Multihull Seamanship E-Book

Gavin Le Sueur

• Herausgeber: Fernhurst Books Limited
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

This is an A-Z of seamanship skills for multihull sailors. There are many textbooks on the market which detail general seamanship principles. This is not one of them. Multihull Seamanship is about sea-going catamarans and trimarans and the skills needed to understand and enjoy them to their utmost. Both racing and cruising yachts are catered for, as are trailer-able multihulls. Seamanship is not a black and white skill. It is an evolution of knowledge; a building of information through experiment, thought and experience. There is no definitive word on an evolving skill. Multihull Seamanship started as Dr Gavin Le Sueur's personal index of 'how-to's. It has grown through experience and others sharing their knowledge. It should be on the book shelf of every catamaran and trimaran. This book is for people who are already multihull sailors, or for those who are contemplating multihull sailing. It has served this community for over 20 years and this second edition is fully updated. It is illustrated with delightful line drawings by Nigel Allison.

Leseprobe

MULTIHULLSEAMANSHIP

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are no hard and fast rules at sea. Sailing is an art and, for this reason, the author would like to thank those who shared their art and assistance with editing and advice during the production of this book.

Many topics were debated and discussed in online forums, yacht club bars and at beach barbeques. I have had feedback from many multihull designers, racing and cruising sailors. This invaluable experience-based advice has been incorporated in this edition.

My illustrator, Nigel Allison, worked hard and professionally as he put up with continuous changes and reviews for this edition. Whenever the wind blows Nigel is out there getting salt in his eyes. It is good to be around people with enthusiasm.

And I have a friend who does not sail. Stephen King, my art director and designer who has been on a dry journey with me since high school. None of my books would have happened without his intelligent input and ideas.

Copyright © 2018 Fernhurst Books Limited

The Windmill, Mill Lane, Harbury, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. CV33 9HP. UK Tel: [phone] | www.fernhurstbooks.com

This second edition published in 2018 by Fernhurst Books LimitedPrevious edition published by Fernhurst Books in 1997.First published in Australia in 1995 by Cyclone Publishers, PO Box 7338, Cairns, Queensland

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a license issued by The Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher..

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British LibraryISBN 9781912177080eBook ISBN9781912177653 (EPub)9781912177660 (Mobi)9781912177677 (ePDF)

Cover photographs © Gavin Le SueurFront cover: Musket Cove, Fiji during race weekBack cover: Lau island group, Fuji

FOREWORD

This book is for people who are, or are contemplating, multihull sailing. There are many textbooks on the market which detail general seamanship principles. This is not one of them. This is about catamarans and trimarans and the skills needed to enjoy and understand them to the utmost. Both racing and cruising yachts are catered for, as are trailer-able multihulls.

Seamanship is not a black and white skill. It is an evolution of knowledge, a building of information through experiment, thought and experience. There is no definitive word on an evolving skill.

Multihull Seamanship started as my personal index of ‘how to’s.

It has grown through experience and by others sharing their knowledge. It is my turn to give back some of that to my colleagues on the ocean who venture forth in hulls of two or more.

Safe multihull sailing.

Gavin Le Sueur

22 YEARS ON

This edition of Multihull Seamanship has been updated after more than two decades of offshore cruising, intermittent racing and family life aboard a sequence of multihulls. There have been lessons hard learnt (capsizing a 50 ft catamaran) and many material and design changes. I have had most disasters happen, broken or torn just about everything and had to deal with nappies at sea. I have continued to talk to fellow multihullers in anchorages, marinas, forums and blogs. The wealth of knowledge available now can be overwhelming and, because of this, I have decided to continue to keep this edition true to its goal; comprehensive multihull seamanship rules that will help guide every skipper who ventures forth in these wonderful yachts.

Throughout the years my co-skipper Catherine has been by my side as we continue our multihull adventures. Without her, life would be like having only half a boat. Thank you my darling heart.

AUTHOR

Dr Gavin Le Sueur

Gavin Le Sueur built his first multihull, a 16 ft Mosquito catamaran, while at high school. After graduating from Melbourne University in Medicine, he purchased and moved aboard Moshulu – a 35 ft Hedley Nicol ‘Wanderer’ trimaran. Deciding that offshore sailing was the life, Le Sueur entered in the two-handed bicentennial Around Australia Yacht Race.

For this adventure, he obtained the then fastest offshore racing catamaran in Australia – a 37 ft Crowther Super Shockwave named D Flawless.

In preparation, Le Sueur raced D Flawless in many Southern Ocean races and eventually to New Zealand in the Two-Handed Trans Tasman Challenge. During this 1,000 nautical mile race, Le Sueur and his 21-year-old crew, Catherine Reed, survived a hammering from Cyclone Bola. They sailed through the cyclone eye to complete the race and gained the ‘best competitors’ trophy. En route back to Australia two months later D Flawless struck a whale while surfing downwind at night.

The subsequent liferaft story, and his earlier adventures at sea and on land, are detailed in Le Sueur’s first book Windswept.

Within days of rescue, Gavin and Catherine were fortunate to be offered the use of another catamaran for the around Australia race – a Crowther 40 ft shorthanded racer named John West.

Aboard John West, Gavin and Catherine raced around the Australian continent. This marathon, hailed as the toughest coastal race in the world, encompassed more than 8,000 miles of hazards. Swirling tidal currents around tropical reefs in blistering conditions contrasted further down the track with sleet, snow and blinding storms in the notorious roaring forties of the Southern Ocean.

Gavin’s story of the around Australia race and the drama behind the multihulls that both capsized and survived is told in his second book The Line.

On a personal level, Gavin was told by his father that if he ever found the perfect crew he should marry them. He did, proposing to Catherine on the finish line of the around Australia race.

Fletcher, Estelle, Gavin, Baden & Catherine

Since this race Le Sueur has continued the multihull adventure. He purchased John West (renamed Windswept) and sailed the east coast of Australia, continuing to race. Multihull cruising became the focus when their family expanded and the Le Sueurs have had many years living aboard and exploring the Pacific and south-east Asia aboard their sequential catamarans – Magic Happens (Hitchiker 40MkIII), Chaotic Harmony (Catana 42S), Top Gun (Crowther 50 racing cat) and Whim (Crowther 43). A life at sea brings many adventures.

Le Sueur has a depth of practical knowledge and seamanship hard won. The Le Sueurs have lain under parachute sea anchors in storms, capsized their 50 ft racing cat, had fires, electrical failures and equipment breakdown, anchored in all conditions and jury-rigged just about everything that could be jury-rigged.

Gavin, Catherine, Estelle, Baden and Fletcher Le Sueur have a home base in Cairns, Tropical North Queensland, Australia. Sailing remains their life’s adventure and the enthusiasm continues whenever the wind blows. Gavin races off the beach catamarans, kite surfs and kite foils, and is always planning the next multihull cruise.

If not planning, then he is usually on one.

ILLUSTRATOR

Nigel Allison

Nigel Allison is an illustrator, musician and artist who has maintained a lifelong passion for the ocean. A keen surfer, windsurfer, kitesurfer and sailor, Nigel’s background and enthusiastic approach to his art has given the world of multihulls a new dimension.

Nigel was able to produce the illustrations in this book with the input and support of his wife Liz. He has passed on the love of the ocean to his two sons, Kai and Leewan and, as a family, they remain passionate about life on and by the ocean.

Leewan, Nigel, Liz & Kai

CONTENTS

ANCHORING

APPARENT WIND

BATTENS

BEACHING

BRIDLES

CAPSIZE PREVENTION

CAPSIZE PREPARATION

CAPSIZE SURVIVAL TACTICS

CARGO

CENTREBOARDS

CHILDREN

COLLISION

CREW & PASSENGERS

CYCLONES

DINGHY

DISMASTING

ELECTRICITY

FIRE & GAS

FLARES & TORCHES

FOILING

GUSTY CONDITIONS

IN IRONS

JETTY WORK

LIFERAFTS

LIGHTING

MAN OVERBOARD

MASTS

MOTORS

RACING SEAMANSHIP

RADAR & RADAR REFLECTORS

RIGGING & ROPES

RIGHTING

ROLLER FURLING

SAILS

SEAWEED & FISH NETS

SELF-STEERING & AUTOPILOTS

SHEET SYSTEMS

SINKING

SLIPPING

SPINNAKERS

STEERING & RUDDERS

STORM SAILING

STRESS MEASUREMENT & BEAM FAILURE

TACKING & GYBING

TARGA BAR & DAVITS

TELLTALES

TOWING

TRAILERING

TRAMPOLINES & SAFETY NETS

TRANSFERS

WHALES

GLOSSARY OF MULTIHULL TERMS

INDEX

NOTES & IDEAS

ANCHORING

Anchoring a multihull successfully requires choosing the correct location, having the right anchor for the boat size and bottom conditions, setting the correct chain and rode arrangements and burying the anchor effectively.

There is no anchor that covers all bottom conditions. Most multihulls should carry two anchors of different types. The classic brands come with recommended weights for yacht length but also consider how much windage your multihull makes. Do not underestimate the required anchor weight because your multilhull is lighter than a monohull of equivalent length.

Multihulls put a different load on anchors as they sail on the mooring line. Windage is important when selecting the anchor size. Some multihulls are aerodynamic and low windage. Others have a salon profile with flat surfaces that create high windage.

In most situations multihulls need about one size bigger than for an equivalent sized monohull. In the traditional anchors this means a heavier anchor.

The features of each anchor type are found in most general seamanship books. Anchors that will readily reset themselves are an advantage in varying current and wind directions. Racing multihulls in specific locations can utilise lightweight anchors. Cruisers anchoring in variable locations and conditions will need a heavier anchor.

Carrying a second anchor of a style that can be set via the dinghy is useful if you have to kedge off the bottom or set up a system to avoid wide swings.

For secure anchoring, your yacht should point into the wind and be as directionally stable as possible. Use the longest practical scope – usually a minimum of 5:1 rode length to height from forward beam to the bottom (at high tide). You want the chain to pull horizontally and not lift the anchor.

Multihull Seamanship Rule

Always anchor with a bridle. Run a lazy loop.

The bridle arms should be approximately the beam of the multihull and no longer than the length of the yacht. Always have the ability to play out more scope or take line in. One way of achieving this is to have the bridle arms permanently arranged and spliced together in a single line. This single line is then tied to the anchor line with a rolling hitch finished off with a half hitch. You can also use one of the many chain grab hooks attached to the bridle bitter end.

If anchoring with all chain, then the chain section between the bridle attachment and the boat does not take any load – but it has an important role on multihulls. This ‘lazy loop’ of chain should hang well down into the water and will act as a catenary on the bridle attachment point. This will take wind and wave shock out of the anchor line as the weight of the lazy loop is lifted when the multihull pulls backwards.

Anchoring with a bridle is essential for wing masted and rotating rig multihulls. Lock the mast fore and aft where it is less likely to create drive. If the locking device fails the wing mast may create movement and oscillation. If this occurs the multihull might sail forward and break the anchor free.

ANCHORING PROBLEMS

Multihulls move more to the wind than to the current and are thus more liable to change the direction that they lay over time. This pulls anchors out and can result in fouling of the chain in weed and rock.

Multihull Seamanship Rule

Know your neighbour’s swing area. Beware of the swing difference between monohulls and multihulls.

This is especially important in areas of high tidal flow. If possible avoid anchoring in strong currents. Monohulls anchored nearby will swing to the current while a multihull may not – often creating havoc.

HOW MANY ANCHORS?

At least two anchors and possibly three should be aboard most cruising multihulls. Two full anchors for different bottom conditions and a third lightweight anchor for use as a ‘kedge’. Fully test each anchor so you know its capabilities before getting caught in a critical situation.

The lightweight anchor can be laid as a kedge to pull your multihull off an obstacle if you run aground. It is very difficult to carry a large anchor with chain through a surf line or in a small dinghy. Multihulls are beached easily but are a bit harder to get off if the tide drops. A kedge anchor is extremely useful to secure the swing range in a tight anchorage.

Multihull Seamanship Rule

Carry a strong lightweight kedge anchor.

BRIDLE POINTS

Ensure the mooring cleats used for attaching the bridle arms and the central tether tie point are strong enough to take the full weight of the boat. The same rule applies to the strength of the nylon warp or anchor chain. If you anchor with rope, then the rode should be able to stretch. If using an all-chain system, then also utilise rope with stretch in the bridle arms and have a ‘lazy loop’ of chain to act as a catenary between the bridle attachment and the forebeam. The minimum length of anchor line should be five times the height from the forebeam to the bottom at high tide.

Multihulls tend to move more at anchor and you will need plenty of chafe protection on the bridle lines.

If tied to a permanent mooring, make the bridle lengths short enough to prevent the mooring from hitting the hulls.

The problem occurs in calm weather or reversing currents and winds. Make up a second bridle for this situation or mark the lengths on your usual bridle.

If you do not have a bridle system set up on your multihull, then a single line set off centre (from an outer hull) will reduce the amount you sail around when anchored.

Multihulls with prodders (bowsprit spinnaker poles) require careful bridle length measurements to set up a working system and avoid chafe. Sometimes the bridle arms need to be longer or shorter than recommended and this can cause issues with chafe and lines getting caught on underhull fittings. A strong, extendable boathook is often needed to run lines and retrieve them.

Set up a system that you can use easily. If it is difficult to set up the bridle each time you anchor, then rethink your technique.

ANCHORING UNDER SAIL

Manoeuvring cruising multihulls under sail is a skill worth practising. Picking up a mooring buoy or dropping an anchor requires knowledge about how far your multihull will continue forward when sails are dropped or feathered.

Multihulls are lighter and have a low momentum and will usually stop forward progress in one or two boat lengths depending on the wind conditions. Practise initially in no wind conditions to gauge maximum distances.

SAILING ONTO A MOORING

Approach the mooring buoy, or area that you intend to anchor, on a beam reach. Sail with enough speed to avoid leeway (drifting sideways). Centreboards should be down. Aim about a boat length under the buoy. At the last moment round the boat up into the wind while releasing the sheets.

Drop anchor or grab the mooring and secure it while the headsail is dropped or furled. Ensure sheets and travellers will run free or you will start sailing as soon as sideways drift occurs. Secure sails to reduce windage and then set your bridle.

SAILING OFF A MOORING

Multihulls are readily sailed off their mooring. Raise the mainsail first but leave the traveller and sheets slackened off. Determine which tack you want to sail onto and reverse the helm so that when the boat drifts backwards it will turn in the desired direction. Hoist or unfurl the jib and sheet it on the wrong side for the desired tack.

Sheeting the headsail on the opposite side to the desired tack will drive the multihull backwards and onto the tack required. When pointing in the desired direction, tack the jib and quickly sheet it in to sail away. Sail off the jib first and, once drive is established, sheet in the mainsail. If you sheet in the mainsail first the multihull may stall and go into irons or drift onto the other tack.

APPARENT WIND

Apparent wind is the wind you can feel on a moving yacht. It is the combined effect of the true wind and the wind generated by the movement of the platform you are on. Multihulls generate a stronger apparent wind than monohulls due to their high boatspeeds. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.

The unwary can think they are pointing high into the true wind and sailing at a high speed when in fact they are pointing off the wind. In this situation, a tack might be 120 degrees or more. What is happening is that the apparent wind is ‘bent’ forward toward the bows with the accelerating boatspeed as the multihull turns further away from the true wind direction. If you are trying to point as high into the wind as possible then this is a trap for the unwary.

To point high into the wind and generate the optimum speed toward a destination to windward you need to do some calculations and experimenting with your multihull. There will be a ‘best’ windward speed for your size and shape of multihull.

This will vary with wind strength and wave conditions and it is good seamanship to have a notebook on the navigation table with your calculations.

Multihull Seamanship Rule

Understand and use apparent wind.

A typical data entry might be:

Wind 15 knots, Seas slight. Full mainsail and working jib. Windward 9 knots. Tacking angle 90 degrees.

There are several ways to determine the above calculations. Computerised instruments will give a velocity made good (VMG) to windward. You can also calculate these figures if you know the boatspeed and tacking angles.

Illustrated is an example of the effect on boatspeed toward a windward point at different wind angles. The true wind is where the wind is coming from. The apparent wind is the ‘wind you can feel’. The figures illustrated show the actual boatspeed and the speed toward the windward point (VMG).

Know how to determine and work the apparent wind effect.

SAIL SHAPE

On racing catamarans, the lighter and faster the boat the flatter sails need to be to allow for the higher apparent wind. In contrast, cruising multihulls need a suitable sail camber for their maximum speeds. A close sheeting angle is a way to manage the apparent wind angle increase. The sheeting angle is the angle of the gap between the headsail and the mainsail. If the headsail is sheeted out wide, then it is difficult to point high into the wind. In strong conditions, this may make it impossible to sail effectively to windward.

In heavy conditions the true wind angle and apparent wind angles are much closer, therefore, deeply reefed sails with some shape are faster and more efficient that flat feathering sails.

Storm jibs should have shape, not be flat blades. When your multihull needs to beat off a lee shore in a gale then good sail shape can be life-saving.

THE WEATHER AND APPARENT WIND

Cumulus clouds often mean there is vigorous mixing of the lower levels of the atmosphere and thus there is less difference in apparent wind angles between the waterline and the masthead. In these conditions, less twist in the sail will maximise the use of apparent wind.

A storm sail set, efficient rig and parachute ready.

RACING USE OF APPARENT WIND

Keep the sail’s centre of fullness about one-third of the way back from the front, especially on the jib. The windward telltales should be just lifting. In most situations, a high-performance multihull will sail best downwind when the apparent wind is between 90-110 degrees apparent. Set your yacht up for this wind angle and bring the bows toward the wind until nearly luffing. As the yacht accelerates bear way steadily, keeping the power in the sails. If the sail collapses, let the yacht slow and start the process again.

A modern performance multihull will carry the apparent wind direction, with driving sails, to 100-130 degrees apparent.

When racing downwind in this manner lift the centreboard until it is flush with the bottom. This reduces drag and maximises leeway.

On a catamaran which needs a daggerboard for steering control, lift the leeward one flush and leave the windward one slightly down. By having only the windward daggerboard down when the windward hull lifts the catamaran will slip sideways and the multihull will have less capsize potential.

Multihull Seamanship Rule

Raise the daggerboard(s) up when on all downwind wind angles.

The Leeward board up aids lateral slide when pushed by wind and waves.