Hi, Mike,

Welcome to the fun-est sport going.



My boat's about 16ft, but the hulls are symetrical, unlike yours, which have curved inner surfaces. This may help my boat 'coast' easier when tacking, I dunno, but for what it's worth, here's my solo roll tack with a sloop. Two tips in advance: don't oversteer. Never let the rudder straighten out during the tack.



1. Point as high as possible whithout "pinching" - - i.e. don't go so high you lose boatspeed. Sit at the shroud for more speed.

2. Sheet hard, with 2 hands if necessary. If your boat's tuned right, it'll want to head up - - let it, even help it a little - don't push the stick too hard, that puts on the brakes. Move aft while heading up. Get on the aft corner, and fight the urge to be ready to cross.

3. When the jib starts to luff, I uncleat it, then grab the mainsheet, and uncleat it when the main luffs, a heartbeat after the jib. Let out a couple feet of sheet and cleat it again. (When you have crew, they're 'sailing' the jib through the eye of the wind; I find I don't have enough hands, so I let it flap for a few moments)

4. Keep sitting where you are! Start hauling in on the jib, on the new side. KEEP the tiller over, pass the stick to the other side of the sheet, hold the crossbar to keep the tiller over. During this time, the boat will begin to heel towards you... but the mainsheet is loose, so it won't really hot up and go over unless you turn too far or wait too long in the next step.

5. Cross the boat when the now-hard jib has filled up on the new side and begun to drive the boat off. Grab the stick you put over here in step 4, and GO FORWARD right away on the new windward side, taking the mainsheet with you.

6. As the boat gets around to pointing below the highest possible course on the new side, straighten out, and gradually start hardening the main. Don't harden it too early or you'll weathervane up into irons. When you feel the rudders 'come alive' then head up to your 'best VMG' course.

7. In a stiff breeze with good chop, I blow the occasional (OK not precisely 'occasional') solo tack, for two reasons:

a. I can't get max boatspeed from the tramp, and don't trust myself to 'fly in' off the wire right into a tack, but I plan to work on this.

b. I'm too busy playing it safe, dumping main and even traveler, to also maintain perfect focus on steady rudders with gradually increasing steering. Another skill I'm gonna be developing.



Good luck!



Ed Norris