SO36i Single handed

[fotona]

Hi fellows!

I am another happiest Jeanneau owner.

Got the entry level SO29.2 in the late 2012 and just now I upgraded to a 2009 SO36i P! The family is big and the wish to get "in race" at WE made me upgrade.

Just notice now, that like 80% of the time I sailed single handed and now I found myself in a bigger one and with the control of the main far away from me... panic

What is your experiences sailing singlehanded on the 36i? how do you manage the gusts?

Rgrds,
Monteiro.

[hoppy]

Welcome to the forum.

I have a SO40 and when it was in Greece, I probably sailed her 90% of the time solo and I probably used the AP 90% of the time. My mainsheet is on the cabin top. I would sail in all conditions and last year sailed many days when it was gusting to 30 or even 50 knots.

As for dealing with gusts, I would ride them out..... If the AP is in control, the boat heals excessively and may eventually round up. If I'm at the helm then I let her round up. At this point I start planning to either reef or move the main track to leeward or whatever.....

I think that the biggest problem with not having the mainsheet close by is that I will sail slower. No big deal when cruising.

[so36idavid]

Hi Monteiro,

Congratulations on the new boat. I have a 2007 36i and I love it. 

I often sail either singlehanded, or with my young kids which is even more challenging than singlehanding !  I have had no problem sailing the boat in all kinds of conditions. Of course I rely heavily on the autopilot.

I think the key to comfortably singlehanding is to not push the boat so hard that it needs constant vigilance. My boat is the shoal draft version which is a bit more tender than I'd prefer. So I reef a little earlier than I might if I were being aggressive. You shouldn't really need to be hot on the main sheet/traveler, dial it back a bit and the boat will handle it. You might get there 5 minutes later but you'll be in a much more zen place . If you do want to push the boat then you probably have to choose between steering and tending to the main. I've put a bit of effort into tuning my autopilot. It does a pretty good job, certainly better than I can do if I'm driving for more than half an hour or so when my concentration wanes. It's driven for days through 30+kt wind and 3-4m seas without complaint. So get your autopilot dialed in and then go forward and play with the strings to your heart's content.

It pays to think the process through beforehand if you need to do something complicated like enter a harbor, gybing the spinnaker, poling out the jib etc. Get the sequence all worked out in your head.

David

P.S. When singlehanding I keep a personal EPIRB in my pocket just in case.

P.P.S. my boat hit almost 17kts coming off of one of those 4m waves in 30kt breeze, under autopilot. All was well although I did need some stain remover for my shorts . This wasn't singlehanding though, I had a good crew on board. We slept through most of it, just one guy on watch sitting under the dodger reading a book. Great boat.

[shiook]

Look at the retrofit some did to manage the main from the helm. German Mainsheet system. The HINTs section shows how to retrofit a 36i.

I'm about ready to make the conversion but manage the boat by reefing at 15 knots and a second reef at 20. I usually reef the jib first. I'm a Hobie sailor too so am used to having the main handy.

Enjoy the boat - - I love it and do sail in single handled 1/2 the time.

Rob

[iancymru]

Hi Monteiro,
Welcome, I have a SO33i with a German Mainsheet system as most of my sailing is single handed, I found it took a little bit of getting used to as you can control the main from both port and stbd winches. In calm conditions the main is clutched off but when gusty I have the genoa sheet on the leeward winch and main on windward so it easy to spill the wind from behind the wheel where Im harnessed in. I did think of just having normal type of mainsheet closer to the end of the boom which I could use from the helm and heave in by hand but enjoy the uncluttered cockpit. As others if gusty and on my own then reef in early as it makes the main more manageable by hand as less of a mechanical advantage as if one had a conventional mainsheet at the end of the boom, for cruising though it works well.
Ian

[sitara]

Hi Monteiro,
I too went from a 29.2 to a 36i and singlehand a lot. I agree with the other posts about sail trim  etc, but one thing I occasionally do is run the main sheet past its own winch to the unused genoa winch. This works fine when singlehanded but the rope across the cockpit is not ideal when there is company. Another option I have considered is fitting an electric winch with a rewind function that will feed the mainsheet out as well as pulling it in. With a control at the helm life would be easy. A mate has this setup on his SO43 and it works very well. The only drawback is the high cost of the winch.

[hoppy]

Jul 14, 2017 0:26:05 GMT sitara said:

The only drawback is the high cost of the winch.

and the loss of headroom in the cabin