifiably) put off, perhaps for life, by a few, or even just one, bad experience.
Let’s start this series with the age-old question of when to reef…
Why Reefing Early Matters
…Wait, before we get into the when, let’s have a quick look at some numbers dramatically illustrating how failing to reef in time can result in dangerous loads.
Below are the results from Kurt’s excellent preventer calculator for being caught aback with the full mainsail up in a 35-knot squall on our M&R 56, a great illustration of the way loads can get scary if we don’t reef in time.
We end up with over three tons of tension on the block at the bow and a ton and a half on the preventer we will be trying to ease on a winch to get things under control. Scary stuff!
Loads will be a little less on the mainsheet in normal sailing off the wind due to the lower apparent wind, but with mid-boom mainsheets they may be even higher, due to more leverage. Anyway, close enough to illustrate the point.
Of course, on smaller boats the loads will be lower, but then so will the strength of the gear and stability of the boat.
Anyway, I intentionally used this bigger boat as an example, because if write about how to sail her safely, that makes sailing smaller boats doubly safer using the same techniques.
Now let’s assume it’s still blowing 35 knots, but we have three reefs in as any seamanlike mariner should:
This is a way better situation with the load we will have to deal with down to just under half a ton.
One more. Check out what happens with two reefs in 25 knots of wind.
Wow, the load drops to around just a little over 700 lbs (300 kg).
The key point to grasp here is that wind pressure scales by the square of wind speed, so a wind of 35 knots about doubles the load when compared to 25 knots.
Now you know how a scrawny old fart (me) was able to handle that big boat with no rig automation, even singlehanded, into my late sixties1.
Reefing at the right time reduces loads hugely and makes handling the boat way easier and safer, and, even more importantly, when (not if) something goes wrong, it’s way easier and safer to sort it out.
When To Reef
OK, now we know why it’s important to reef, let’s dig into how to recognize the right moment.
Sounds like a simple issue, and, yes, there is a simple tip:
It’s time to reef when we first think about it.
Offshore is Different
While that’s a great adage, there is more to making good reefing decisions. And, particularly if we have mostly sailed inshore and primarily in smooth water, when we first think about it can be too late.
Three reasons offshore is different: everything is harder in:
Don’t be afraid to reef *much* earlier than you might think to, if doing so will improve crew comfort. I’ve been known to put in one reef at just 10-12 knots if it’s only me and one kid, or if I have first-time-sailor guests. Some days I’ve even put in the 2nd reef at 16 knots.
A boat with plenty of canvas up and a bone in her teeth can be an absolute hoot when whipping along at 8+ knots in a force 5 breeze, if you’re a sailor…. but many guests find it a lot more pleasant if we drop to 7 knots and cut the heel angle down by five or ten degrees. And I’d rather keep those guests as friends than give them a white-knuckle ride with water coming over the deck.
The loss of speed is minimal compared to the loss of potential future crew.
perfect idea, this topic, keeps me busy all the time. Your elaboration is as always fascinating, intelligent and relevant. As a fulltime sailing couple we have our discussions…
My question is about loads on a boat: in the calculations for preventer forces I think rightly do not see any input of boat weight. The initial load from windforce on the boat is what it is. As skipper of a light catamaran (Outremer 45) I always imagine that the immediate conversion of wind force into say 50% more speed in downwind/ preventer situations leads structurally to lower loads. What is your idea about this fact for reefing?
We reef – of course – on a reefing table based on true wind. Two developments after 45k nm: we reef – white sails – earlier, but downwind let the 120m2 stormlite spinnaker unconcerned at work even in more wind, instead of hauling it in with a lot of fuss. manoeuvres are sometimes riskier than being temporarily overcanvassed..
Hi Robert,
Sure, going fast downwind deceases loads, and an Outremer, if kept light, is a fast boat. That said, with a short handed crew I would not push the boat that hard, because how do you know the increase in wind speed is temporary? (More on that in Part 2).
Or to put it another way, in my view if striking the spinnaker feels even slightly sketchy we have left it up too long. And I would double down on that for a cat because if the wind does come up even more the consequences could be far worse than for a mono.
As you pointed out, the all-important factor when sailing offshore is CMG, “Comfort Made Good.” I tend to drive the boat harder in better conditions and when competing with others. Never forget WMG (wife made good). I always know I waited too long to reef when the complaints start.
Hi James,
Sure, I agree with that, although I would change it to SMG (spouse made good) since I know of couples where the woman is the harder driver of the two.
Hi John,
I’ll offer our reefing strategy on our Dragonfly 32 tri.
Keep in mind we are primarily coastal cruisers but we have done some multi-day crossings of the Gulf of Mexico so some shorthanded night sailing. Because the boat never really heels more than 10-12 degrees, we have pretty rigid numbers we live by.
18-20 knots – first reef in mainsail
22-25 knots – 2nd reef in mainsail, first reef in jib
28-30 knots – 3rd reef in mainsail, 2nd reef in jib (if we have to sail higher than a beam reach we will furl the jib fully and set our Gale Sail (60ft2)
34+ knots – heave to or not be out there!
Our mainsail/jib sail area combination is as big as many comparable 42’-46’ performance cruisers so we take these numbers seriously.
We can reef while sailing downwind with no problems. If we shake a reef out, we need to turn back up as hoisting the mainsail we find the bigger roach mainsail leech catches the jacklines but typically if you are shaking a reef out, the wind has dropped and the turn up with shortened sail area is safe. We just need to turn up to around 60-70 degrees TWA for a trouble free hoist.
Our biggest fear is sudden thunderstorms and squalls so if we see any sign of thunderstorms within 5 miles of us, we take the mainsail down and wait for the weather to change or dissipate. We will always strive to avoid any weather scenario where there is any chance of overnight sailing with squalls around. We don’t have radar on this boat (still evaluating the pros/cons for our boat use) so if we are far enough out that we do not have cell service (which is typically only 5-10 miles), we are relying primarily on visual cues.
One last thing I would add that you are certainly aware of is that when overpowered, not only is it putting more wear and load on the boat, rig, and sails but you are slower and certainly less maneuverable because in just easing sheets to de-power, it will result in excessive twist and partial luffing with the resultant sail trim/sail shape getting ugly and becoming quite draggy. With the proper reefing in, it’s a great and satisfying feeling to be able to press the boat with control.
Hi Bob,
Great multi-hull fill and just what I was hoping for. A couple of clarifications: are those number true wind and do you have different numbers for up wind and down?
I alos think your policy on thunder storms is very smart, particularly for a multi, and well worth others adopting, even though, as a general rule, I’m not big on taking the main down at sea (except in calms) but here I totally see the seamanship logic.
Hi John,
The wind ranges above we apply to both upwind and downwind points of sail. Quorning’s guidelines are similarly consistent.
Our numbers are probably more conservative than heavier catamarans due to our higher performance ratios.
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the fill on that. Interesting in that the loads would be way lower when downwind.
Hi John and all,
I have been struck, over the years, at how little force/sail area is needed to get a boat moving nicely down wind. In casual observation of cruising boats, when others have been around and going the same direction, I have felt that many boats are over-canvassed and that this spread of canvas has not contributed, or contributed much, to boat speed, but must make the boat more skittish and harder to respond to when conditions change.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
Hi Dick,
Absolutely, I’m exploring the physics behind that in Part 2.
Hi Bob and John,
Just some extra fill in from another multihuller.
As Bob mentions, his DF32 (32 foot) has an upwind sail area similar to a much bigger performance cruiser, 42-46 foot. At least as important is that the total weight of the Dragonfly trimaran is less than 30% of such a bigger mono. This means the margins are much tighter and handling must be much more alert, or conservative, as Bob describes.
The weight to sail area ratio is the tricky one, but in most ways, the DF isn’t a difficult boat to handle, as long as one stays conservative and relax the power. In comparisont to the mentioned performance cruiser monos, it could feel like the DF has the option to start another engine, to become a full out sports car. Sailing a cruiser at steady 20+ knots isn’t what most expect possible, but it is, albeit neither conservative nor safe.
The reason for using the same reefing stages upwind as downwind is not loads but vulnerability. Upwind certainly sees way higher loads and can much easier heel the boat, but it’s also easy to handle. Steer up a few degrees, or in a crisis, dump the sheet and the problem is always solved. Downwind the danger on a multihull isn’t heel but a diagonal stumble over the leward bow, usually when it’s pushed down in an accelleration and hits the back of a wave, a “pitchpole”. Course change or dumping the sheet has close to zero effect then. It has to be prevented before it started. Thus, more conservative sail management than one might expect.
Bob, you mention that the jacks are in the way when shaking out a reef downwind. I like to release the jacks and pull them down to the gooseneck when sailing, and then redeploying them when needed. I feel it adds barely noticeable hassle. The two sides are controlled together, just pull it and hang the loop on a hook and they’re where they should be. Two positions, on or off. No adjustment needed (but still possible). A twin shock cord hooked on holds each side along the mast. Done in seconds.
We are very happy the goal of a cruising speed of 8-10 knots in the 12-18 knot wind range and we can do that pretty much from upwind to broad reaching angles with a full jib and full or reefed mainsail (1st reef). If we are feeling up to it, we might use the Code Zero from 90-140 TWA and we’ll see 10-13 knots boatspeed. The Code Zero is on a bottom up furler and it’s pretty easy to turn down and quickly get rid of it if the conditions dictate. We rarely sail deeper than 140-150 TWA so that is why we apply our reefing guidelines across the full upwind to downwind range. We don’t really think about loads as much as keeping the boat easy and safe to handle.
While we don’t have a lot of experience in 25-30 knots of wind, we were doing a night crossing of the Gulf last year and my wife was doing a solo watch. It was blowing 18-20 knots and the boat was on beam to broad reach angle (around 100-110 TWA). We had 1st reef in the main and full jib. She started seeing some gust bands hitting 25 knots and she was able to keep the boat comfortable for her just by dropping the traveller until the wind speed eased off. I was off watch and I had told her if she saw over 25 knots to wake me up (that would have been time for 2nd reef in the main and 1st reef on the jib) That was a magical night with a full moon and the boat ripping along at a consistent 10-13 knots and comfortable motion in the sea state. It was just noisy due to the wave action against the outer amas.
Stein, I’ll consider your tip on the lazy jacks when shaking a reef out. I guess it has just seemed easier to turn back up for a couple of minutes because it typically is back to a safe zone for doing that.
Hi Stein,
Great explanation of why upwind and downwind reef wind speeds are the same, thanks. I should have thought of that. Just another manifestation of the death zone.
On lazyjacks, that’s a good solution, but another one is to simply move the mast attachment of the lazyjacks down: https://www.morganscloud.com/2013/09/03/lazyjacksmainsail-handling-made-easy/
Hi John,
You and probably most others here already know all I’ll say below, but I should have mentioned that the relationship between upwind and downwind reefing levels is highly dependent on the specific boat, of course. It’s not automatically “same as upwind” on a multihull. The weight to power ratio, height of the sail centre, volume distribution of the leeward bow, potential drag when buried, and some more.
Even more important is how aggressively the boat is sailed. Our cat is slower than a DF32, has way more bow volume and way lower power to weigh ratio. I tend to have quite a lot more sail area downwind than upwind. Partly because of the data mentioned, but also because I like to push.
A pure racing multihull will respond to a gust by immediate and dramatic acceleration, not heel. That means they can keep a lot of sail up, for their weight, but when the limit is reached, it’s too late… This isn’t usually relevant for cruisers, of course. Even performance cruisers like Dragonfly and Outremer are way calmer and easier.
Still, there is an element of the same issue. They can still engage the “turbo” and get more dinghy behaviour. Then the rules change and we must understand the new rules. You mention that we shouldn’t get into a mono versus multi discussion. As a multi fan, I’ll still go out on a limb and say: This is a significant problem with multihulls. They feel unpredictable, until we learn the behaviour.
At some point, with enough wind and waves, any boat, also heavy monos, will behave somewhat like a dinghy, which may make it respond opposite to what one would expect. A helm who can’t predict that is a dangerous helm. The ONLY way to get this understanding properly is in a fast dinghy! Preferably solo. A Laser is great. Hobiecat likewise. Without that, we miss a core skill for heavy wind sailing = We’re incompetent.
All sailors should sail fast dinghies. Especially if we cruise on boats with some power or venture into potentially bad weather. Dinghies give skills we need. And it’s the most fun we can have in life, with our clothes on! 🙂
Hi Stein,
I agree, although with the slight modification in that I thin, while not ideal, a person can sail a monohull competently without dinghy experience, but with multihulls, particularly fast ones, I think you are right because a planing dinghy will teach us where the limits are and how to sail close to them, but not cross them. That said, I guess the other alternative is to sail extremely conservatively.
Another lazy jack adjustment I have scene is to attach the Jack’s to the spreaders creating a much wider catchment. This has shown up as stock on some newer rigs. Thoughts?
Hi Carl,
Good question. Attaching the Jacks to the spreaders is one of those things that looks great at first glance but is actually a very bad idea: https://www.morganscloud.com/2018/04/30/two-dangerous-rigging-mistakes/
More on lazyjacks: https://www.morganscloud.com/2013/09/03/lazyjacksmainsail-handling-made-easy/
Hi John,
Lots of good advice and food for thought. I especially appreciate the admonition to get one’s head in the wind with regularity.
I use many inputs as to when to reef. In an article I wrote on suggestions for a satisfying passage, there was one suggestion that garnered a number of positive responses. It was a suggestion that one start slowing the boat down when it is moving at ~~75% or so of its potential. The idea fueling this was that the likelihood of injury to crew, or damage to the boat, increases exponentially as one pushes the boat into the higher regions of performance.
I write primarily with cruising couples in mind: an experienced racer and/or a full crew certainly can push harder, but I suspect most couples might have more satisfying passages with this 75% percent limit in mind.
Personal experience and reader feedback indicates that backing off early does not significantly affect boat speed, has the boat be more comfortable and feel safer and feel more in control, decreases anxiety, and has all operations: from cooking to reefing to sleep to deck tours be easier and safer. Passages should be fun and not with one’s heart in one’s throat. One gets to the destination rested, ready to go, and looking forward to the next passage.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
Hi Dick,
That makes sense, that said perhaps it needs a little clarification, particularly for those new to offshore sailing. For example with say the Outbound 44/46 75% could be construed as reefing at less than six knots of boat speed (7.75 x 75%=5.6 knots) which would, I’m sure you will agree, result in being horribly under-canvased and uncomfortable a lot of the time.
So I prefer to think of these things in percentages of speed to length ratios. So when a boat say gets to 1.4 x LWL we are starting to push hard, but not getting a lot more speed, if any, so a reef may only reduce speed the speed .25 knots, but also drop the load on the rig to 75% of what it was.
Anyway, thanks for bringing that up, since I will explore this more in part 2, since I think that thinking speed to length is really important. I’m sure you and Ginger do this without having to rationalize it, but worth discussing for the less experienced.
Hi. I like these ratio methods. I don’t have real polars for my OVNI, but TimeZero have a polar function, which lets me make my own polar. So I just tend to slightly update it with my actual speed from time to time when I feel I do decently at different wind speeds etc. I get a polar percentage number that I display onscreen, and I generally stay in the area around 85%. So I will take a reef when I’m approaching 90% and this seems to work pretty well for me and my boat. Even though I have a fairly forgiving and under-canvassed 40ft boat, I am solo and prefer to reef early!
John, can you elaborate how you calculate the “reef point” with the 1,4xLWL method?
Hi Arne,
Not really a calculation, more a way of thinking. More in part 2.
Hi John,
A bit of history might be in order:
The first iteration of the article where I suggested not exceeding ~~75% of a boat’s capacity was written for the US Naval Academy publication, the Helmsman. I wrote it for an audience of gung-ho cadets who most likely came from an athletic background which stipulated “leaving it all on the field” (I also had in mind those “gung ho” skippers who sometimes take the fun out of cruising and passage-making: sometimes driving their partners away). Leaving it all on the field leaves you depleted: something you never want on a passage-making boat. Passage-making is best thought of as a long-haul event and not a sprint.
As to choosing the criteria for choosing when to reef, your suggestions are going to be far more valuable. My goal was just to give “permission” not to push hard: both for safety reasons for crew and boat, but also for the increased likelihood of there resulting in a satisfying passage for all.
My best, Dick
Really great article. So great that it lured me out of the shadows to make my first ever comment on AAC 😁.
One aspect of reefing that I find especially challenging is what I call “dry squalls”. I’m sure there’s a more commonly used term for these weather phenomena – they are sometimes quite powerful squalls with no associated rain, or in some cases even clouds. We came across many of them on a recent crossing of the Pacific from San Francisco to Hawaii. The absence of rain (and often even significant clouds) makes these kinds of squalls very difficult to spot, whether visually or with radar. As a result, I’d say that the vast majority of our “reefing oopsies” happen in such dry squalls.
A typical scenario might be beam reaching along at night in about 18kts of true wind with full white sails up, and the wind suddenly whipping up to gusts over 30kts in what seems like a minute or less. There is no rain, or clouds to indicate the approaching squall.
My general approach is to first take fast emergency action (ease the sails, head down wind if possible, etc), and then focus on getting the reef(s) in. Being a fairly large catamaran that we often sail short-handed, getting the reefs in safely can sometimes take a good few minutes. By that time the squall has often passed. As you can understand, this is a far less than optimal situation. So a few more specific questions for you and the wise readers out there:
1. Am I just being dumb not being also to spot these “dry squalls”? Clearly during the day, or on well moonlit nights one might see evidence of the water of the approaching wind, but on dark nights that’s not an option.
2. Other than being overly conservative and sailing through the night with triple reefs when the boat really wants no reefs, except for perhaps 2 or 3 dry squalls overnight, any suggestions for better strategies here?
Note: being a more performance-oriented catamaran with relatively large sail plan, the consequences of being overpowered like this are considerably greater than, say, a heeling monohull, or under-sailed condomaran.
“Performance-oriented catamaran with relatively large sail plan.”
That, above all else, needs to guide your power & reefing decisions.
To keep such a boat powered up, you need crew who are able to work the rig quickly in any conditions. If you’re shorthanded or don’t have full awareness of upcoming wind changes, the smart and safe answer is to depower the boat to a level that you can handle even if conditions deteriorate unexpectedly.
Big fast cats are fun, but unforgiving.
And no, I don’t think you’re dumb for being unable to spot wind changes at night! I find them hard enough to spot in the daytime.
Hi Quinton,
That’s really interesting. I can’t say I have ever really encountered a dry squall. Sure, I have seen the wind come up suddenly without clouds but not often and usually around sunset and sunrise. That said, after a cold front I have many times seen a lot of variability in wind speed from say 18 to gusts of 30 knots just as you say. This is because of the vertical instability in the atmosphere after a cold front when the next high is moving in. What is happening is that it’s blowing a lot harder a few thousand feet above us, and because of the vertical instability those winds regularly get channelled down to the surface causing gusts that are way stronger than the surface winds. So my guess is that where you were sailing some condition makes it so this variability has a longer period.
Anyway, enough weather blather, I don’t doubt what you say, and I agree with Matt that this is hard to manage.
That said, I think you are already doing the right things: the most important of which is being able to reef without turning up into the wind. Just imagine how much trouble you would be in if you had to turn head to wind (through the death zone) when this happened. This almost makes me want to say that multihulls should never ever have in-boom or in mast roller furling? In fact…
And I think your action of turning downwind and is totally right too, because it reduces apparent wind and makes reefing easier. I also think you are right to reef even though it is likely that it will be over before you get it done, since that might not always be the case.
And most of all I think you are being very smart to realize that this is a risk that must be managed aggressively on your boat. So many owners stick their heads in the sand about these kinds of risks and clearly you are not doing that.
One thought would be to put in the first reef a little earlier in these conditions. Sure, it will slow you a little, but not too much, and often when the wind gets up quickly, the first reef is the hardest to get in.
I would also suggest taking a long look at the reefing system to see if a few tweaks can make it faster and easier to use: changing a lead, better blocks, bigger winch, whatever. Maybe add an eWincher to make grinding in the line faster. I am always amazed at how much things can be improved with a few changes to the reefing system most boats come with.
Wow! Such high quality responses to my question. Thanks everyone. I just noticed them, after coming back explicitly to look. I see now that it’s possible to subscribe to comments and responses, which I’ve now done. To briefly respond to some of the questions and comments, in the hope of further improving the conversation for everyone (I’ll do it all here, rather than respond individually to every comment, to avoid repetition):
Hope that helps…
Q
Hi Quinton,
Great analysis! The big take away for me is how open minded you are being to thinking about ways to improve the situation, rather than getting defensive. Something we can all learn from.
Your point 6 really hit home for me. While I’m all for crew participation in decision making there are also times where “just get it done” is the right approach and a big powerful cat in a rising breeze is definitely one of those times. Easy to say, but hard to do in our world where the tendency seems to be to debate everything.
Hi again Quinton,
A thought on point 6. When I was sailing the M&R 56 to, and in, the high latitudes, often with relatively inexperienced crews, we aways had a log book that the watch filled in every hour, or when something changed. At the bottom of each page there was a comments area and when I went off watch I would leave deck orders along the lines of: reef if wind gets to…; no closer than 10 miles to land (radar)… call me if depth is shallower than 100 meters…;
This worked very well and certainly got rid of the debate, instead of immediate action, problem. I think the secret is that written orders carry a lot more weight than verbal.
Hi John and all,
And at most any age, but especially as one gets older, there gets to be more and more truth to: If it is not written down, it doesn’t exist.”
We also, even though it was just the 2 of us, kept a passage log done every 1-2 hours depending, with columns for important data (TW speed and direction, barometric pressure etc.). This tuned in the on-watch person to heightened situational awareness and possibly unnoticed changes, such as barometric pressure, and was a leg up on for the next person.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
Hi Quinton,
I have grappled with a similar problem a lot, hopefully some of this is helpful. Many large sailing vessels, particularly traditional ones, have stability that allows for capsizing by wind force alone much like a multihull. I am not experienced enough with multihulls to comment on them but I suspect there is a lot of crossover in this.
There have been quite a few high profile losses of vessels such as the Marques, Pride of Baltimore (original not II), Albatross, Concordia, De Gallant, etc. While the circumstances are all a little bit different, there are similarities in all of them. I have found the most helpful information to come from the rulemaking process in the UK for sailing vessel stability but there are also some more readable texts such as Tall Ships Down (I have different opinions than the author on 1 of the vessels described in it).
From a weather standpoint, one key finding is that normal gusts are almost always not more than 1.4X the nominal windspeed which means the wind pressure will be roughly double. They also talk about squalls and here there is no nice rule of thumb for how much the wind can increase. The general rule is to always have a sail plan that can easily handle the worst gust in normal conditions and then to reef down to storm canvas before any squall. One of the issues with squalls is that most are relatively benign but occasionally you get one that looks no worse but is much more extreme so you end up overpreparing most times. Like John, I have not encountered a “dry squall” but most of my offshore sailing has been mid latitude so that may have something to do with it..
In stability discussions, invariably the righting arm curve takes center stage. But having this alone is a bit misleading as you also need to look at the overturning forces. For smaller cruising monohulls, the biggest issue is breaking waves taken at a poor angle so we rightly focus there which is dynamic and most closely corresponds to the integration of GZ. However, for vessels such as tall ships, it is really useful to overlay the wind force curve. The convention is to simply put a cosine curve on the plot with the right amplitude but this is an oversimplification. This amplitude corresponds to a vessel with full sail sheeted to centerline with a beam breeze. The first way to change this is to simply cut all the sheets and that can make an enormous difference, often preventing a disaster. The second way is to turn the vessel so that you are working with fore and aft stability which is never really a concern with a monohull. For monohulls with an AVS<~90°, you can be very sensitive to high winds so taking these actions is critical as explained here: https://www.cruisingonstrider.us/Treacherous.htm.
For monohulls, one of the cool findings of looking at a stability curve is that the first major change in the curve is when the deck edge goes underwater, GZ will almost always continue to increase but at a lesser rate. I think about it as keeping the vessel reefed so that the deck edge will not go underwater significantly in a max gust and this gives us a nice amount of buffer even if we don’t have a proper GZ curve. I wonder whether there is a similar good indicator for multis?
Moving from the weather and vessel design to the human element, the accidents almost always involve human mistakes which can appear benign. In the preparation, the first thing that happens is that stability is compromised in ways that no one appreciates. Then, the master may or may not understand the practical aspects of stability and usually the other officers do not. This means that not only do people not understand the importance, the rest of the crew doesn’t get adequately trained on how to react. It is not reasonable to expect untrained crew to react correctly in a rare, extreme event.
The actual crew reaction is often quite flawed. Many of those vessels rely very heavily on a knowledgeable master but that master needs to be off watch too and temptations are to not call them. To me, this means that at the very least all watch officers need to be knowledgeable and proactive in multiple subjects like navigation, stability, crew dynamics, etc. Often entering the squall the vessel will not have appropriate canvas up. It is quite time and energy intensive to change and in certain places you can end up dealing with several squalls a day. Also, on monohulls downflood angle is very important and it is common to have many hatches left open. When sailing these vessels, I limit to centerline hatches open if there is any question and if entering a real squall, everything needs to be closed for a few minutes. Another issue is not being able to let go sheets quickly, I make a point of stationing a crew at each sheet when in doubt and having clear instructions about when they should ease or even cut. Finally, the helmsperson often reacts improperly and leaves the vessel at a beam angle until the heel is great enough that the rudder is not effective.
Hopefully this helps with giving you a few things to think about even though the actual boats being discussed are near polar opposites. This is one of those tricky probability problems so you need to figure out the combination of factors that gives you a reasonable risk profile knowing that is impossible to actually define. I agree with John’s suggestions about reefing early and making reefing easier. My only add would be to really focus on training and empowering all the crew as this may happen when you are off watch. Having dealt with a lot of crew, one of the hardest things can be empowering them to wake you up, reef, make a big course change, etc.
Eric
Hi Eric,
Very interesting. I would not have thought of relating the issues of tall ships to multihulls, but that actually makes a lot of sense.
Lots of good stuff, but the tip that really jumped out at me was empowering the crew, particularly on any boat with a limit of vanishing stability under say 120 degrees. And on all boats the deck crew should be educated about down flood danger and the importance of putting in locked wash boards and closing hatches whenever things look even slightly sketchy.
l kinda disagree with necessity to stick out your head or steer manually to understand the situation. l mean, maybe it is true for boats in 50ft range, never sailed one, but on smaller ones in my experience the behaviour of the boat and the sounds (both of wind, water, sails and autopilot ! ) are usually enough to decide on reefing.
Hi Ignat,
We will have to agree to disagree on that one. To me this is not boat size dependant and I would double down on the importance of regularly getting in touch with our boat and the elements by hand steering and while wind in our faces. That said I do totally agree that listening to the autopilot motor can tell us a lot.
Hi John,
I think my point got missed.
My point is that you don’t need to stick you head outside to be in touch with your boat!
or putting it differently, if you don’t feel your boat just listening to it and feeling her movement, you probably lack some crucial seamanship
having said that, I do stick my head out regularly, although mainly to check on other ships, as I sail singlehanded usually
Hi Ignat,
No, did not miss your point, just disagree with you.
don’t know how about you, but I personally woke up so many times just because the boat changed her movement through the water, the waves started splashing differently or the heel angle changed, that I imagine I could be making reefing decisions solely on those ‘connections’ to the boat
Hi Ignat,
I would wish to suggest that that degree of attentiveness will quickly make you one very fatigued skipper. And there are few companions to have on board more dangerous than fatigue. Much better, to my mind, to give yourself up to a good deep refreshing sleep and trust your on-watch crew to wake you for changes and decisions.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
Hi Ignat,
Each to their own, I like to take the helm and get wind in my face regularly to stay in tune with the boat. Of course when single handing I had to modify that taking into account the need to get enough sleep, but I would still take the helm regularly to assess how the boat was doing.
Hi Ignat,
I sail a forty-foot boat.
We do not take the wheel too often on passage, but believe that having habits that augment situational awareness are important. So, we do stick our head and body out into the elements for an un-obstructed 360 degree visual around us every 10 minutes: 15 minutes during the day. And a deck tour/inspection every change of watch.
As regards the wheel, although I do not get my hands on it, I do pay attention to the Turk’s head indicating the angle of the rudder as well as how fast it is sawing back and forth as an indication sail balance, etc.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
On the topic of wind instruments I have been sailing around the Ionian for the last six weeks with non functioning wind speed and direction.
At first this was just irritating but I have started to quite enjoy it. It feels like one is almost learning to sail all over again. Instead of seeing 18 knots upwind on the dial and thinking time to put a reef in one is constantly feeling the motion of the boat, listening to the sounds it and the rigging are making, watching the sea around and ahead for warning signs and also listening to one’s own subconscious senses.
This trip has felt like going back to the seventies when even if you had wind instruments they didn’t work for long. Sailing has felt more visceral and fresh. I am not advocating throwing wind instruments away forever but doing without them for a bit can be quite enlightening.
Oh, and my reefing tip: embrace your inner coward.
Hi Mark,
Totally agree. Sailing without instruments is a great learning. It’s way too easy to get overly reliant on these things.
And I love your last tip, says it all.
Excellent article and fully agreed about heel angle being a very good way to measure excessive forces when upwind on a monohull. I know for some boats reefing is the only way to control the power & force generated by the rig. I would have still loved to hear some consideration for the role of controlling the shape of the sails when managing the forces extorted on the boat and the people. I know your J/109 has many gears available above 1st reef.
For me, as a coastal cruiser, managing the forces via sail shape plays a huge role, driven by the same inputs discussed in the article. But is there some factor or wisdom that makes only reefing relevant or effective? Or was that just the scope of the article?
Hi Mikko,
Yes, scope. If I had added de-powering with sail shape and how to do that think 10 to 20 thousand words! Remember this is only one chapter in an entire online book. That said, you have got me thinking about pulling together a lot of stuff that’s throughout the book into a sail shape primer chapters. And to think I used to worry about running out of stuff to write about!
Mikko, you pretty much made my point. Reading John’s comments about how erroneous true wind indicators can be, brought me back to my dislike of “sailing by the numbers.” I learned to sail big boats that had no instruments. The skipper taught us, the boat will tell you when it is time to reef. Later running boats with instruments, I often found my self butting up against “but the sail maker said…” when I was thinking rail down, or rudder stalling, or sail clothing loosing design shape. I think this reliance on on digital data is complicated by the fact that in most other areas of our lives we are used to pretty good data. Sailors tend to trust the wind instruments more than their own senses and often stare at the displays rather than the sea. Philosophically I can do a boat with out wind instruments. When teaching sailing I find, if you turn of the instruments off and ask sailors where the wind is coming from, you get blank stares, and then the learning can begin.
Anyone care to expound on the “Death Zone” a bit? I’m curoius as to how to get into a situation like that…so that I can stay out of a situation like that.
Hi Ben,
Did you, perhaps, miss the footnote on that? Or was that not detailed enough?
I think because I’ve only been in a situation like that maybe once while sailing a dinghy, I’m having a hard time translating the numbers into what the boat feels like. I was single-handing a double-handed dinghy (Buccaneer 18) and I remember going from just cracked off a beat to turn downwind and the boat started to accelerate so quickly that I couldn’t dump the main quick enough to keep it upright. Mast dipped the water briefly and popped back up. I sailed back to the dock in a bathtub (because the self bailing mechanism broke when i stepped on it during the capsize) wondering what just happened. Haven’t experienced anything like that on my 34’ 6-ton monohull and wondered if anyone had experience with it on a “big” boat so to speak.
Hi Ben,
No, you won’t get that situation on a 6-ton mono hull, because the boat can’t accelerate fast enough or to a high enough speed to cause the problem, due to wave resistance. Note that in the article I limited that warning to multihulls.
On the other hand the Buccanear 18 is a planing dinghy (like the 505) so she probably popped out on the plane as you bore off and that caused the apparent wind to increase and go forward. I’m also guessing that being single handed you did not pull the board partially up as you bore off, which makes the death zone worse because the boat “trips over the board”.
John
Thanks for the reply. Good to know that it doesn’t apply to my current boat. I must have missed the part about applying to multi-hulls. Thinking back, I’m pretty sure you hit the nail on the head about the dagger board. That Buccaneer was my first sailboat. Bought it on Craiglist and taught myself how to sail. When I did it right, the boat went. When I did it wrong, it wouldn’t go. When I did it really wrong, I got wet! I learned a lot that summer. It was a really fun boat. The reservoir I sailed on was a 10HP/10 MPH speed limit, and when the wind was up, I’d sometimes pass motorboats. Thankfully, the rangers never gave me a ticket.
Hi Ben,
That is absolutely the best way to learn to sail: in a dinghy. The lessons you learned from that boat will stand you in good stead for the rest of your sailing life and you will always have a deeper understanding that those who learn on bigger boats and never sail dinghies.
Hi,
on using wind rydder, (Hydrovane), I find that if the boat (48 ft. Oyster Lightwave) constantly luff, you are overpowered
Hi Jorn,
That’s a very good point, and in my view one of the advantages of a vane gear over an autopilot.
Thank you John. This is very helpful to me as a novice sailor wanting to learn more. I sail a Hans Christian 43 T ketch with oversized rigging, but the previous owner removed the third reef lines as he never reefed that deeply. I am likely going to re-rig it to help cover me because of my inexperience offshore.
Hi Terry,
Glad it was useful and I think you are wise to add that third reef back in. More here on number of reefs and how deep: https://www.morganscloud.com/2014/11/26/reefs-how-many-and-how-deep/
Hi Terry,
A Hans Christian 43 is a very nice and robust boat. As a ketch you have more “gears” than most other boats. You can drop the main and keep sailing on the jib and mizzen. Or keep full main and drop the mizzen and jib. Or some combo of reefed sails. What works the best depends on the detailed configuration of your boat. You do need more reefing that just two reefs in the main, of course, but the third one in the main might be equivalent to some other configuration…?