Yep... reef!

Posted By: Jim B., wandering around
Date: 7/16/08 9:11p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: Went sailing last night with gusts to about 25 (Dave, Sun Cat #103, Grand Haven, MI)

Practice reefing before you need it. When winds got above 15 or so, our SunCat was more comfortable with a reef in. If you are feeling a lot of weather helm, it is generally one of these things: * you need to reef * the centerboard needs to come up some * the rudder has kicked back (an inch will induce a LOT of weather helm) If you are bending the tiller, you have too much weather helm and need to check one or more of the above. If you are working too hard with the SunCat, the boat is trying to tell you something... this is a friendly, easy boat. Depending on the sea state, 25 and gusty may be more work than fun... at some point it's more enjoyable to drop the sail and motor. Depending on the anchor, the bottom, and conditions, the anchor you describe should be adequate. With the shallow draft of the SunCat, I prefer to anchor in as shallow water as possible; 5:1 scope or more (7:1 for overnight). Some chain will help keep the anchor down and the rode from chafing. We would generally set the anchor with the motor in reverse to make sure it had a good bite. Also, with the shallow draft, we would sometimes beach, walk the anchor to the shore and set another off the stern (lake, no tide or fetch). In the bay, I'd look for shallow water with decent protection. Our primary anchor was a danforth - worked well in our sandy/muddy bottom locally. HTH Best wishes, Jim B.