Heaving Too

[captbob57]

Hello PC Nation! Went out for a nice sail this past Friday, and I was just wondering has anyone tried heaving too with their PC's? If you have I would be interested in your results. Going to try it my next time out. Thanks and be safe.  C.B.

[bruce]

Without a head sail catboats can't heave to per se. Lying a-hull will result in the boat settling beam to wind, maybe a little forward, and, when used as a working boat, that's typically what fishermen would have done. Clearly there are times you don't want to be caught in the trough, so it's a judgement call.

This thread covers it well. 
https://cpyoa.com/forum/index.php?topic=9680.msg73721#msg73721

Scandalizing, as Hutchins recommended (lower the peak), will depower the sail, but it's not good for the sail. Best to use it sparingly.

Carl Haddick, who I don't think is on this list, offered the following for getting the bow into the wind when lying a-hull. It was a discussion of how to raise the sail without using a motor to point the boat. Basically he used the peak halyard to raise the aft end of the sail a little, like a mizzen, and the boat would weather cock into the wind. I haven't tried it, but Carl, who owns a PC and HC, and other boats previously, knows his stuff:


"Try this - kill the motor and drift with the sail down. Drop the centerboard full down, leave the tiller free.

Move to the front of the cockpit and haul the peak up a little. You'll have a crummy sail shape, to be sure, but with the luff full down and the leech exposing a little sail you'll have what sail you're showing aft of the centerboard.

I should add I wouldn't want to try this without lazyjacks holding the boom up near normal height or a little higher.

You might be beam to the wind at this point, but it doesn't matter. grab the boom and pull in a little. With your weight forward, the centerboard down, and the sail showing mostly aft, from any point of drift she'll sail around and point upwind. As the sail goes up if the boat falls off the wind, just grab the boom and catch a little sail effort. Most of the time that would cause the boat to point up. If not, a quick push on the tiller fixed it, and then the tiller could be left free again.

You can overdo it. If you pull in too dramatically on the boom, I found I could get the boat to point up and keep going, essentially coming about."

[captbob57]

Thanks Bruce, I will try lying-a-hull next time out. Thanks again, C.B.

[Jim in TC]

When I need a break I will let the sheet all out and the tiller secured slightly to the lee with the wind straight off or slightly forward of the beam and have found this to be a stable place for our Sun Cat in even fairly serious wind. I originally thought I was hove to, but later realized that I was merely lying a-hull. I have never tried this for more than several minutes at a time but seems like it would hold for a while.

Sorry about this, but I simply can't get past the heave to conversation without recalling my brother's favorite line: "the whole crew was sick and the captain had to heave too."

[Andre]

My experience is pretty much aligned with the previous posters'. The best I've come up with is to: with boat on about a beam reach raise the CB about 1/2 way up (varies with whether I have full sail, 1 reef, or 2 reefs in, and on conditions - the idea being not to allow the boat to tack), tiller tamer set so boat is just slightly trying to turn up wind, and let the sail out until it's luffing a bit.  One has to play with CB, rudder, and sheet a bit to get it reasonably right. The boat then kind of oscillates trying to go upwind, then the sail luffs, and she falls off, and then repeats.  In any kind of breeze the sails flog quite a bit which I don't like to do so I only do this to accomplish a short task.

Andre
PC #275

[Jim in TC]

Andre is right to suggest that the sail flails pretty seriously; I agree that it is best used as a short term practice.

[captbob57]

Thank you PC Nation for all your replies. I used to do the maneuver that Andre describes when I had my O'Day daysailer down the Florida Keys. I would sail, just the main up, trolling some rigged ballyhoo and when a nice barracuda would hit I would point the boat to windward, ease the sheet some and put the tilled hard over while fighting and releasing the fish. Then it was back to sailing. We would call it sail-fishing. Would love to try the same thing with my PC. Once again thanks for all the inputs!  C.B.