Personally, I throw the tiller over the back of the boat and let it drag there when singlehanding under spinnaker.

I steer by the tillers. When setting or douching I leave the mainsail where it is required to be for after the set/douce and I steer downwind and do the spi handling in the time that the boat needs to round up to the proper course. Basically, I do my stuff while the boat is rounding up on its own. That is a couple of seconds and when done right you are ready to go right after the set/douce.

When setting the flapping spi balances the boat and a filled spi introduced lee helm so it bears off again. I make use of this feature to stop the boat from rounding off to far. So in my case the whol trick is to point the boat downwind then use 3 or 4 seconds to get the spi up just in time to balance the boat before it rounds up to far. Doucing is almost the exact reverse. I come in hot , let go of the tiller to boat bears away while I put my knee on the spi sheet and pull in the excess of retrieval line and then let go of the sheet and spi cleat and pull the spi in the bag within 3 to 4 seconds while the boat rounds up on me. The boat circles around the bouy and right before I reach beam reach I move up maybe work the main while still steering by the tillers. When the boat is on the new upwind course I grap the tiller extension and go out pulling the main tight in with me. This seems to work well for me in getting out tight at the bottom mark, something alot of boats don't do.

The secret to dry 1-up F16 sailing is to have your procedures work-out very well and be very well trained in them. After a while you'll notice that 1-up spi sailing is not that difficult at all.

Personally I ignore the mainsail under spi and have it gybe on its own. I use the landyachting advice here : always keep lots of speed and the main will gybe as easy as a weathervane on it own. Concentrate fully on that spinnaker and having it gybe smoothly and fill quickly, thus keeping speed up.

Best of luck Stephen. And I wish you the best experience 1-upping a F16. When you do it right it is a hoot !


And I agree with the others, everything happens sooner and quicker in this setup. So try to bear away a little BEFORE the gust hits and head up again before the guts leaves as well. At first this is like riding the edge, but it is the only way to do and be quick. Think of it as training to get better at this on a larger more forgiving boat as well. Because that will be one of the effects of lots of solo training on a F16. You'll sharpen your senses and reflexes.

Best of Enjoyment !

Wouter