Sailing- What am I doing wrong?

Question

Okay I just bought a Mcgreger 26. I have taken her out 2 times so far on the columbia river and we seem to be having one h**l of a time with the boat unexpectedly turning sharply and doing a VERY HARD 180 degree turn on us. We had a large genoa on it in gusty conditions up to 15? mph.I am a big guy and at one point we were a inch from flooding the cockpit with me handing off the side. The guy running the tiller had his elbo in the water... Under just the main we seemed to have it under control (only did it once) lol We are keeping the main in pretty tight... Any ideas???

Answer 1

Get a smaller head sail>As it's (called over powering) the boat> My 40 would do the same turn if i flew to much sail>

Answer 2

Loosen the sails, let them out when you are healing too much. Go get some lessons from an experienced sailor.  There are many in that area.  

Answer 3

You are sailing.......

Fun fun fun.  

sounds like your attack angle is not right, try to get an experienced sailor to help you out for a couple of trips - and listen to what they say.  

Answer 4

You're sailing too near the wind.  Veer off 5 degrees or so.

Answer 5

Most likely what you were experiencing is called WEATHER HELM.

When most sailboats get over powerered - ie. too much wind, it heels over the combination of changing waterline shape and forces, cause it to round up into the wind.   It sounds like you had too much sail up for the wind.   Always decide how much sail to put out based on the gusts.  

In the short term you can sometimes let out your sails, which decreases the power and hike out to windward, but really, you need less sail out.   Either reef in or put up a smaller headsail and maybe put a reef in the mainsail.

Go out in easy conditions and work on your skills.  It'll come.

Answer 6

Of course, you wouldn't THINK of hiring a sailing TEACHER would you?  They could do more to help you in 5 minutes than you will figure out for yourself in 5 weeks.

That being said... Take that big Ginny DOWN and stow it below until after you learn the basics of sailing.

If you have a small Jib, you can put it up... the Jib is the ENGINE that drives the boat.. the Main is merely used to adjust the airflow around the JIB and to provide addition power on a run.

NOW... when I am teaching people how to sail... this is how I do it:  LET THE SHEETS (ropes attached to the sails) out COMPLETELY... so the Jib and the main are fluttering... Pick a direction you want to sail to and point the boat in that direction... then gradually pull in the sheet lines until the sails stop fluttering and the boat starts to move... keep trimming the sails as the boat gains speed... and you are NOW sailing.

If that doesn't work... the repeat the procedure... let out the sheets.. pick another direction to sail to ... and trim in the sheets again... sooner or later you will find a direction the boat WANTS to go and from there it's a matter of trimming sails and tacking to keep in going.

ANYONE can learn how to sail in 30 minutes WITH A TEACHER... but I've been around boats most of my life and I have seen too many guys who buy a sail boat... have NO experience in sailing... but immediately think they are a world class sailor and I can't tell them anything.

Anyway... 30 minutes will get you sailing... but it takes a lifetime TO GET GOOD AT IT.

Answer 7

First, make sure the keel is all the way down.  It locking bolt has to be taken out while the keel is lowered then reinstalled. Second, go with the working jib.  Third let the main out more, and fall off the wind by a few more degrees.  Put the wind more to a 45 deg. angle.  There's a reason for "putting the wind to your back"  Good sailing.  P.S. I think some trial and error helps when you take lessons or read about sailing.  Good Luck!

Answer 8

The Mac26 is a very tender boat. (That is, it will go rail-down VERY easily in not really all that much wind.)

The cure for being being overpowered is to reef sail EARLY!

Usually, by the time you think you should reef, it should've been done already.

Letting the mainsheet off a little when you're rail-down will give you more control over the boat until you get the reefs in place.

Hope this helps.

Answer 9

In gusty conditions with that size boat I'd keep one hand ready to loosen the mainsheet when a blow hits. It will allow the boat to keep it's heading easier and should reduce any radical heeling.

Answer 10

Garrisson knows what he is talking about. Follow his instructions and you will be out of trouble in no time.

Add to his advice the configuration of your hull. The McGregor is a floating washtub made for recreational sailing where the crew wants to sit around drinking cocktails while leisurely sailing down the River.

When heeled too far, the fat mid ship hull wants to pivot around and go into chains. This is what happened to you. All it took was hard air on the sheets to cause the boat pivot like a top. An accidental adjustment of the tiller, or a wake from a power boat can contribute.

If you want a sport boat, look for one with a better hull design.