When hove to, I can confirm that you go sideways, but "drift" is not really the right word. Rick and I hove to one time on a Hobie 18 (or maybe it was the Nacra 6.0) when we were waiting around for a regatta to start. The boat went very aggressively and rapidly sideways, pushing a lot of water and with a lot of noise and turbulence. I was very surprised, because I always thought heaving to was supposed to be a very peaceful situation.

I would like to know if other people have "hove to" in catamarans and exactly how they did it. The only thing I have found in a quick search is that you center the helm, sheet in the after sail, and sheet the foresail on the wrong side.

To me it seems like a balancing act -- you have to have the right combination of sail area, both fore and aft, to keep the boat headed into the waves and just off the wind enough so it will not tack.

I don't know whether you can heave to with main only -- unless some combination of sail trim and rudder angle. Just doesn't seem like the right balance. Anybody?