Embarrassing boat handling question

No matter how I try I just cannot seem to "park" my Nacra 5.2!
I find it quite embarrassing that I can't even pull off this basic boat handling technique.

What normally happens is I luff up until the wake almost disappears, then loose the traveler and main sheet and ease off the jib a little. Rudders hard over in the "luff up" position (but they never want to stay in that position). Even with all that, the boat still manages to auto-tack on me regularly. It is like the mainsail(leach) is still overpowering the jib, even though the main sheet is loose.

Can anyone give me some tips? I sail solo a lot and would really like to be able to park the boat "hands-off" to eat a few sandwiches or drink some water after a couple of hours of sailing. I can park the boat reasonably well if I keep the rudders in hand, but I really want to able to do this hands-off!

Thanks in advance,
Dennis

Keep the jib sheeted, let out traveller and some mainsheet. Even with the mainsheet on, the boat should park.
Keep the rudders at 45deg up and the boat should ever so slowely drift sideways. The rudders need to be held at 45deg, if not the boat will fall off. I usually put the stick under the trampoline lacing so the boat takes care of itself. Or I stick it under my legs or something.

the 5.2 has a big overlapping jib, 4.12m2

even when mine is loose it still manages to flap around until it fills on 1 side or the other and drags the boat round

will try keeping it sheeted next time as rolf suggests

was lake sailing my 5.2 today while the wind blown waves were whitecapping. with both sails up and on the wire the boat was flying up on the gusts and giving a rodeo like ride on the wire

when one of the worn jib cleats starting slipping allowing the jib to flail around i went back in to remove the jib

had trouble on the first tack as even completely releasing the sheet wasn't enough to prevent the wind weather-vaning the hulls into irons

from then on i blew the traveller as i ducked under the boom and all was sweet

tacks were probably faster that way as all i had to do was pull in the short traveller sheet and get back on the wire

having no crew to take care of the jib has been killing my boat speed in tacks as i wrestle with getting it across and in before driving off and pulling in the main

now studying the gps tracks with gps action replay, (excellent software), and it looks like sailing without the jib allowed me to point about 2 degrees higher

most of our sailing is with winds that aren't that strong, so the jib is worth keeping, but when the wind is up enough to make hoisting and tieing off the jib a noisy effort i'll probably go without from now on

loving those big, fat,long bows on my 5.2.
when broad reaching downwind at 14knots, the windward hull would start to come up too high, steering down a little would send the bows under but by being as far back as possible with feet under straps they would come back up again with only a little loss of speed

Dennis,
You can use the autopark system that I use on my Wave. I attach a shock cord at the center of my aft beam and tie it or hook or however you want to the tiller arm to keep the tiller over on the side you want. The boat will just oscillate back and forth and rarely tack itself unless there is a really major wind shift. Meanwhile, I can walk around on the boat and make adjustments or take a nap or whatever.

Also, by using a bungee cord, if the boat defies you and tacks itself anyway, you are still able to control the tiller, because it is just a bungee holding it over. Don't use a hard line.

Hi Dennis,

With my Dart I used this to heave to: try to sheet the jib with the windward sheet. Or cleat it first, than make a tack, after the tack drop the traveller and turn the rudders to luff.

Cheers,

Klaus

This sounds like the traditional method to stop a boat going upwind: tack without uncleating the jib, release the mainsheet completely and lock the tiller to leeward (like if trying to tack back). Most boats park.

Let off the downhaul

I would not release the mainsheet, on the Tiger we sheet in hard and then set the traveller halfway,
completely uncleat the cunningham and leave a little tension on the jib.
Then slowly push the rudders into the corner and leave them there.

With a Hobie training last year we practiced backing-up.
On a small course we would sail to the windward mark and from there backup all the way to the leeward mark.
(Sounds easier than it is).

When parking during the start routine, I dont release the mainsheet but control speed with the traveller (easy to let the bows fall of and bring the traveller home to accelerate). Between starts I have best results with a released mainsheet (and downhaul), unless it is chop and weak winds. Then I sheet in the main when parked to avoid the noise of the boom rattling around and to go easier on the gear. Just my experience.

On the 5.2 with the jib: tack while keeping the jib sheeted. Once it fills in on the wrong side, against the mast, release the traveler to midpoint and a bit of the main, and push the tiller over as if wanting to tack again. The boat will park.

On the 5.2 without the jib: Stop the boat by pointing high and over sheeting the main. When the boat starts to back up use the ruder to choose the tack you want to park into, keep them at that position and release the traveler completely and a bit of the main.

In both case the boat is going to enter into an oscillating mode: forward and up until the main stops getting traction, then backward until the main gets some power again.

I don't bother with the downhaul on the 5.2, it's not powerful enough to make a difference.

OK, judging by these reactions (especially Mary's) it appears I was wrong to assume I should be able to just let go of the rudders when parked?

Right. I jamb my hiking stick against the daggerboard with the rudders locked over when parked so I don't have to hold it myself.

Phew, that kinda lets me off the hook a little then!
I'll see if I can't rig up the bungee thingy Mary mentioned.

Thanks for the tips everyone! I'll be sure to try out the different variants to see which works best for me.

regards,
Dennis

Ditto what everybody said about keeping the jib tightly backwinded (just watch the spreaders on the leach), and with it tight, one can usually keep the traveler centered so it's not slopping around in every wake, and I rolling hitch the traveler line to the tiller extension the keep it over, no need for an extra line...

You know the parking is covered in Ricks boat handling video and dvd.
Available in the online marine store. great dvd for newbys to refreshers for experienced sailors.

You guys are missing the whole point. When you are singlehanding and parking, you need a way to keep the tiller over without holding it if you want to walk around, meditate, take a leak, adjust or fix something on the boat, tend to an active toddler who is climbing the mast, eat lunch, etc.

That's right Mary. You got it.
The parking a cat thing is also covered in Rick and Marys book "Catamaran Racing for the 90s" but I somehow assumed it would also work hands-off. It would if the boat were to only drift backwards because that would pin the rudders over. In practice the "oscillation" kills that and the slightest forward motion straightens them out causing the boat to initially luff up and either tack or fall off while picking up speed.

I'll also be sure to try the old "SBflyer rolling hitch on the stick trick as that sounds like a Smart move ;-)

Dennis

The reason I like using a bungee is that you can immediately and easily override it physically (without having to untie or unhook it) if you start to get tacked by a big wind shift or a powerboat wake, or have to take evasive action to avoid another boat, etc. (Maybe I'm just a control freak. )

I had fun experimenting with my system. The version I like best is using one piece of bungie, the center of which is tied at the center of the aft beam. And each end of that bungie has a hook on it. (Just a regular, open hook.) When not in use, the hooks are hooked onto the aft lacing of my tramp, one at each side. Since I have one hook on each side of the boat, if I need to park on starboard, for instance, I just grab the hook on the starboard side and put the bungee around the starboard tiller arm at the joint with the crossbar, and hook it to itself. The only thing you have to figure out is the length of the bungee. If it's a little too long or you need more pressure to hold the tiller over, you can just wrap it around more times. And for most cats you don't need a very heavy-duty bungee. I don't have a tiller extension on my current boat, but I would use my method even if I did have one.

Try some things and let us know what works best for you.

can't you just hire a valet to park for you?>

I would Andrew, but I can't whistle that hard. Besides, it takes forever for them to swim to the boat.
Dennis

Mary, I got the point! I'll give the bungee a go, I have enough of the stuff just lying around anyway.

Good, because I have had no success in getting anybody else interested in my "invention."

Maybe this appeals more to recreational types like me. I enjoy the occasional race, but I'm way too laid back to be a real racer.

I know there are a few solo racers who use the bungee-to-the-tillerarm solution.
It can make it easier to set the spin.

quoted from Mary "The version I like best is using one piece of bungie, the center of which is tied at the center of the aft beam. And each end of that bungie has a hook on it. (Just a regular, open hook.) When not in use, the hooks are hooked onto the aft lacing of my tramp, one at each side. Since I have one hook on each side of the boat, if I need to park on starboard, for instance, I just grab the hook on the starboard side and put the bungee around the starboard tiller arm at the joint with the crossbar, and hook it to itself."

I tried this out a couple of days ago and it worked perfectly, allowing me to eat my sandwiches on the water! Thank you Mary! It cost me nothing more than a couple of plastic hooks. I had the bungee lying around, precisely the right length. I do need to backwind the jib though and have the traveller out at 60% or more, or the boat will still tack (no waves). Just goes to show how much more powerful a mainsail is, compared to those puny rudders (esp. at low speed).

I'm glad it worked for you. It's nice to be able to eat.