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Heaving to with main sail only

Baslin

Member III
I have an Ericson 38 with the shoal draft keel. I was wondering if anyone can give me some tips on how to heave to with main sail only. Particularly under 1 or 2 reefs. Thanks
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Well, seems to me you'd just sheet in, turn the wheel all the way upwind, and see what happens.

If the boat tacks, it ain't working. If the boat fore-reaches at 1 knot with the helm lashed, riding like a cork, it is.

Success might depend on how many reefs, your specific keel, and the sea state.

I've heard of the main-only heave to but never tried it. Not immediately aware of the benefit of not using a backed jib along with the main.

That usually works for me, although I haven't tried it in heavy air and breaking seas.
 

Ryan L

s/v Naoma
I have an Ericson 38 with the shoal draft keel. I was wondering if anyone can give me some tips on how to heave to with main sail only. Particularly under 1 or 2 reefs. Thanks

<style type="text/css">p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #454545}p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #454545; min-height: 14.0px}</style>We heave to regularly out here in French Polynesia in a wide range of conditions as we must often wait for the correct tide or light to enter the atolls. After much trial and error we find reefing under main only is our preferred method for our E38-200. To address Christian’s comment about not seeing the benefit of main-only versus heaving to with backed jib the benefits include considerably less chafe, more simple maneuver (assuming you will need to partially furl a genoa prior to backing it), far less leeway, better “motion” of the boat, and especially a much better angle after the boat settles in relation to the wind. We find our E38 hove to with a backed jib sits with the bows too far off the wind, almost beam-to in heavier wind/seas, even as she does the typical “scallop” path. In rough conditions we find that heaving to under deeply reefed main only (or even better under trysail) more or less “parks” our E38 with the bow about 40-45 degrees off the wind thus presenting the strongest/safest part of the deck to the weather (the forward corner of the cabin) and allowing a more of a gentle “pitching” motion instead of a roll. Most importantly it places the all-important “slick” in a better position to knock down seas (as well described in the Pardey’s excellent book “Storm Tactics”).


The move is simple. Just gently turn into the wind as you trim your main to about the position it would be for a close reach (remember to reef it first). The main will luff and your speed with drop. At some point you will have no forward momentum and the bow will gently drop off to one side. At that point turn the helm as though you were trying to turn into the wind and lash it in place (we use the wheel brake and a sail tie lead to the cleat near the primary winches.) If you timed it right the boat will gently bear away until the main starts to fill then gently turn up as the center of effort shifts aft (with the partially filled main) and the slight forward motion engages the rudder. This causes the main to luff and your speed to drop which causes the bow to bear away and so on. When you get it “right” the boat balances well and there is not much heading up/bearing away unless waves move you around. You can easily see the “slick” caused by your boat sliding sideways. Ideally you want that slick between you and the oncoming seas.


Be careful about going completely head-to-weather to stop your progress in rough seas as they can push you back and put tremendous loads on your rudder, especially if it’s turned to the side. It’s enough to pinch into the wind to slow to the point that the bow falls off and you will not tack when you turn the helm hard over.


In calm seas and gentle winds we sometimes even heave to under bare poles…


I hope this helps!


Ryan
SV Naoma
TwoAfloat.com
 

Baslin

Member III
Ryan, thanks for the response. Great info and very detailed. Our boat heaves to very well with a backed job but like you said, it increases chafe and I think with the wind and seas building or in a storm, I think having the job out is more dangerous. That's really the reason for the post, was more for heavy seas. I have the Pardey book, Storm Taxtics and it's very detailed.

Again, thanks for the response, and we are excited to try it. Especially in some higher winds above 20 knots.

great videos by the way!
 

ignacio

Member III
Blogs Author
We find our E38 hove to with a backed jib sits with the bows too far off the wind.

Great info Ryan! Same with the E35-II. I'd be too chicken to try it with a back-winded jib in a heavy sea state.

I've tried to heave to with main only in 15-20 knots in the SF Bay, but never got the "slick" the Pardeys suggested (too much forereaching). Offshore, I tried it with a double-reefed main only in 35-40 knots and 10'+ seas and found that I still logged 1-3 knots. Would you use a third reef if not using the trisail in these conditions? Also, have you found the need to use the Pardey-style sea anchor bridle setup (or other gear) when heaving to?
 

Ryan L

s/v Naoma
Great info Ryan! Same with the E35-II. I'd be too chicken to try it with a back-winded jib in a heavy sea state.

I've tried to heave to with main only in 15-20 knots in the SF Bay, but never got the "slick" the Pardeys suggested (too much forereaching). Offshore, I tried it with a double-reefed main only in 35-40 knots and 10'+ seas and found that I still logged 1-3 knots. Would you use a third reef if not using the trisail in these conditions? Also, have you found the need to use the Pardey-style sea anchor bridle setup (or other gear) when heaving to?


<style type="text/css">p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #454545}p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #454545; min-height: 14.0px}</style>Did you happen to notice if your COG was same as your heading when you were logging 1-3 kts? In those conditions I wouldn’t be surprised if you discovered it was more leeway from current/wind rather than forward motion… That said, when we have more forward motion than we like we just trim in the main a bit to help her point a bit higher into the wind. When the seas are not same direction as wind it helps to heave to so your bow is more into the waves.


I forgot to mention that it’s important to keep a lot of twist in the main. For anyone who doesn’t know how to do that just make sure the vang is set loose and that the traveler is pulled to weather so the mainsheet does not pull directly down on the boom (thus acting as a vang).


We haven’t yet needed to use sea anchor in anger (ala Pardey) but we have deployed for practice and found it works exceptionally well. Recovering the anchor can be a challenge but it is possible with careful maneuvering and good teamwork with crew. I recommend replacing the Ericson cleats with something substantially stronger. We greatly upsized the cleats, used cleats with rounded surfaces (less chafe), reinforced the deck/hull joint with additional glass, and backed the cleats with G10.


Yes, in the conditions you describe I would use trysail. In our experience once it’s bent on a trysail is MUCH easier to shape and handle than a deeply reefed main.
 
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