As part of learning about my new boat, a Viper F16, and how it behaves in various configurations, I tried the "jib only" thing in light air this weekend. The lee helm was pretty much unmanageable and even a beam reach was barely doable. I had a similar experience when caught in a thunderstorm many years ago on an 18' P-Cat on Fern Ridge Reservoir near Eugene, OR. I dropped the main to reduce sail, but then could make no headway to windward, and the lee helm was wicked.
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Anyway, good discussion. I agree that it's good to know what your options are when you get caught in more wind than you really want to be out in.
Options for each type boat, AND wind conditions !!
The Hobie-20 , was efficient enough to actually do a TACK,
if everything was done Perfect. The day we practiced
jib-only, the wind was blowing 28 to 35mph. We got a full tack about
once in every 4 tries ; that told us to rely on a JIBE if
we needed to reverse direction.
We never practiced jib only in light wind on the hobie-20, but
i imagine it would handle quite differently; just like a larger
rudder would make your cat handle differently.
Bille
