Solo beach cat fun

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Inevitable_Brush5800@reddit

I think you should make videos on how you single hand a boat going 15 knots with three sheets, flying a hull...

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Sheeting with the gennaker up is actually pretty straight forward on this boat: the jib will either be furled or it’s set and forget and the main sheet acts as a backstay so it should be sheeted in pretty hard and then left with the traveler cracked off a bit.

The biggest consideration IMO. Is that you need to give yourself enough room from other boats and a lee shore because they come up quickly when pointed downwind as she carries her speed even with the gennaker luffing. For example, here I was hugging the east shore of the lake with a NW wind and I could have easily been over powered with a bit of a stronger breeze and my course would have taken me right at land. So plan accordingly, but that’s every boat!

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Inevitable_Brush5800@reddit

You’re still managing three sheets, you have to pull it if you jibe, you have to tack, all of that combined isn’t really that straight forward for people looking to learn.

With great power comes great responsibility and there is a huge shortage of beach cat style videos. Joe from JoyRiderTV is a great source but he’s one person.

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Galmaraz555@reddit (OP)

It comes down to planning and forethought, you have to keep in mind how much longer it takes one person to do the job of two people. Lee shores come up quickly, as do stationary boats, so awareness and planning go a long way. I can post a video showing the layout and progression to getting her moving solo

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walt-m@reddit

https://youtu.be/z28MpWpI-Aw

It'd be surprised how many cat sailots pick up random 'crew' on a beach just for the added weight when their normal crew can't make it, and basically single hand after teaching them how to trap out.

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Inevitable_Brush5800@reddit

I am aware of this. But this guy doesn't have crew, and he's managing three sheets and all that entails in tacking and jybing, alone, on a relatively small cat. Far more impressive than having someone as ballast on the boat.

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walt-m@reddit

Maybe you missed my point. It's not about the person there as ballast, it's about the skipper doing everything on their own. It's not that uncommon. And when you're under chute you're not managing three sheets. The jib is furled, the main is sheeted in hard as that acts as your back stay. You don't touch those. The rest is pretty much done by steering the boat.

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Inevitable_Brush5800@reddit

I know what you meant. But single handing this, and managing the ballast, managing the sheets, managing tacking and jibing without the added weight of another person, is more impressive than having crew do much of anything at all.

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Infinite-Land-232@reddit

Best i had was a male ballet dancer who kept exactly the top 6 inches of the plumb leeward bow out of the water like we were gyro-stabilized

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manzanita2@reddit

when trimming traditional symmetric spinnakers, you generally sheet OUT until the leading edge begins to curl, then back in again to remove the curl. Done properly this operation is kinda constantly back and forth over and over. One can also lock down the sheet and drive the boat for the same effect.

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Galmaraz555@reddit (OP)

Thank you! due to only having one hand free for the sheet I don’t have much gross adjustment so I end up steering more in the gusts.

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manzanita2@reddit

Asymmetric spinnakers are more of a set the sail angle and sail to the wind. As boats speed up (planing hulls, cats, and now foiling boats), best speed downwind is not DDW, but at some angle (depends on wind speed and boat ).

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