Heaving Too

[cdreamIII]

I always find myself short on time and my sails only last a couple of hours so when I get on the water practicing things like heaving too are always "next time".  So,  I thought I'd ask everyone how do you set your sails so the boat balances the best when heaving too?  Do you roll in the head sail & if so how much? Where do you typically set the traveler? Does it make any difference what tack you are on? 

Thanks...

[wes]

It's the easiest thing in the world; no need to overthink it. Just prepare to tack in the usual way (ie. trim in the main so the boom doesn't fly across). Tack, but don't release the headsail sheet. As soon as the bow comes around through the wind, the headsail will start to backfill. Turn the wheel hard back to the original side and lock it down. That's it. At this point you're hove-to and you can adjust mainsail trim to position the bow more or less into the wind. You won't be able to trim the headsail since it will be backwinded and pretty well pinned against the mast.

In my experience, traveler position isn't important.

To return to sailing, just release the jib sheet, let the jib fill and re-sheet it on the other side. Straighten the wheel and you're sailing.


Wes

[Tim Gardner]

Great, Simple instructions, Wes!