Sailing a Cape Cod Mercury with no Jib and No Rudder: Controlling the Boat
	The Controls: Wind and Weight: There are two controls that can be used to sail a Cape Cod Mercury with no rudder and no jib. Steering is accomplished by the heel of the hull and position of the main sail. The heel of the hull is affected by the sailor's weight and heel caused by the position of the main sail relative to the wind. The sailor's position on the boat can be moved to windward or leeward. The boom angle can be changed, from against the port stay to against the starboard stay. The sailor's weight position controlls the heel of the hull: Positioning the weight so as to heel the hull to windward causes a leeward turning force. When getting under sail on a beam reach it is essential to heel the boat to windward to counteract the action of the wind on the sail which produces a tendency to head to windward (leeward heel). The boom angle also affects the heel of the hull: A powered up sail will generally cause the boat to turn upwind. Only when the boom is backed firmly against a stay (as far away as possible from the boat centerline) will the boat turn in the direction of the boom. In high winds it may not be possible to back the main all the way to the stay without capsizing the boat. In this case a partial backing will result in the boat sailing backward, the boat heeling to leeward and the stern heading upwind. Pushing the boom to effect a jibe with the stern in the vicinity of the eye of the wind will point the boat in a downwind, by the lee, position on the opposite tack (backward to forward jibe) and the tack is maintained by applying weight to windward. It is essential to release the boom to travel firmly against the lee stay to prevent the boat from capsizing in the resulting jibe. This type of jibe can be made safer by placing the boom firmly against the stay shortly before the jibe. The backward to forward jibe has the same result as backing the main against the stay but the turn is made in the opposite direction. The backward forward jibe would normally capsize a boat but in this case, the boat enters the jibe moving backwards and before any speed is attained in the forward direction the boat spins around to a beam reach. Back to Home Page Copyright Phil Rossoni 9/1/2004