17 Heavy Weather ing 135 Section 17 Heavy Weather ing Broach. Turn a boat broadside to wind or waves, subjecting it to possible capsizing. Knockdown. A temporary condition of excessive heel resulting from a sudden increase of wind force. Storm Jib. A very small, strongly built jib set in heavy weather. Storm Trysail. A small, strongly built sail used in place of the mainsail in storm conditions. 1 Heavy weather is a relative term. For a small centerboard boat, a breeze of 10 to 12 knots may begin to be overpowering, while the crews of larger boats don t begin making adjustments until winds reach 18 to 25 knots. However, the tactics employed for handling heavy weather on both types of vessels are similar. Before venturing into heavy weather, it is important that the crew size and experience be matched to the expected conditions, and that all aboard have warm clothes, foul weather gear, hats, boots, and life jackets. For boats larger than open cockpit daysailers, harnesses should be used. It is important to stow all loose gear securely. Trim 2 As the wind increases, heeling and weather helm increase when sailing to windward. When this happens, a number of sail trim alterations should be made. 3 During light-air upwind sailing, the drafts of the mainsail and jib are increased and moved aft by easing luff, foot, and leech tension and by moving the traveller to windward. As wind speeds reach moderate levels, the luff and foot tensions are increased, adjustable backstay tension is increased, the mainsheet traveller is eased to its amidships position, and the jib sheet leads are moved outboard from their light-weather positions. All of this trimming reduces mainsail twist, and reduces and moves forward the drafts of the mainsail and jib. 4 As winds become heavier, flatten the sails further by increasing the tension on the luffs and backstay. Move the mainsail to its most outboard position by easing the mainsheet traveller to leeward, and bring the draft forward using the cunningham line. Control mainsail twist by easing the mainsheet to open the leech at the top of the sail and reduce heeling forces. If different lateral sheeting positions are available for the jib sheets, lead the sheets further outboard as the luff is tightened. 5 With the jib trimmed normally and the main eased slightly, the upper portions of the main will luff and the jib will backwind the main, reducing drive and heel angle. 6 Large heel angles result in excessive weather helm, reduced boat speed, increased leeway and crew discomfort. s that are allowed to flap for extended periods incur damage and may throw one or more battens out. To limit sail damage and heeling when sailing close-hauled, sail closer to the wind than normal. on the verge of luffing. Try to trim the mainsail hard enough to limit any flapping of the leech. Accept some sacrifice in boat speed. Steer precisely to maintain adequate boat speed with limited heel angle. 7 As the boat is steered further off the wind, the heel angle will diminish. The apparent wind speed will be reduced. Don t be deluded into thinking that the wind is diminishing. It is easy to overlook a building wind while broad reaching or running. Larger seas and an increase in the number of whitecaps are good indications of a rising wind. Increasing weather helm while reaching, and greater yawing while running, are also indications of increasing wind.
136 17 Heavy Weather ing 8 When running before a building wind, sail area should be reduced. Under these conditions, some boats sail well under the jib alone while others will do quite nicely sailing with just the mainsail. Before using one of these heavy wind, sail-reduction techniques, sail the boat in moderate weather under both single-sail configurations to assess control and handling characteristics. Helmsmanship 9 In a small boat in heavy and gusty winds, the helmsman can do a great deal to keep the boat upright and under control. While heeling is often exciting, it is not the indicator of speed that many novice sailors believe it is. Boats perform best at low heel angles. As a boat heels, its underwater shape changes, becoming more and more asymmetric as the heel angle increases. The asymmetry increases weather helm that must be overcome by increased rudder angle. The wind pressure on the sails is reduced by heeling. The effectiveness of the keel is reduced by heeling. The overall result of heeling is a reduction in driving force and an increase in leeway angle. 10 When close-hauled under heavy weather conditions, easing the mainsheet slightly will improve control and speed. The helmsman must watch the oncoming waves, and steer through them at an approximate 45 angle rather than head-on or broadside. To reduce pitching and the probability of waves coming over the bow, meet the larger crests and come off them at an oblique angle rather than head-on. In a small boat, do not cleat the mainsheet; hold it in your hand. Easing the sheet quickly may be required to avoid a capsize. Steer precisely and very close to the wind to reduce the heel angle. Be prepared to luff and, in a small boat, to ease the mainsheet when a gust hits. In luffing, be careful not to lose speed and go into irons. Shortening 11 When bad weather approaches, deciding what to do is based on the answers to several questions: Is too much sail being carried for the conditions? Is the motion and angle of heel unusual or excessive? Will the weather continue to worsen? How sail is shortened will depend upon many factors including the size and stability of your boat, the capabilities of your crew, and available sail handling provisions. In deciding when to shorten sail, consider the possible consequences if the wind continues to build. At some point, despite the helmsman s and crews best efforts, the boat will become overpowered. 12 If the wind is strong and the sea rough, it is important that sail handling be done slowly and carefully to minimize danger to the crew and rigging. All crew members must wear life jackets and should use safety harnesses. When lowering the jib in heavy weather, stay well clear of a flailing jib clew. Running off the wind when someone is working the foredeck is a wise precaution. 13 On boats with ballast keels, capsize is unlikely. These boats can, however, be knocked down. During knockdowns considerable amounts of water can be taken into the cockpit and through open hatches and companionways. This water may drain from the cockpit but must be pumped from the bilges if it has gotten below. People become uncomfortably wet, and gear can be soaked and sometimes smashed during a knockdown. Stowing gear securely and closing hatches is important in heavy weather. 14 While running, the consequence of carrying too much sail too long is the loss of steering control. Since the force of the wind on the sails is essentially forward but not on the centerline of the boat, strong yawing moments develop. As these moments increase it can finally become impossible for the rudder to offset their influence. The boat then rounds up abruptly until the sails luff. By then it is broadside to the seas. This is called broaching. 15 A skipper runs the risk of gear failure when carrying too much sail on any point of sail. s can tear, rigging can part, and steering gear can fail as the boat is exposed to undue stresses. These risks are unnecessary. area should be reduced as soon as the skipper detects a building wind that is likely to cause discomfort to his crew, or to threaten the safety of his boat and crew. Boat speed often increases when sail is shortened and helm load diminishes. 16 The reefing process becomes increasingly difficult as wind strength and seas build. For this reason alone, when preparing to sail in heavy weather, the skipper should carefully consider the expertise of the crew. A small, inexperienced crew will find it hard enough to reef the sails during the earliest stages of building weather. If the task is left too long, this crew might find it impossible to successfully reef the sails. Loss of a crew member to illness, injury, or falling overboard becomes a real possibility in these situations. It is wise to reduce sail early; reefs are much easier to shake out than to put in.
17 Heavy Weather ing 137 17 On a cruising boat with an auxiliary engine out daysailing, it is easy enough to start the engine, drop the sails, and motor in to port. If the boat is equipped with a jib or mainsail furling/reefing system, sail area can be reduced by rolling up a sail, partly or completely. area can also be reduced by changing to smaller sails or by reefing. Changes 18 The ability to change sails is determined by the type of rig and variety of sails carried. Usually, first sail reduction on a sloop is the hoisting of a smaller jib. This reduces sail area while keeping the boat well-balanced. On a cutter, the jib is removed as the first sail reduction, leaving the boat under main and staysail. This reduction has the added advantage of keeping the sail plan well inboard and making further sail reductions safer. Storm Jib 19 While sloops and cutters are sometimes sailed under main alone, or genoa alone, better balance and control is realized with two sails. Using only one sail results in poor balance with increased helm. In addition, if conditions worsen, a large main or genoa may be hard to handle and dangerous for the crew. 20 On two-masted vessels, there are several sail reduction options. s are reefed infrequently. Whatever the rig, shortening sail by lowering or changing various sails does not require any special techniques. One benefit of changing sails when the wind becomes heavy is that the sail cloth weight of the smaller sail is likely to be heavier than the sail that was removed and a better match for the heavier wind with reduced risk of damage to the sail. 21 The smallest sails carried by boats equipped for all conditions are the storm jib and the storm trysail, Figure 17 1. Both of these sails are made of heavy material. The storm jib has a relatively small area and has a tack pendant to place the sail well above the deck. This avoids scooping large amounts of water as the bow occasionally plunges beneath waves. The storm trysail has a short luff, which is usually hoisted on a special track on the mast. The trysail has a fairly long foot with a sheet attached at its clew. It is not attached to the boom but is sheeted to a strong deck fitting while the boom is held stationary by the sheet and topping lift or boom gallows. Figure 17 l Storm Jib and Trysail Trysail Jiffy Reefing 22 Mainsails made of Dacron and more recent high strength materials are strong enough to be reefed without reef points. This has led to the use of jiffy or slab reefing. In jiffy reefing, the mainsail has cringles sewn into the tabling of the luff and leech at positions corresponding to the ends of reef point rows. Mainsails rigged for jiffy reefing generally have two or three sets of reefing cringles to permit different amounts of sail area reduction. 23 A line, left permanently reeved, is dead-ended on the aft end of the boom and passed up through the leech cringle and back down to a cheek block mounted on the other side of the boom. To reef: a) Set the topping lift. If the boat is not equipped with a topping lift, do not go completely head to
138 17 Heavy Weather ing wind. Stay far enough off the wind to avoid being hit by the boom while the main halyard is eased. b) Ease the mainsheet. c) Take up on the reefing line enough to discourage it from wrapping itself around the end of the boom. d) If necessary, open the track lock so that the sail will be free when the halyard is eased. e) Ease the main halyard until the luff cringle can be hooked at the gooseneck level, or if there is no hook at the gooseneck level, lower the cringle part way, insert the cunningham hook into the cringle and tension the luff with the cunningham rig. Some boats have a separate luff reefing line which is led from an eye on one side of the mast below the level of the boom through the mainsail cringle, and down to a cleat on the other side of the mast below the level of the boom. Leech Position After 1st Reef 2nd Reef 1st Reef f) Raise the main halyard. g) Tension the halyard. h) Haul in the leech cringle reefing line, raising the end of the boom to the new clew of the sail. Sometimes this step is performed following c) if the boat does not have a topping lift or boom gallows. l) Ease the topping lift. j) Retrim the mainsheet and tie in any reef points. 24 The part of the mainsail that is not in use can be allowed to drape below the boom, but to prevent damage from strong winds, it is better secured using the reef points provided, Figure 17 2. 25 As with most systems of boat rigging, there are many variations on the jiffy reefing system. The simpler systems have reefing lines permanently reeved for two reefs should they become necessary. Jiffy reefing is a common reefing technique. It is simple, effective, inexpensive, quick, and easy to use. Figure 17 2 Jiffy Reefing Roller Reefing 26 Depending on conditions, there may be a need to reduce sail area in smaller units than is possible through sail changes. Roller reefing permits reducing the area of a particular sail in small increments. Some cruising boat masts are designed with systems that permit rolling the mainsail onto a rod located either inside or just aft of the mast. Mainsails designed for these systems can be reefed or furled by rolling them up either partly or completely. Such sails either have no battens or battens arranged parallel to the mast. Alternative boom reefing systems have a rod in the boom upon which the mainsail is rolled during the reefing/furling process. s designed for use with these systems have batten pockets oriented perpendicular to the luff so that the sail can be rolled up completely without removing the battens. 27 The traditional roller reefing arrangement utilizes a boom that can be rotated, Figure 17 3. This enables the crew to roll the mainsail around the boom, thus reducing the exposed area of the sail. To accomplish this, the boat
17 Heavy Weather ing 139 is brought to a closehauled position and the main sheet eased to permit the main to luff. This enables continued control while sailing under jib alone. The lock on the track or the slug in the slot in the mast must be removed to free the sail to run. The main halyard is eased as the sail is wrapped around the boom by rotating the boom. On smaller boats, the boom is rotated simply by pulling the outboard end away from the mast to disengage the locks and permit turning it. 28 It is best to keep some tension on the leech of the sail while reefing in order to avoid wrinkles in the sail. Battens should be removed from the sail as they come to the boom. On larger boats, the boom often has gearing which is driven with a winch handle. 29 During reefing, control of the sail must be retained. The halyard is belayed on a cleat, or wrapped around a winch so that paying out can be controlled. Be careful to keep fingers out of the way. If the halyard is wire and is wrapped on a halyard winch, particular care must be taken. Reverse rotation, or unwinding, of the drum is prevented by a brake. Brace yourself and have a firm grip on the halyard winch handle before gradually releasing tension on the winch brake. Apply enough force to the winch handle to turn it in the direction required to hoist the sail before attempting to ease the sail down. Unfortunately, a rolled-up sail may be too full and baggy to achieve the proper sail shape needed in heavy winds. Further, the additional strain induced on the leech can cause the sail to stretch and become damaged. 30 makers have developed roller furling jibs that can be used partially furled. Some designs have padding in the forward part of the sail to improve the shape when it is partly furled. Although the sail shape of a partly furled sail may be relatively inefficient, the convenience of being able to reduce sail area quickly and easily is attractive. Reef Points 31 Another reefing method relies on the traditional reef points and cringles. Mainsails made for use with this method will have one or more rows of reef points and cringles stitched into the sail, Figure 17 4. 32 The reef points on a sail are short pieces of line led through cringles set into reinforcing patches, and placed in rows along the sail. These pieces of line are knotted on each side of the sail close to the grommets. These Ease Main Halyard Tension As Main Is Rolled Up Onto the Boom Remove Battens As Approaches Boom Crank Rotates Boom Figure 17 3 Roller Reefing Remove Slides From Track As Comes Down lines, or reefing points, may be left in place, or they may be removed during normal sailing to reduce windage. These rows are usually not quite parallel to the foot of the sail, but are farther from the foot at the leech than at the luff. Large eyes or cringles are sewn into the leech and luff tabling at the ends of the row of reef points. 33 Reefing using the reef-point method involves the following steps: a) If under way, bring the boat close to the wind. (Tying in a reef at the mooring or dock is a much easier job than tying one in while under way.) b) Partially lower the mainsail, using the topping lift or boom crutch to support the boom and to keep it from swinging wildly.
140 17 Heavy Weather ing c) Lash the luff cringle to the forward end of the boom, being certain not to restrict the movement of the boom. d) Lash the leech cringle to the outhaul and the boom. With the outhaul, tighten the foot of the sail along the boom before lashing it down to the boom. e) Roll into a cylinder shape the portion of the mainsail that has been removed from service. Using the reef points, tie this cylinder into a neat roll using square knots. The points should go between the sail and boom, as shown in Figure 17 5. However, if the foot of the sail is fed into a slot, the points will have to go around the boom. f) Hoist the mainsail and check the set of the sail. Make sure that the tension of the sail is distributed evenly among the reef points and that the topping lift has been readjusted. 34 When multiple reefs are to be set, it is best to tie in each set of reef points separately rather than simply tying in the deepest reef. This enables the crew to shake out one reef at a time as the wind moderates. Reef Points Reef Points Figure 17 4 Reef Points Figure 17 5 Securing the Reefed 35 When the wind has slackened and the reef is no longer needed, it is shaken out by reversing the procedure. It is not necessary to lower the sail before shaking out a reef, although, if close-hauled, the sheet should be slackened somewhat to take some of the strain off the lashings. The topping lift (or boom crutch) should be used to support the boom. Untie the reef points first. Remove the outhaul and tack lashings; replace any battens removed; then hoist the sail and trim it properly. Summary 36 As winds become heavier, flatten the sail further by increasing outhaul, and backstay tension. Move the mainsheet traveller to leeward. As the wind increases, there comes a time when shortening sail becomes necessary. All crew members must wear life jackets and should wear safety harnesses. Running off the wind when someone is working the foredeck is a wise precaution. If the boat is equipped with a jib or mainsail furling/reefing system, sail area can be reduced by rolling up a sail, partly or completely. In jiffy reefing, a line, left permanently reeved, is dead-ended on the aft end of the main boom and passed up through the leech cringle and back down to a cheek block mounted on the other side of the boom. Reefing steps include easing the main halyard and hauling in the reefing line(s) to reduce sail area exposed to the wind. It is simple, effective, inexpensive, quick, and easy to use.
17 Heavy Weather ing 141 Homework: Section 17: Heavy Weather ing 1. As the wind increases: a) increase jib draft, flatten the mainsail. b) flatten the jib, sheet the main to leeward. c) flatten the jib, sheet the main to windward. d) increase the draft on both jib and mainsail. 2. As the wind increases while reaching, you will experience: a) a tendency to fall off the wind. b) increased lee helm and heel angle. c) increased weather helm and heel angle. d) reduced weather helm and increased heel angle. 3. In a sailing dinghy, when the wind becomes strong and gusty, you should: a) sit lower in the boat. b) raise the centerboard. c) hand hold the mainsheet (do not cleat it). d) allow large heel angles to increase speed. 4. Reefing is necessary when: a) a whole gale is forecast. b) seas are washing the foredeck. c) the heel angle reaches 25 to 30 degrees. d) the sails are beginning to overpower the boat. 5. A storm trysail is a: a) small jib used in storms. b) small spinnaker used in heavy weather. c) sail set in place of the mainsail, sheeted to the boom. d) sail set in place of the mainsail, sheeted to a deck fitting. 6. Jib furling makes it possible to reduce sail area by: a) rolling the jib around its luff. b) wrapping the jib around its leech. c) furling the jib around its club boom. d) rolling the jib coincident with the leech from head to foot. Name 7. Which is the correct order of the steps taken to jiffy reef the mainsail? a) Tie in reef points, lower sail, secure clew. b) Secure clew, lower sail, tie in reef points, secure tack, hoist sail. c) Secure tack, lower sail, secure clew, hoist sail, tie in reef points. d) Set topping lift, lower sail, attach luff cringle, secure leech cringle, hoist sail, tie in reef points. 8. As the wind velocity increases from light to moderate levels: a) weather helm will decrease. b) the sails must be retrimmed. c) only heeling will be affected. d) an increasing weather helm cannot be adjusted.
142 17 Heavy Weather ing 9. When reaching, signs of a rising wind include: a) flattening waves. b) fewer white caps. c) increasing lee helm. d) increasing weather helm. 10. In heavy weather sailing, oncoming waves should be taken: a) head on. b) at a 45 degree angle. c) at a 30 degree angle. d) at a 20 degree angle. 11. As the wind increases, causing increasing control difficulties, it is time to: a) heave to. b) reduce sail area. c) shake out the reef. d) call for help from the Coast Guard. 12. A pendant is attached to the storm jib to: a) help trim it. b) help fasten it to the stem. c) raise the foot off the deck. d) raise the head to catch the higher velocity air. 13. Roller reefing: a) is used exclusively on jibs. b) reduces mainsail in small increments. c) rotates the mast to roll up sail material. d) requires that battens be short and flexible. 14. Jiffy reefing is: a) fast and effective. b) simple but not very effective. c) used primarily for reefing genoas. d) marketed by the Jiffy Reefing Corporation.