So How Do You Sail a ' Cat ' Rigged Ketch Downwind ?

[SY Pollen Path]

I had a good wind of the stb aft quarter, was sailing well with the Jib and the Mizzen so thought I'de try the main. The main picked up the wind all right but the boat wanted to heel over a lot.
What do I do to sail flater down wind?? I'm thinking it's to do with raising the aft of the Cat Boom-, and then letting the boom sheet out!! Do I use a line from the mast and hook into the little pully system that is on top of the tail of the boom? Then use the mast line Halyard to raise the end off the boom as it goes out to help her sail flater.??

Any thoughts and words of wisdom welcome.

Mike

[atoll]

have reposted this thread on the previous owners face book page,so perhaps they will comment.
though i would think,poleing out the jib on the opposite side,dumping the mizzen,and getting the main as far out fwd would solve this.

[barnakiel]

Interesting. I thought it is a wing-a-wing case.

I am not clear why all the heeling?

PLS post the answer when found!

Cheers,
b.

[chris_gee]

With the wind on the stern quarter any force will be directed largely forward and not result in heeling. I am a bit confused about your desiring to raise the boom to let it out. With the main halyard tight and the sail fully hoisted the boom should swing clear of any obstruction. You then let it out to about forty five degrees or more to even near 70 if the apparent wind changes that is moves abeam with with an increase in boat speed.
You let it out first by letting the traveller out to leeward, then the mainsheet, and help keep the boom down and the sail flatter by tightening the boom vang.
The pulley on the end of the boom could be anything. Normally there would be an attachment for the topping lift which keeps the boom up when the sail is down and is released when the sail is up, to allow the tension on the sail to be adjusted by the mainsheet and traveller position.
You may not have a topping lift if you have a rigid boom vang and the pulley you refer to may be a remnant of an old system.
You may get some heeling with the sails at fortyfive degrees as half the force is directed forward and half to the side.
Normally it would not be major, and rather less than going to windward. However it depends on the windspeed. You were going well with jib and mizzen alone so probably doubled the sail area and may have been overcanvassed. It also sounds like the main was too full, ie not flattened and very likely oversheeted.

[atoll]

down wind undersail!

Randy+&+Laura-Pollen+Path+under+sail-DSCN1214-cropped.jpg (image)

[Piglet]

I'm totally confused.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by SY Pollen Path

I had a good wind of the stb aft quarter, was sailing well with the Jib and the Mizzen so thought I'de try the main. The main picked up the wind all right but the boat wanted to heel over a lot.
What do I do to sail flater down wind?? I'm thinking it's to do with raising the aft of the Cat Boom-, and then letting the boom sheet out!! Do I use a line from the mast and hook into the little pully system that is on top of the tail of the boom? Then use the mast line Halyard to raise the end off the boom as it goes out to help her sail flater.??

Any thoughts and words of wisdom welcome.

Mike

Maybe there's a terminology barrier. To me a Cat rigged boat has no jib. The jib you mention, is that on the mizzen, the aft mast, if so I know that as a mizzen staysail. Cat boom, is that the boom on the front mast, that would be the main boom for me.

So if you're flying a mizzen staysail did you have its luff to leeward of the main boom so you had the main boom close to the centerline of the boat while sailing downwind? I'm just making guesses trying to translate your terminology into mine.

I've only sailed a ketch a few times, but the main and mizzen were up first. Sheet out the sails until they're set correctly, just before luffing, then raise the mizzen staysail.

[s/v Jedi]

Let out the main traveler. If there is no traveler, move sheeting point to toe rail.

cheers,
Nick.