Raising, lowering, reefing from the cockpit.

[davil]

one observation more
sleeping pills when anchoring?
emergencies do occur
once leaving the slip, we are now part of the food chain

[Dr. D]

Well, perhaps the OP issues would be solved by in mast furling. I have 10 years to achieve his age. Our furling mast works great. All sails controls are from the cockpit.

[fc59]

Problems with mainsail handling from the cockpit are :

Line tangling : It is likely you will have reef lines, main sheet and halyard on the same winch with clutches.

Space : spray hood / dodger must have enough space to have full turn with winch handle.

View of what you do : spray hood / dodger will likely hide the mainsail when handling reef and halyard lines.

At least, my problems. Spray hood is large enough for the winch, but all lines close and view are catastrophic.

[Happ]

Originally Posted by fc59

Problems with mainsail handling from the cockpit are :

Line tangling : It is likely you will have reef lines, main sheet and halyard on the same winch with clutches.

Space : spray hood / dodger must have enough space to have full turn with winch handle.

View of what you do : spray hood / dodger will likely hide the mainsail when handling reef and halyard lines.

At least, my problems. Spray hood is large enough for the winch, but all lines close and view are catastrophic.

There are many ways to do it. Dodgers are built to have break away flaps should you bump it wi a winch. Before you ever ease a sheet or halyard you should always straighten the line.

Dodgers Also often have windows on top so you can see the main.

I would not sail a boat of my own without cockpit reefing. There is no advantage of walking out on a pitching deck to reef. Very, very old school. Try doing it in 30 knots of wind.

[Whokickamoocow]

As mentioned upthread, a good autopilot is a game changer for reefing and mucking around with a mainsail. I have all the reef lines run back to the cockpit but I still go to the mast to hook the luff ring onto the mast shackle. One tip I found works really well is to have a mast mounted snapshackle for each reef. You might have a couple more holes in the mast but you can leave the first reef in when you connect or shake out the second reef, its very simple and doesn't screw up.
With a good autopilot, you have loads of time to do everything and things like reefing become fun instead of a chore.

[roverhi]

Originally Posted by fc59

Problems with mainsail handling from the cockpit are :

Line tangling : It is likely you will have reef lines, main sheet and halyard on the same winch with clutches.

Space : spray hood / dodger must have enough space to have full turn with winch handle.

View of what you do : spray hood / dodger will likely hide the mainsail when handling reef and halyard lines.

At least, my problems. Spray hood is large enough for the winch, but all lines close and view are catastrophic.

Line tangling. Clear the lines before doing what you are going to do. Store bitter ends in a bag attached to cabin side. Almost always can pull enough slack straight out of the bag. Haven't found it a worry raising the sail as I just dump the contents of the bag and haul or crank away. Clearing hockles, if any, when they occur.

Racheting winch handles allow you to get as much of a winch handle rotation as the dodger will allow. Got an extra I might sell. Slows the cranking down a but easy to live with. I went with an 8" handle that clears the dodger so don't need a ratcheting except for extra torque if needed.

Dodgers, even rigid ones, can have transparent panels installed to make it possible to see the main while cranking under them. Must admit haven't bothered to add it to my dodger even though it does take some iterations of backing out from under dodger to dial in the final reef tension, etc.

Double line reefing works way better than single line. Put a padeye on one side of mast and a cheek or other suitable block on the other side set up so tack reefing line pulls down and forward to keep the luff against the mast and not trying to pull the sail track off the mast like I've seen in single line set ups. Since you are dealing with separate tack and clew reef lines you only have half the line length to pull in. Setting it up so the clew and reef lines are on opposite sides of the cabin top cuts the bitter end stowage in half

[Leighpilot]

All those problems have been solved. There’s no real reason to leave the cockpit to reef anymore. Once you’ve tried it on a well set up boat you’ll wonder why every boat isn’t set up that way.

[FatBear]

Originally Posted by Ninedotsix

It's creepy thinking about going overboard from the cabin top, and not finding my way back aboard.

A friend actually fell off the roof in the middle of the night, hit his head on the dock, fell in the water and drowned. No blood alcohol, he apparently just fell. So it's more than just creepy, it is a real hazard.

There was mention of falling and broken bones, but I'd say torn skin and bleeding should be considered more likely, and needing first aid planning.

My wife - who is very active and fit for her age - tripped on a pipe that stuck up in the middle of a trail. It wasn't a bad fall, but it shattered the top part of her humerus into seven pieces and ripped all kinds of tendons loose around that area. She was out of commission for six months and is still recovering after almost two years. She works very hard to strengthen her bones, but they will never have the strength or resilience that they had in her youth. Nor will I.

I have led a very active life and a large percentage of my skin seems to be scar tissue. I get cuts and scrapes all the time and know how to deal with even some pretty bad ones. So those don't worry me. But bones get brittle with age and to break one on the water would be a major catastrophe.

I wrote the original post after an experience that taught me it was time to stay off in the cockpit in anything but flat calm. My balance and coordination are just not up to going forward and I don't expect that to change. I've read every post and appreciate them all. Now it's time to see what I can do about it.

Thanks for all of your help.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Leighpilot

All those problems have been solved. There’s no real reason to leave the cockpit to reef anymore. Once you’ve tried it on a well set up boat you’ll wonder why every boat isn’t set up that way.

Is sailing by not ever leaving the cockpit really sailing?

On my boat, everything having to do with the mainsail is done at the mast.

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Is sailing by not ever leaving the cockpit really sailing?

On my boat, everything having to do with the mainsail is done at the mast.

I find steering, and adjusting the mainsheet plenty entertaining, and uses both of my hands.

I've already had plenty of fun in my younger years, hanging from the boom with my feet dangling over the water because my wife thought while I was adjusting reefing lines would be a great time to jibe.

Pulling a line in the cockpit is still sailing, but safer, and smarter.

[FatBear]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Is sailing by not ever leaving the cockpit really sailing?

On my boat, everything having to do with the mainsail is done at the mast.

That's your boat. If there was only one way to sail, there would only be one model of sailboat in the world and it would only be setup one way.

I used to crew on a large 100 year old schooner. If you knew what some large wooden schooner sailors think of people who "sail" little plastic boats ... well you probably don't want to know. But I'm not like that. I just want to get on the water in a boat. I don't want the noise and expense of a power boat. I don't have one right now and I'm trying to find the right one for my aging body.

I actually tried to buy a schooner rigged Nauticat 44 last summer. I understand the rig and really liked the boat, but it did not work out. I sailed it and did feel comfortable going forward while underway. But I looked it up and they have a "comfort ratio" of something like 44 while most of the boats I'm likely to buy have a comfort ratio of more like 26 +/_. I don't get seasick, but the comfort ratio seems to be a good indicator of the motion I would experience going forward to handle sails. And when I've been on the ocean (Pacific) on a choppy day in a Cal 36 with a comfort ratio of 26 I could not go forward with anything resembling confidence. Most boats in the 36' to 38' range that I'm looking at seem to be in that range. So if I buy one, I will need to be able to sail it from the cockpit. And yes, that is still sailing.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

I find steering, and adjusting the mainsheet plenty entertaining, and uses both of my hands.

I've already had plenty of fun in my younger years, hanging from the boom with my feet dangling over the water because my wife thought while I was adjusting reefing lines would be a great time to jibe.

Pulling a line in the cockpit is still sailing, but safer, and smarter.

Sounds like monohull adventure for sure.

I was always out over the water when I sailed the 4 boats I owned before this one so that is not only comfortable but necessary to be out there.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by FatBear

That's your boat. If there was only one way to sail, there would only be one model of sailboat in the world and it would only be setup one way.

But it's so strange to never leave the cockpit.

You don't use your body at all .............

[FatBear]

Originally Posted by thomm225

But it's so strange to never leave the cockpit.

You don't use your body at all .............

Everyone is not you. You really need to understand that.

[MicHughV]

working at the mast, I could probably do everything blindfolded.

hoisting the main, the halyard tail is on the mast....in the cockpit, there will be 50-60' of line strewn about, etc, etc....from the mast, main reefing lines lay along the boom....in the cockpit, a profusion of lines. reefing the main from the cockpit, usually means the reefed part of the sail is flopped over in my line of sight...etc..etc...

The genny halyard is always in the way, it lives in the cockpit, it's permanent home, hanging down next to the companion way, held there by a tiny clip, from which that halyard constantly escapes and falls inside the boat..........etc..etc...naturally, there will be two sheet lines to add to the confusion, not to mention the main sheet, and traveller control lines....boom kicker control line ....everything comes from the base of the mast....in my opinion....the cockpit is usually full of people getting in the way as well...99.9% of the time they'll be sitting on some lines...

nah, for my money, working from the mast is w-a-a-a-a-y more efficient, simpler and safer...had I known this beforehand, it's unlikely I would have bought a boat with this setup.

my advice....go sail on boats that have on the mast or in the cockpit line handling...and see which suits you best...you can slip and fall in a cockpit on wet lines too.....or get tangled up in them....

'jes sayin'...I know what I like.....but it may not be what you like....