The safest, most reliable way I've found to reef or change sails is to heave to first. That means backing the jib, letting the main run free, and putting the tiller down hard to leeward. You do indeed need a tiller tamer of some sort. I use a heavy duty bungy stretched across the stern cleats and a jam cleat forward on the underside of the tiller. Works great. Amy Ann will heave to nicely under main and jib, main alone, jib alone, or all sails down! I think this is due in part to her high bow and exaggerated shear.
I was out in our P-15 Sunday under similar conditions. At times I was way overcanvased with working jib and reefed main in an effort to tag along with 20-30' racing yachts (silly me). I found it took more skill than I had to keep the Potter moving swiftly in the force 6, choppy conditions. Lesson learned: It's your average speed, not your top speed, that counts. I believe the Monty 15 would be easier to handle and make speed consistently under these conditions. Comments, anyone? I've got another question, too: Which is preferrable on the M-15, a loose footed main or one that is connected to the boom via bolt rope? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Steve Tyree, P-15 #2098 "Amy Ann" In a message dated 3/22/2004 11:20:29 PM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Hi Don, I've used auto pilots (larger boats) when reefing and prefer it over most any other method with exception of a crew. I can say from experience with the Potter 15, it was nearly unsafe to attempt to reef when the winds picked up. It was always better to reef at the dock for fear of getting knocked down and turtled. I did put on a Davis Tiller Tamer which helped a great deal but with the P-15, it was all to easy to lean a little and being "moveable ballast", change the heading, creating myself a problem. Have you installed a tiller tamer on Sweet Dream? It's a quick and innexpensive modification that may be easier to deal with than electric autopilot. _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
