Self Steering in Action

Our self steering system was designed and built by Scanmar. We have their Monitor Windvane mounted on our stern. The unit is known as a Servo-Pendelum system, where the wind information from the windvane is fed down to the servo-pendulum (rudder paddle in the water) to then use the force of the water passing by to power the wheel and control the boats rudder. 

The system works very well and is powerful enough to steer us straight on a course in the worst of weather. The harder it blows, the faster you will go. The faster you move through the water, the more force the paddle has to pull on the control lines of the wheel and turn the rudder. 

While sailing in heavy weather where you are surfing down waves in excess of 8 knots may seem fun, it is in light weather that the unit really proves itself! 

We have found that it works well when we are sailing along at around 4 knots, and well enough to keep us on course all the way down to 2 knots. When we are sailing slowly, there is less wind and we don't move very fast; meaning that the paddle has less umpf to pull on the wheel, but at the same time, a well balanced boat will sail straight in these conditions regardless. 

We absolutely love our Monitor Windvane, and greatly enjoy watching the paddle snake its way through the water behind us as we manage to sail straight on our course! 

Running in a Cold Front

Cold fronts are wonderful if you need to head against the prevailing winds. Their weather pattern will disrupt the normal flow of wind and allow you to make a windward passage on a run! Now, running in front of one of these systems presents an issue when it comes to balancing your sails. 

You want to be heading downwind, so leehelm will be ideal to help you steer. This means that you want to have a more headsail flying and less mainsail flying. This can be achieved by deeply reefing the mainsail and flying a full headsail. While this will work, it does incorporate the boom into the equation. There is another option that will provide you with a small mainsail and no boom: the trysail.

A trysail is a small storm sail that is flown in lieu of the mainsail. It is sheeted directly to the toe rail, so the boom is not involved in its rigging. When on a run, the sheet can be eased to the point where it almost touches the shrouds, allowing the sail to fill up nice and full without chafing on the rigging. 

Running always presents the fear of accidental jibes. With a boom, a lot of stress will be presented to the mainsheet, traveler, and gooseneck. Even a reefed sail will generate a lot of destructive force during an accidental jibe. A trysail will remove all of these fears  and allow you to sail on a run with peace of mind. 

The sheets of a trysail are rigged to the toe rail, giving them a wide lead back to the sail. Having such an angle leading to the tack of the sail will help prevent accidental jibes, as well as help hold the clew of the sail out towards the side of the boat when eased (just like a barber hauler on a headsail). If the sail does jibe accidentally, nothing really happens. 

The sail is eased and will simply flop over to the other side of the boat. If you do nothing, it will probably flop back over to where you had it set originally. As it does this, no stress or damage will occur, allowing you to relax as your precious sails and rigging will be spared from the flip flopping. 

You might feel that a trysail is a bit small to power your boat, but when properly trimmed for power in the face of a cold front, you will find it easy to achieve and maintain hull speed! This means that you will be able to sail along at full speed with a tiny sail and no headaches! 

Sails for Night Sailing

As the sun sets, you need to consider what sails you want to be flying as once it gets dark, sail changes become more complicated!

We like to fly our trysail and staysail overnight because if the weather pipes up, we are already reefed down as far as possible! We also like this sail plan because it is bothed balanced and low stress. Should the winds shift on us and cause us to jibe or luff, the sails are small and will not cause significant strain on the rigging.  

The staysail is easy to manage and can even be setup on a self tacker, allowing it to reside on the side of the bow that it wishes. The trysail does not involve the boom, so a nightime accidental jibe will not result in damage or strain on the traveler. 

These sails work great on beam and broad reaches, even a run (with a barber hauler for the staysail) but are not the best sailplan for beating.  A trysail is very small and low, with the center of effort focused near the mast. The staysail is a small jib and has its center of effort forward of the mast. The sails can be balanced for a windward course, but it will be a slow venture! 

If you are planning an overnight sail, consider planning it for a time when the wind will be at your backs and you can sail downwind with your tiny sails through the night without losing any speed. Otherwise, you will find your night time distance traveled to be miserably pathetic, which will prolong your time at sea as you make your passage. 

Realizing You Are Far Away

At some point, it will occur to you that you have now sailed really far away from where you started.

This occurred to us when we were in a mooring field in Fort Pierce, FL. We left Baltimore, MD to go cruising in July of 2017; and have been slowly exploring the east coast of the United States as we made our way south. It wasn't until we were tied up to a ball here that it dawned on us how far we have actually come! 

It is the middle of winter and we are sitting on the deck in our in shorts and flip flops as we watch the sun set on the horizon. We had just talked with friends and family back home and they were telling us about how the weather was getting up to the 40F's and going back down to the 30F's at night. It all sunk in that we have made it so far yet our journey has only barely begun! 

This world we live in is amazing and expansive, and what better way to experience it than from the deck of a sailboat. 

Hard Being a Dinghy

When it comes to dinghies, most people automatically think of an inflatable boat. These are by far the most common type of dinghy you will encounter, and every dinghy dock you come to visit will be packed with them.

It was such a rare occasion that we tied up at this dinghy dock in Florida next to another hard dinghy. Here in the state of Florida, you have two dinghies; one registered in Maryland, the other in Australia; tied up next to each other.

Even more special is both of us tied up to the same cleat in the same way, a bowline through the cleat.  This method of tying up allows others to tie and untie from the cleat without disturbing your dock line.

It's quite the coincidence!