Don,

I experimented with heaving-to aboard my double-headsail (a.k.a.
cutter-rigged) ketch one stormy night offshore when we were all just too
damned tired to keep bashing into it. In the end I settled on a deep-reefed
main sheeted in hard, with the helm adjusted and lashed to keep the boat
around 60? off the wind and seas. It worked, though I can’t say it was
perfectly comfortable. The seas were awfully short and steep. In theory you
should be able to use just the mizzen sheeted

Tor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don,

I experimented with heaving-to aboard my double-headsail (a.k.a.
cutter-rigged) ketch one stormy night offshore when we were all just too
damned tired to keep bashing into it. In the end I settled on a deep-reefed
main sheeted in hard, with the helm adjusted and lashed to keep the boat
around 60? off the wind and seas. It worked, though I can’t say it was
perfectly comfortable. The seas were awfully short and steep. In theory you
should be able to use just the mizzen sheeted in hard, but I found that
wasn’t enough that night.

Tor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On second thought, maybe the main was sheeted in almost but not quite hard.

Tor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Good article Jack mentions on Cruisers Forum a few years back:
http://www.bethandevans.com/pdf/heavingto.pdf

-p
—
s/v Deep Playa | Pearson 424 Hull #152 | http://www.DeepPlaya.com

On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 5:33 PM, Silver Heels wrote:

Pat,

Excellent article. Thanks! I stand corrected. Silver Heels was forereaching,
not hove to. I almost did add a back winded staysail that night, thus truly
heaving the boat to, but decided against it because I thought it might push
the bow off the wind more than I wanted (I was probably wrong about that),
and because I did not want the additional leeway stealing back our
hard-earned miles to windward (I was probably right about that).

I suspect the way to properly heave-to a 424 is with the back winded
staysail, perhaps reefed, plus either the deep-reefed mainsail, a storm
trysail, or the mizzen, possibly reefed. I’ll have to experiment some more
next time the weather gets up.

FYI, I once forereached through a 5-day tropical storm in mid-Atlantic on my
last cruising boat, a Crealock 37. Then I very much wanted to keep moving
towards the Azores, a more or less windward destination at the moment. I
flew just the reefed staysail and we made 1½ to 2 knots forward, with lots
of leeway, too.

Tor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I have used the reefed jib and mizzen in lighter air to park the boat for
the kids to go swimming. The boat just sat almost still and there was a
calm spot on the lee of the boat for the kids to play around in. It worked
well and I would think it would be better with a stay sail in heaver seas
with a reef in the mizzen.

Linus

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Pardeys in their 2nd edition of storm tactics cover almost every boat cofiguration. Their suggestions, in heavier air than I have been in, is mizzen only, and the completely rolled genny is enough to heave with.

They also address parahcute anchors. I wrote them and asked ther recomendation for my 424 ketch and they said no paranchor larger than 12 feet. Larger presnets BIGGER problems

Hope this helps
Dave and Nancy Buettell
S/V SAils Call #12

Well, the Pardey’s know what they’re talking about, that’s for sure.
However, that night I experimented with my boat offshore it was only blowing
25-35 knots. No big deal, we just needed a break. I tried heaving to with
just the mizzen sail first (with the genoa fully rolled up on the headstay).
I don’t exactly remember what was unsatisfactory about it – it was late &
rough and I was wet & tired and I didn’t take notes – but I believe it did
not hold the boat to the wind as I’d hoped. I think I then added the
deep-reefed mainsail, but that was too much canvas aft and the boat tended
to round up. So I doused the mizzen and settled for forereaching at a knot
or so with just the deep-reefed mainsail. It was acceptable in those
conditions.

I have a video somewhere that the Pardey’s made, all about how to use a sea
anchor. It’s full of good information explained well. There was a lot I
didn’t know. In fact, the longer I mess around with boats, the more I
realize I don’t know. I think I liked it better when I was 25 and knew
everything.

Tor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I carried a fancy “marine” sea anchor on my last cruising boat for 6 years /
30k n. miles. Never used it once. In fact, I haven’t had occasion to use a
sea anchor ever, and that goes back a ways. Come to think of it, I don’t
know anyone who has ever had occasion to deploy a sea anchor, other than
Larry & Lin Pardey. I didn’t bother putting one aboard Silver Heels. If I
ever get into weather that atrocious, I’ll tow warps. (I have LOTS of spare
line aboard.)

That said, the Pardey’s sea anchor instructional video is very good, showing
exactly how to use one effectively for heaving-to (as opposed to towing) in
extreme weather and/or to reduce leeway when hove-to. It nearly inspired me
to set one up. Nearly.

Tor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have practiced this a lot on Navasana – a standard rigged ketch.So far here is what I have found:In light air all sails up we backwind the genoa, let out the main a little and keep the mizzen all the way in. She stops dead and just sits there. Moderate will have main double reefed and genoa reefed and back winded.The strongest breeze we have played in was about 28 30kn with 6 – 8 ft seas had a working jib up fully reefed,  sailing jib and jigger. We back winded the jib and had the mizzen reefed and tight in. We never fully hit Hove to status as we were just slightly making headway. I believe the jib being so far forward still drove the boat. It is pretty cool to see that slick the Pardey’s talk about form to windward and the boat quieted right down.My assumption is in the cutter rig if you used the staysail instead of the jib you could more easily come
fully hove to – guess I have to add a staysail to the wish list……
This season I hope to play with the drogue  – but sailing in New England have to get far enough off shoe to clear all those lobster pots!
  
— On Wed, 4/14/10, Silver Heels wrote:

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Eric,

You’re right, heaving to isn’t just for heavy weather. In light to moderate
conditions I also use the full, backed genoa plus main and/or mizzen. It’s a
great way to take a break in mid-sail for cooking, swimming, or just
thinking about whatever’s coming up. This is also what I call my Tor
overboard drill, which I show anyone who sails with me for more than a day.
If I fall overboard underway under sail, I don’t expect new crew to remember
how to sail a figure-8 or drop sails or whatever. Instead, I teach them to
simply turn the boat hard to windward until the headsail backwinds, and then
turn hard over the other way and lock the wheel. Presto! The boat stops,
hove to. Everything gets still and quiet. If we were sailing to windward (as
is too often the case) she drifts slowly back to where the overboard mark is
floating, creating a smooth lee to boot. The idiot captain who fell
overboard can swim to the boat and climb back aboard. I let new crew
practice this once or twice, and then every once in a while I’ll suddenly
call out, “Tor overboard drill! Now! Now!” to confirm they’ll really know
what to do if I ever do fall overboard.

I added a staysail rig to Silver Heels because I was planning offshore
passages. Part of its function is, as you suggest, for heaving to in strong
weather. That’s the sail I could’ve added, back winded, to the deep reefed
main when I forereached through that blow a few months ago. Then I would’ve
really been hove to. The installation was a bit of a project, but seemed
worthwhile to me.

Tor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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