How can a CAT rig heave to

[Floodhound]

Yup I wanted to know how a cat rigged boat will heave to. I watched a video of a man sailing his 26' CAT rig as he was caught in a storm. All I could do was scream to him to heave to but he never did. Is it because they cant?

[Andrew Troup]

If the mast isn't so far forward as to make a preventer ineffective, you can heave to on the mainsail only, by preventing the boom outboard against the pull of the mainsheet so it's locked in position and the mainsail acts like a weathercock. The helm is lashed hard over as if to round the boat up, but the main goes aback when it tries and so it reaches an equilibrium, at not too different an angle from the usual backed-headsail hove-to position.

However because the boom is long on a catboat, and the mast is well forward where the beam is narrow, my guess is that you couldn't safely use this manoeuver in big seas, or where the boat might sustain a knockdown.

[Cirque]

It would seem to me that to keep the center of effort far enough aft, you wouldn't be able to reef the sail. Maybe and anchor riding sail set on the topping lift and the main doused?