using main sail halyard as life line

I've doing most of my sailing in very remote ocean areas this summer. My biggest fear is falling overboard & having the getaway leave without me. Does anyone use the main sail halyard as a life line?

A legitimate fear for sure.

Here's an interesting topic with lots of opinions:

http://www.catsailor.com/forums/showthr ... 645&page=0

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Very interesting reading (I read the whole thing), After all that I am more undecided than ever! Good news I sail in a small lake (never more than about 100' from any shore) so its not an issue for me. Anyone sailing fast cats solo on large body's of water I guess need to make their own life choice. Hard to say what's best, an ERB might be good.

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06 getaway -- always remember, man with both feet in mouth have no leg to stand on.

I have been separated from my Getaway twice. Both times sailing solo in big wind.

With two tramps and the mast float to keep the sail out of the water, the boat can leave you at an unusually high rate of speed. Matt Miller's advice is what I follow now. Don't let go of the boat. Instead of going off the windward hull as it goes over, I now slide down the tramp. I don't let go of the boat.

not letting go sounds like good advice if you have your wits about you and if you don't just fall out by accident.

I'm taking to using the halyard, but being careful that the length is such that I don't make it to water unless flipping. Falling out and being dragged drowning doesn't sound like a good idea either.

If the length is such that you won't hit the water unless flipping, it sounds like it's possible to end up tied to a short piece of line and unable to get untied when the boat is on its side.

If no bob, then you may turtle it on top of yourself.

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1984 H16 - #80541

"If the length is such that you won't hit the water unless flipping, it sounds like it's possible to end up tied to a short piece of line and unable to get untied when the boat is on its side."

Yes, you have to be careful of that.

I have a Bob too.

Have you considered setting enough rearward mast rake so that the boat will naturally point up into the wind? You may need to toe in the rudders a bit, if they are adjustable on the Getaway.

Another idea I've had is to have a bungee tension on the rudders (not too much to cause helm issues) so that in the event of a departure from the boat the rudders would pull to one side and either stall the boat or capsize it. Not ideal, but better than watching your ride go for a sail without you.

Interesting.... how does one set more rearward mast rake? Does this mean hot tightening the front shroud as much?

Another idea I've had is to have a bungee tension on the rudders (not too much to cause helm issues) so that in the event of a departure from the boat the rudders would pull to one side and either stall the boat or capsize it. Not ideal, but better than watching your ride go for a sail without you.[/quote]
Another interesting idea.

to rake the mast back you would set the forestay pin higher in the shroud, this allows the mast to lean further back. Of course you should also reset your side stay pins lower in their shrouds to tighten up the rig.

Would this hinder my ability to point closer to the wind?

Generally it helps you run closer. The downside is that on light air days, or when you have a lot of weight on board the sail will not be as powerful as with a more vertical mast rake. The flip side is that on big air days or with less crew the boat will be easier to handle since you have effectively de-powered the rig.

The boat should be set up to have a slight weather helm so that it naturally turns into the wind. This gives the skipper a positive feel on the helm. It should not be excessive. If you set up the boat so that the weather helm is excessive, you will make it very unpleasant to sail 99% of the time. And, even if you make the weather helm strong, the boat will most likely still drift away from you if you go overboard and it stays upright. The reason being that even with the boat turned into the wind, it will drift away fast in anything but a light breeze.

In my opinion, the idea of tieing a bungee to the rudder is not a good one. It will make the helm totally unbalanced. And, if you let go of the tiller on one tack, the boat will bear away from the wind and accelerate away rather than turn into the wind.

My recommendation, sail with your lifejacket ON, don't sail in conditions above your skill, let people know your sailing plans, sail in a group if possible, and don't let go of the mainsheet. If your going to be sailing offshore, a cellphone, VHF radio, or EPIRB might be a good idea too.

I only ever recall separating from the boat once when my trap hook broke singlehanded. The boat immediately flipped and I swam right over to it. Had I been going downwind, it probably would have been a different story though.

sm

I regards to the slight weather helm; on my 16 the helm was completely predictable and by adjusting the rudder angle you could turn the helm where you liked it. On my 06 getaway I find the helm in completely inconsistent, in a big wind she has lots of weather helm but in moderate or light winds she has no helm feel either lee or windward. I understand the movement in the center of pressure is what creates helm pressure but it seam odd that on the getaway the center seams to move around without changing the mast rake.

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06 getaway -- always remember, man with both feet in mouth have no leg to stand on.