Okay, I did a couple of tests yesterday. First I hove-to inside the harbor in light wind. I set the main on port tack, the jib was sheeted to the port side (backwinded) and the rudder was locked into the hard-a-lee position, shoved all the way to the starboard side. I kept the traveler centered and then just sheeted in enough to keep the bows into the wind. Without the mainsheet tensioned the boat would do a lot more oscillating and moving around in general. Using the mainsail as much as possible, without allowing it to force a tack, decreases the amount of windward ground lost.

The result was movement of about 1 knot, approximately 90º to the wind, toward the lee side, the starboard side. So I conclude that in calm water with light wind, I can park while maintaining my windward progress.

Interesting that I have past data showing the boat moving 90º toward the windward side of the mainsail but this time it was toward the lee side of the mainsail. I suspect that I had the tillers unbound on that past test, or possibly I was actively steering while parked. I can't recall for sure. It is likely that the waves in the ocean were the variable that made the difference.

Regarding Mary's remark:

While this tossed boat would take off running on it's new tack, with a cleated jib, it still may have a chance of turning upwind again on its lashed rudder. It this were to happen with an unlashed rudder, wouldn't she just run and run downwind?

The movie in the link that I previously posted does show that the tiller is "tied" hard over. Video

I guess if the main were trimmed, and the traveler centered, then the boat tossed onto the other tack (with rudders relaxed) would round up, tack, and place itself back into hove-to position. But if the main were not trimmed fairly tight, that cat would run!

I see argument for heaving-to with rudders relaxed, but I can tell you that doing it with rudders lashed is much easier and requires much less finicky balancing between sails.

Yesterday I did a second test in the ocean on fairly calm waters with wind in the 7 knot range. This test had three parts. First I hove-to with both sails, then with main only with the mainsail inverted, then main only, non-inverted, with me standing on the boom. Yes, standing on the boom.

I just eased the sheet, shot the boat upwind, left the traveler centered, pulled the jib over to the wrong side, and tied the rudders over to the lee side. Once she settled down to a stop, I sheeted the main just enough to keep things from flopping around too much.

I drifted (over the ground as observed on gps track record) about 135º away from the wind (45º backward) at 2 knots. Keep in mind that I have waves pushing me and that is what I would attribute my loss of windward progress to. The drift direction was toward the windward side of the boat. Opposite of what she did in the harbor.

Next I furled the jib. This required me to ease the mainsheet quite a lot. The mainsail filled backwards and the boat was content, staying put. Now my movement over the ground was again at 2 knots but my leeward loss was less and I was now moving about 125º off the wind or 35º backward. The mainsail was filled backwards and the drift (not draft) was toward the lee side of the boat.

Next I stepped up onto the boom and this forced the sail to invert to a normal fill, to cradle me, where the convex side (draft) is on the lee side of the boat. My drift angle increased back to 45º backward, but my speed reduced to 1 knot.

There is some potential error or exaggeration to my speed readings as I am taking average speeds over periods of 30 seconds to a few minutes and my GPS program is rounding to the nearest full knot.

Now moving on to another of Mary's comments:


Well I won't say that you won't capsize. This is a cat, she'll always find a way! But I have not had that happen yet. I don't get major wind shifts, thank God! And yes, you need space to do this maneuver because you'll drift DDW. Or at least I did but, I must attribute much of my drift to sea currents (25 miles off shore) and waves (10-12 footers at the time). The waves are the exact reason to use the "planted in irons" technique. If I had been on a typical hove-to position, my bows would have been averaging about 45º off the wind. This places the cat in jeopardy of being tumbled sideways over its beam by a large wave. While planted in irons, the bows average 0º to the wind.

Now check this out. No exaggeration here and Bill Mattson is my witness, crew to authenticate the following:

In a wind funnel portion of the Santa Barbara Channel the channel , known as Windy Lane, we had been sailing for about 7 hours without a biology break; no nourishment, no potty break. For the past 3 hours we had been beating up windy lane, 25 miles off shore, in seas that had become 10' with the occasional 12 footers for the past 3 hours. The wind was blowing 25+ and we wanted to continue beating for another couple of hours. To use the head, we would have to strip off our pfd's, trap harnesses, spray suits. Bill also had a wet suit on under the spray suit.

We stopped the boat long enough to do this and to grab a bit of nourishment and a bottle of juice. We drifted downwind 1/4 mile but our bows launched squarely over each wave. The boat was stable enough to stand on it, as long as you held on to a shroud for dear life.

Watching a tight mainsail invert in 25 knots winds with 10' seas while planted in irons makes you pucker. I get butterflies in my stomach just remembering it. But it works!

GARY