F5 - no crew - no jib

[Alistair Edwards]

The sunshine & breeze this afternoon seemed to good to waste so on my way home from work I decided to have a sail on the river. Realising that with F4/F5 winds single handing was going to be tricky I decided to try sailing without the jib.
I had a lot of fun reaching to and fro across the river. I got Catatonic up on the plane but somehow without the jib it all seemed a bit too gentle. With the jib I would have been screaming along but I doubt whether I could have kept her upright.
As it was, 3 nasty shifty gusts resulted in 3 capsizes. Without the  jib I got stuck in irons when the boat was swamped and I just could not bear off on to a reach to drain her so my bucket has had to shift a lot of water today!

Has anybody else tried this particular one sail experiment?

[Jeremy C]

I tried sailing upwind with only the jib at burton week if that counts(after we trashed our main sail).... but don't try it, after half hours beating we had probably only made it about 300yds upwind!
You could try lifting the entreboard more if single sailing it, might give the boat better balance?
I was out a couple of weeks ago single handing our foolish in too much wind, though I still had the jib up. decided I couldn't race and so retired early, just as well as the wind continued to increase! If only the jib cleats weren't so far forward, that was the main reason I retired as going forward to gybe was a bit scary!
Glad you are enjoying catatonic!

[Jeremy C]

second one... really enjoyed the planing though, and even managed to set the jib stick occasionally!

[Alistair Edwards]

Great photos Jeremy. Good to see that I am not the only one out single handing in the strong stuff. I think I will try it with the jib up next time.

[Crusader 3244]

Wicked photos! I'm new to twelves having collected one on Sunday. I've had to do some work on her to address some minor glitches and I too put her on the water yesterday for a test sail in a good breeze. I had my 12yo for crew. I'm delighted to have picked up such a gorgeous and historic boat.
'Why Can't You!?' is still in pretty good condition for her years but I feel she's close to that point where she would need much TLC to ensure she keeps her looks.
The breeze at Redesmere was 'fishnet' yesterday; meaning often strong but always holey. First impressions of this twelve were .........'aren't they tippy!' ; 'it tacks nicely'; 'need to crouch quite low for the tack!'; 'why do I lose my footing coming out of the tack?!' ; 'just how far is it to the sidedeck?!'   and finally  ... 'Just exactly why can't you sail the #### thing!?'  
Oh well, a few more 'baby steps' are needed ...

[Antony (Guest)]

3244,  good to hear that you have the boat back on the water.  That boat has always been one of the pretty ones.
One thing to remember, especially when starting out, is that there is no rush to tack the boat.  If you are falling around and finding it hard just use less tiller and take your time.  12s are not boats that reward a big swoosh of rudder and a sprint to the other side and so you are better off doing it slowly and learning where you want to put your feet.
Any questions then this forum is usually only two happy to provide a mix of opinion and advice,
have fun,
Antony

[Dave Croft]

Hi Alistair,
I had the jib halyard break in my Baggy at Salcome a few years ago and with no jib and an awful lot of mast rake it was impossible to bear away. On thing I did learn many years ago was the importance of raising the centreboard after a capsize to shift the centre of resistance back as the dynamics all change when the boat is swamped.
Regards, Dave

[Jeremy C]

thank the race officer for the pics! It was a quiet bank holiday race and he had his camera on the committee boat.

[Derek]

Whilst many of us now sail double bottomed boats, we still have very clear memories of how we drained a conventional boat when it was swamped.
For me that went in the sequence:-
Get in the boat and get around the centre of buoyancy (we are talking swamped). If you have lost or deflated rear bags put your feet in the toe-straps and lie on your lifejackets to off load the boat a bit.
Get the boat DEAD UPRIGHT
Sheet the jib in HARD - you will not be moving, it is the only way to get it to bear-away.
As the boat bears away and gathers speed, move back and power up the main.
Draining happens pretty fast provided there is enough wind and you have remembered to open the flaps.
 
Without any rudder authority (slow or stopped), a Twelve is quite prone to luffing and even stopping head to wind if you let it heel much. This can happen even with a jib up. Sailing it upright is the key to balance and minimising the required rudder input.
Glad to hear you are enjoying the boat and all the best of luck
 
Derek 3510

[OMSC]

as a recent returnee to the 12s, and never managed to sail my old one empty (on the basis of not capsizing it, and if it did fill, it sank) I have taken notes and will be endeavouring to put into practice the emptying technique in the future. the normal method is head to a pontoon as fast as possible, haul the boat up, empty, get back in, resume....

 
I sail a modern ent and have refused buckets and bilge pumps from rescue crews as it is easier to sail the thing dry through the flaps than expend any energy bailing. thinking about it.... it is easier to sail it dry than attempt to pull it up a ramp!!  I never attach the bungee for the flaps as the water holds them flat if it is outside, and forces them open if it is inside.
 

looking at the forecast for saturday, I might well be attempting it then.....