Online Book: Sail Handling and Rigging Made Easy

These days, with all the focus on the latest whiz-bang gadgets, many sailors are forgetting to think about and spend money on their boat’s primary means of locomotion. In this post we look at why spending time and money on good sails is vital. Not only is a boat that sails well more fun, it’s also a lot safer.

New sails are expensive, here’s how to get the most for your money.

Many sailors have de-emphasized their mainsails, in some cases to the point where the main is the first sail to come down when the going gets tough and often does not even get set in the first place. This is a mistake and potentially dangerous.

When we have a problem on our boats, it’s always tempting to try to fix it by adding gear, but often a better approach is simplification. We look at mainsail hoisting as an example and provide several tips to make the job easier.

How many reefs are optimal? Two, three or four? If we think about this the right way, for most of us the answer is simple. We also tackle the relationship between reefs and whether or not we have a storm trysail, also much misunderstood.

If you want to reef from the cockpit, you have to do it right. Colin shares how.

Reefing is one of those areas where the devil really is in the details. Over the years we have answered dozens of questions about reefing. In this chapter we highlight a few of those and provide our answers.

Relevant reefing tips, which we will add to over time.

There are probably more myths and downright wrong recommendations published about reefing than any other subject. In this chapter John exposes one of them and then goes on to explain how to do it right.

Part 1 of buyer’s guide examining the trade-offs between the three ways to set, strike and furl a mainsail on an offshore cruising boat.

Part 2 of a buyer’s guide examining the trade-offs between the three ways to set, strike and furl a mainsail on an offshore cruising boat.

John believes that any boat over about 45 feet that will be sailed shorthanded needs lazyjacks. In this chapter he describes the lazyjack system that allows him to set, reef, and strike Morgan’s Cloud’s 600-square foot mainsail without resorting to complex gear like roller furling masts or booms.

Consistently reefing at the right time, particularly when sailing offshore, makes passages easier, safer, and, above all, more fun.

More about how to decide when to reef, including a mental hack and specific true wind speed examples, as well as more tips, including which sail first.

Do you need a topping lift? John shares how to decide, and how to rig it if so, as well as a cool hack to reduce topping lift related chafe and noise at sea.

12 reasons that the true cutter is simply the best rig for short-handed offshore voyaging. And even if you don’t have a cutter, this chapter can help you make your boat easier to sail and faster too.

When does the cutter rig make sense, both when buying a new boat and considering a conversion? We have a simple decision-tree to make things simple.

Now we get to the nitty gritty: How to convert your boat to a cutter rig and how to make existing cutters better.

Which of the three common cruising rigs is best? Like so many things around voyaging, all three have advantages and drawbacks. John takes a deep dive that will help you pick the one that’s right for your needs and then shares his two favourites, one for offshore and one for inshore.

Roller furling headsails are ubiquitous, but they are not without their drawbacks. John looks at ways to deal with that and make roller furling work well at sea.

It’s rare these days to see a cruising boat with hank-on headsails. But are such sails only for the traditionalists stuck in the stone age of offshore sailing? Maybe not. Here is a convincing case for hank-on sails, at least on smaller boats.

A headsail that is not protected from sun damage when furled, will only last a season or so. So what’s the best way to protect the sail? John has some suggestions.

Colin shares the details on the Harken roller reefing system they installed on their OVNI 435.

Colin and Louise carry a dedicated hanked on storm jib ready to go when necessary. Colin tells us why and how.

John doesn’t understand the move to swept back spreaders in sailboat rig design. And he’s not shy about saying so.

Which is better for the staysail stay? Roller furling and fixed or hanks and removable? John says it depends.

Rigid vangs were once only seen on racing sailboats, but cruisers can benefit, too. John explains why, how to choose between the two types (mechanical and hydraulic), as well as how to fit and use one safely.

To build a safe preventer system, we must first understand how the forces combine and multiply to turn the boom into a potential killer.

Now that we understand the forces and angles at work, Kurt shares a method and spreadsheet to calculate the actual forces on our own boats so that we can build a safe preventer system.

Boom brakes have never looked right to me, but now I have solid numbers, together with other reasons, to strongly recommend against them. But if you still insist on a boom brake, I have some recommendations.

Colin draws on his decades of experience racing and cruising to share some tips and tricks that will make reaching and downwind sailing faster and more comfortable. Chapter FREE to view for three days.

Poling out the headsail to sail downwind can be intimidating, particularly offshore in big breeze, but Colin has a way to make it easy and safe.

Some of the most fun and satisfying sailing we can do is under asymmetric spinnaker. Here’s how to set and strike one safely with a sock, even offshore and in big breeze.

There are few problems that detract more from the pleasure of sailing than a bad case of weather helm, a surprisingly common affliction. The good news is that this problem can be fixed.

Detailed recommendations, including brand names, for running rigging for cruising sailboats.

How to select the right rope diameters, attach sheets and halyards to sails the right way, and keep chafe from ruining your day.

The loads on a modern offshore cruising boat are substantial so we sailors need to really think about how we handle them. John discusses two common mistakes and what we can all learn from them.

Getting the rig properly tuned is vital for any sailboat, but it’s not easy to do right. John takes the mystery out of the process with a step-by-step procedure that works.

In Part 1 we got the mast upright in the athwartship plane so it was not leaning over to one side or the other. Now let’s set the fore and aft rake and bend. But before we set off on that long and winding road we need to make sure we know what the destination is, and that’s what this chapter is about.

John bored you to death with a lot of mast tuning theory in the last chapter, but here’s the pay off: a step-by-step guide that will yield a good tune every time.

Setting up a rig to be safe and functional offshore is all about getting the details right. Here are some vital things to know and do.

In the previous four parts of this series on mast tuning, we got all the basics taken care of, now we just need to go sailing to complete a great tune.

Dismastings are dangerous voyage enders for cruising boats. Doing this inspection of spars, steps and chainplates will reduce the risk substantially.

Inspection tips and recommended replacement cycles for offshore cruising boat standing rigging, hydraulics, and vangs.

Inspection, repair tips and replacement cycles for offshore cruising boat running rigging.

Inspection, repair, and replacement tips for mast navigation lights, wind indicators, and lightning protection systems.

The rig checklist is ready for download and links to five articles of in depth inspection tips and advice on fixing the problems you find.

Unstepping the mast is one of the most stressful tasks we sailboat owner’s face, but here are some tips to make it a lot easier.

John puts his lazy streak on display with five rigging hacks to do less work, but still do things right.

Carrying on from the last chapter in our Rigging and Sails Online Book, here are a bunch more curated and relevant rigging tips.