I'm splitting this out from my reefing email because that one was getting big (sorry!) and heaving to seems big enough to be a separate topic. I searched the archive but didn't find too much on what configurations people have found work best.
Two questions really - - What sail config leads to a good heave-to for your boat in moderately high winds (25-35 kts)? On an LF38 with 130% genoa I've already figured out a 130% genoa is too much fore sail to heave to well in winds above 15. When we heaved to in 15 kts with full genoa the bow was fluctuating between 70 to 90 degrees. Worked okay but not ideal. In 25 kts I furled to ~100% and it didn't work at all - the wind and waves blew the bow past a beam reach and we had to abort the heave-to. Helm was hard over alee (rudder to windward) and mainsail was trimmed in but the bow blew through 90 degrees, *fast*. Not fun. Does the boat heave-to best with no foresail at all when winds are over 25? - Is heaving to a good technique for putting a reef in? I read this idea somewhere and it seems to make sense - a nice calm boat so you can take your time getting reefed without all hell breaking loose. Haven't had a chance to try it in >25kts yet though (due to the abort I mentioned above). The key would be whether the main can be dumped (sheeted out) enough to take the pressure off the mainsail track, yet not mess up the heave-to. -Patrick S/V Violet Hour, LF38 Seattle, WA
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