Shorthanded sailing, how to set up your boat
It is great to see the recent press for shorthanded sailing, what took everyone so long? Singlehanded sailing, and I should add doublehanded is a great way to race, trek, or cruise, and just have more enjoyment on the water.
Shorthanded sailing has been my passion for decades. And having been through a wide range of shorthanded boats, I have dialed in what works best for me. That does not mean it works for everyone, but it definitely works well for me, and hopefully can for you.
Shorthanded sailing you have to understand all aspects of the boat, and switch between them instantly. Coastal shorthanded compared to ocean shorthanded offers more of the dinghy sailing which I prefer. The 60-300 mile races are a blast; there are lots of maneuvers, lots of sail changes, minimum if any sleep, proper fueling the body, navigating while boat handling, and the physical work over fully crewed, all of that makes me smile. For the longer offshore races I am all in, but the budget keeps me out of most of them.
So what is the best deck plan? Boat? How to sail it? Let me show you what I did with my boat in this video series. This week we look at what the fully crewed set is, and how to change that for singlehanded. Then we start the modifications, building custom pieces for the deck plan, all the way through choosing a boat, to sailing the boat and winning singlehanded.
If you ever have any questions or comments let me know below, or send an email. I am always happy to discuss shorthanded sailing, and how to make it more efficient. Don’t forget to check back next week for the next step in the process. See you soon, Paul