Beating in stiff wind

[mrtwiddlecups]

     I was sailing in stiff wind (for a newbie like me) 20 knots gusting to 25. I was beating up the lake with the jib down and the mainsail reefed. My wife is less ambitious and isn't comfortable with the boat heeling any more than 10 degrees or so. Anyhow the tacking wasn't getting us up the lake very quickly so I tried raising the jib and reefing the main more. This seemed to get me closer to the wind and improved our speed too (is this normal?). This had me wondering though, If sailing in stiffer winds do you have to take your jib down wile beating? Can I reef my jib? I have a compac 16 with stock sails- I think. Am I silly and the boat should handle just as well tacking with just the main up?

What do you do with your sails beating into fast winds?

[wes]

I think you've correctly observed that tacking is much easier with both the main and jib up, and this is true regardless of wind speed. You will find beating into the wind difficult with main alone. Frankly, beating isn't the strong point of any Com-Pac regardless of size.

The trick is to reef both main and jib appropriately for the wind in order to achieve good balance, i.e. not too much weather helm. If you are fighting the tiller, you probably need to tweak the reefing of one or both sails.

To be frank, sailing a CP 16 in 20-25 knot winds takes a courageous soul. I'm with your wife on this one. I don't take my 27 out when the wind forecast is that high.

Wes

[brackish]

Yes, Wes is right balance is all important when beating for both efficiency and safety.  You can reef a hank on jib but only if it is set up with a reef point.  It is not all that quick requires changing your sheet attach point and resetting your tack.  Roller furling will let you roll it up a few turns but too many it becomes ineffective.  With hank on, a better solution is to invest in a storm jib balanced to your main reef point and just change it out when the need arises.  You said you put additional reef in your main, another reef point or do you have a roller boom?

I'm also with Wes about when to call it a day.  If caught in 20-25 I'll hang with it on a run or broad reach, reefed main only.  But if I have to go to weather, those sails come down and the iron jenny gets cranked up.  My 23, like your 16 is has low initial stability so it will pop up and down with the gusts.  Fortunately they have high ultimate stability so they will bury a rail without going over.  And my wife will not go out in those conditions, and I know better than to ask her.

[comfortably numb]

I have been toying with getting a smaller hank on jib for when it pipes up ( don't have a roller ) Has anyone tried something from another boat? I may have a chance to borrow an old 16 jib to try, but I don't believe it will be small enough from comparing their dimensions. I've done a few inquiries on line from sailmakers for a storm for my 19 and no specs were available to them. Not going that route ( $$$ ) for my little lake, just wondered if anyone has tried a smaller production sail when reefing is anticipated. Probably not worth the effort to have locally but may come in handy if I travel.

Thanks

[Tim Gardner]

Com-Num Bill,

Somewhere in my sail inventory, I have a CP-19 I hank on jib with a reef point on it.  Not saying I will dig it out today, but soon I will and can take dimensions , or maybe even send it up to you so you can store it till you can try it out.

TG

[Potcake boy]

Numb,

Storm jibs typically are built of a heavier fabric to maintain their shape with the greater wind pressure they would be subjected to.

There is a great used sail shop in Annapolis called Bacon Sails ( https://baconsails.com/ ) from whom I have purchased several sails. Many of their offerings are new sails cut to the wrong dimensions or not picked up by the customer. I suspect that they could guide your choice from the dimensions of your standard jib.

[Salty19]

Bill,

What about a nicely engineered homemade furler then use a modified secondary used sail?    No, they aren't as professional as a real furler, but they do the trick if you plan on only using one sail.

Kicknbug--come on out to Columbus and whip up Numb a new furler with your design!   

[Bob23]

All:
   A few summers ago I got caught out in my 23 in 25 knots, gusting to over 30. My first thought was to head to the barn but then I says to meself I says: Why not try out the 2nd reef point I had the sail loft put in my main when I had new sails made.  Short story long, along with that 2nd reef and a greatly reduced head sail, the old girl was very well behaved and although it was a wet sail, I had a great time, never felt out of control! We made headway as best as a 23 can in those strong winds and had way more fun than if I were motoring!
   So Wes's advice of matching sail area to wind speed is dead on correct!
For what it's worth,  Bob23

[Tim Gardner]

I remembered that Multimediasmith posted on the yahoo group site a photo of his Storm jib.

Here it is:

[comfortably numb]

Thanks all, I will look into these ideas. My issue with any furler on my 19 is that it is a series " I " with a bowsprit added by the PO and the original pulpit rail and stay position conflicts with the operation of a rolled up head sail, unless the pulpit is changed out too. That front rail hoop could be modified, roller made or purchased and sail modified , but think that I will look for a smaller sail. The reefable jib offering is intriguing! I had a storm on my Catalina 25 and yes, they are really built as they should be, a great option on Erie with a reefed main, got me home more than once.