Heaving to with a Snowgoose 37 Elite

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m.dalen
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2016 4:56 pm

Heaving to with a Snowgoose 37 Elite

Post by m.dalen »

Hi.

We are a family of five sailing around the world in our Snowgoose 37 Elite.
In case of storm, but also just to be able to relax for a while on long passages with rough weather, we have tried to find our how to heave to with our boat. When heaving the aim is to point the bow at an angle a bit from the wind with the rudder and sails working against each other keeping the boat stable and drifting very slightly away from the wind. This should greatly reduce the power of the waves on the boat and make it possible to ride out a storm in comfort.
We have not been able to figure out which combination of sails or rudder angle to get the boat stable, instead it will move back and forth towards the wind and be much less comfortable than running downwind.

Does anyone else have any advice and experience on heaving to with a Snowgoose Elite 37 that could be helpful?

Regards,
Morten
Lotusmantra
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 12:41 pm

Re: Heaving to with a Snowgoose 37 Elite

Post by Lotusmantra »

Hello,

I also own a Snowgoose 37 and I carry an 18 ft diameter parachute sea anchor with 400 ft of stretchy braided line and rig everything so I can deploy it from the cockpit. It takes time to really get used to deploying and retrieving but is very rewarding to have in an emergency or just waiting off somewhere e.g. for daylight to enter a port. The mini-keels on our cats just don't have the ability to stop sideways drift like the large deep keels on monohulls.

Regards,

Wayne
m.dalen
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2016 4:56 pm

Re: Heaving to with a Snowgoose 37 Elite

Post by m.dalen »

Hi,

Thanks for the reply! Where do you fasten the sea anchor, bow or stern cleats? Do you use a set bridle that keeps it in the middle, or do you balance it off to one side?
Do you keep any sails up or take everything down?

Does this setup work as well as heaving to, ie not only stopping drift but also calming down the movement of the boat?

We do not have a parachute sea anchor or 400 feet of line at the moment, but we will start experimenting with our regular sea anchor and the longest line we have the next time the seas are rough enough to try.

Regards,
Morten
Lotusmantra
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 12:41 pm

Re: Heaving to with a Snowgoose 37 Elite

Post by Lotusmantra »

Hello,

I made a mistake and told you mine was 18 feet in diameter. Sorry, mine is 15 feet. It is recommended that the diameter be as wide as the beam of the boat. Mine is a little smaller. I have a two-legged bridal at one end of my stretchy rode and attach one leg to each bow cleat. Sometimes I bring both legs directly to the bow roller which is off center and it puts the boat at an angle to the oncoming seas. Some folks rig lines to each bridal leg to go back and thru a turning block fastened at each stern cleat and onwards to the genoa winches so they can alter the angle of the boat from the cockpit into the oncoming sea. A bit complicated but works too. You need to practice several times until you get a system that feels and works good for you. Get set up so you can deploy from the cockpit.

I take all sails down. And that anchor needs to be very far out front of the boat and with line that can stretch easily although some people use only normal mooring rode. That long distance that is needed is to overcome the wave action period. That wave period is well documented and literature about it should be read.

I once had a steering problem while out in open ocean in very brisk trade winds. I dropped the sails and deployed the sea anchor. I done repairs, cooked and ate a hot meal, had a good sleep and about 18 hours after the incident, retrieved the anchor and carried on. My boat rode nicely all that time against the seas.

If you are planning long distant offshore travel, I strongly recomend carrying one on board. Search the internet for information. This equipment is not new. Most multihulls carry them and so do even some monohulls. You can have a look at one at: https://www.westmarine.com/buy/para-tec ... 46_004_003 West Marine may even have a good story about their use to help you decide. There are many other sources online to be found as well as many other manufacturers. I recommend you try to get a system that is relatively simple to use. Look around for a second-hand setup. Some people have carried them around and have never used or even practised using them. I also carry a small drogue that I can maybe use to slow down the boat if I have strong powerful following seas maybe.

My previous boat was a monohull and it's heaving to capability is dearly missed but there are a few other things that I don't miss.

Regards
m.dalen
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2016 4:56 pm

Re: Heaving to with a Snowgoose 37 Elite

Post by m.dalen »

Hi,

Thank you for the details. I have read about parachute anchors, but will reread now that I have a reason to learn it.
We have crossed the Atlantic and are waiting in Panama now to go through the canal, so we have a lot of ocean crossing ahead. I will check what we can find in the chandleries in Panama City or second hand.

Thanks again for the help! Now that I know someone else has managed to get this to work we will get the gear and practice until it works.

Regards,
Morten
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