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 The Wind Made Me Do It!		  New Topic  Topic Locked
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RAG Sailor
Navigator

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USA
144 Posts
Initially Posted - 10/08/2014 :  11:11:50  Show Profile
I had my son & daughter-in-law home this past weekend for the first time since we bought our boat last fall. We were anxious to go out but a massive front came through with winds in the mid teens and gusts in the 20's. Since the winds tend to be quite variable we decided just to motor around on the lake without the sails. Well, as soon as we got out to the middle the winds kicked up and we were heeling 7-8 degrees (and sometimes a little more or it felt like it). Are our boats that narrow that if the wind catches us broadside we heel? My keel was absolutely down.

Fortunately by late Sunday afternoon the winds calmed down and we took them out for a sunset cruise which was absolutely delightful.
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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5851 Posts
Response Posted - 10/08/2014 :  11:30:46  Show Profile
Sailboats are designed so that they are the least resistant to heeling when they are perfectly upright. They become more <u>resistant</u> to heeling as their angle of heel increases. They will heel easily up to a point, perhaps 5-6 degrees, but they become much more resistant to heeling when the angle of heel increases.

Think of the heavily ballasted keel as a lever. The more the boat heels, the more the lever is thrust out to one side, and the weight of the lever tends to resist any further heeling.
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alfreddiaz
1st Mate

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USA
30 Posts
Response Posted - 10/08/2014 :  11:43:17  Show Profile
Curious. I was out Saturday morning in 15o to 18 knot winds. I was the race official this weekend, for the first time, and at 7:30 a.m. I found out that race official puts out the buoys. So there was no time to sail it. I had to get three buoys out on a 5.4 mile course in my Cat 25 swing keel. When I got out of the marina (a very experienced sailor came along to help me) i had the extra hand take the tiller while I dropped the keel. I only dropped it half way because I figured I didn't need to go all the way since I was not sailing. For the first mark, we cut across the swells at a 45 degrees, about 3 foot swells but very close together. Not much heeling, but we got some water over the bow and some cavitation. I had my motor on the lowest mount setting. Then we cut directly across the waves (almost) to place the next buoy. That was probably the hardest. But still not a lot of heeling. Finally, we came back with the swell and wind. It was nice. So the first two runs were cold and wet. The last run was nice but the rockiest. And i had to work the tiller a lot. I didn't have that much of a problem heeling. But you were in winds that were 5 knots more. Also, do you have a swing keel or fixed. And if a swing, did you lower it?

Everyone tells me sailing is more stable than motoring in high winds. I wouldn't know. I am new to sailing just this year, and I didn't have time to find out. There were six skippers anxiously waiting for me to start the races. And they were great races.
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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9013 Posts
Response Posted - 10/08/2014 :  13:24:26  Show Profile
quote:
Originally posted by RAG Sailor

...Are our boats that narrow that if the wind catches us broadside we heel?
Most of the heeling force is from the mast and rigging--an even longer lever. I have broad reached under a bare pole, with only the mains'l cover for a "sail," drawing a nice wake (at probably around 4 knots). Turning beam to the 20-something breeze, we heeled noticeably.

But Steve's right--she stiffens up in a hurry--not just because the angle of the keel increases its force, but also because the angle of the area presented to the wind reduces its force.
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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9013 Posts
Response Posted - 10/08/2014 :  13:33:09  Show Profile
quote:
Originally posted by alfreddiaz

...Everyone tells me sailing is more stable than motoring in high winds...
The sails are a big damper to the rolling motion. When cruisers are motoring through swells in no wind, or with the wind on the nose, they commonly raise the mains'l to smooth out the ride. Many older commercial power fishing vessels had (have) "steadying sails" that are not for driving the boat, but rather for damping its motion.
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.