Most Useful Sail: The Drifter

They say the least used sail is the spinnaker; I would agree on that. Spinnakers require a lot of work to setup, sail, and strike. If conditions are not perfect, they can quickly become a handful and hold your yacht with the mast in the water until the problem is rectified. This means that few people get to encounter "spinnaker conditions" and those who flew it once won't ever make that mistake again.

While the spinnaker may be the least useful sail on a boat, I would say that its counterpart, the drifter, is the most useful sail to have.

When sailing in the Chesapeake Bay, our drifter would keep us moving on windless days. We would put it up for a few hours to keep moving while the winds died down. Once the winds returned we would strike it and put up the jib in its stead.

We liked our drifter but had no idea just how useful it is until we set out to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

We found ourselves trapped in the doldrums, and with our small electric motor, I mean trapped! There was no wind anywhere and we were not moving at all.

We set our drifter up and quickly began moving forward through the water. While we failed to set any speed records as we transited the doldrums, we were able to move at around 1 knot at all times. Some days we moved 20 miles, other days we moved 40 miles. After about 4 days in the doldrums, we finally found ourselves north enough that the winds began to build again!

Our drifter literally pulled us through the doldrums, bringing us back to the world of wind. On the northern part of the doldrums, we still fly the drifter at night.

This sail is great for downwind sailing, just like a spinnaker, but since it hanks onto the headstay, you have control as you strike it should the winds pick up too much. Downwind, the drifter fills beautifully and provides steady lee helm, this lets your wind steering guide you on a set downwind angle without the need to fight the mainsails' weather helm.

Since the main is not set, there is no noise from the boom or slating sail to keep off-watch crew awake.

For downwind sailing and ocean crossing, the drifter is the most versatile sail you can carry! But that's not all; unlike a spinnaker, a drifter can be sheeted in tight and used to sail upwind in very light conditions. This lets you (slowly) ghost around on light wind days without needing to rely on your motor.

If you are considering the purchase of a spinnaker, why not buy a similar sail that you will actually use?

Ocean Crossing and Chafe

Ocean sailing differs greatly from coastal cruising. In a coastal situation, you can afford to be risky. You can fly too much sail, heel over too far, maybe even push the envelope of what the yacht is capable of. If something breaks, the penalty is rather costly and small, as a repair facility is always at hand. Should your mast break, a sail tear, or a sheet part, the result is the same: the boat broke and will be fixed promptly at a nearby facility.

In the ocean, there is no nearby facility. If something on the boat breaks, you are left to your own devices to repair it. Carrying too much sail can risk tearing the sails with no sail loft for a thousand miles and no way of getting your yacht to shore! Setting the sails against the rigging will also cause them to chafe, and that will lead to a gash forming in the sail cloth.

On a deep broad reach or run, you may be tempted to ease the main all the way out and let it drape against the rigging, but each wave and puff of wind will cause the sail to shimmy up and down on the stay, sawing through the cloth.

Instead of trimming the sails to perfection, it is more important to trim the sails to longevity. Keep them set in a way that they do not contact any part of the boat or rigging. This will keep them from chafing and will almost guarantee that your sails will make it across the ocean and be ready to carry you back home when the time comes.

This might not be the fastest way, nor the most efficient, but it certainly is the safest and most frugal way to trim your sails.

Cheap Autopilot Trick

Autopilot is an incredible investment for a long distance cruiser. The value of being able to let a machine guide your course is invaluable when it allows you to be free from the helm while on watch. Electronic or wind powered autopilots have one major flaw in their design: cost. Both types of units will cost several thousand dollars and require a lengthy installation process.

That being said, there is a cheaper alternative to autopilot: sail balance.

We have both, electronic and wind powered autopilots, and we still use this simple trick. When going to windward, simply lock the helm straight and trim the sails for a balanced close reach. The yacht will not be able to turn further into the wind as the sails will luff and stall, and if it falls off, the sails will bring it back up into the wind.

This trick will allow you to sail as fast and as close to the wind as possible without the cost or complexity of an autopilot system.

To recap, all you need to do is lock the helm straight, then trim your sails for close reach and be sure they are balanced. The yacht will then turn up into the wind and sail along on the most windward course that it can as quickly as it can.

Even with two types of autopilot systems, we still do this trick when beating to windward as it is the easiest to set and allows us to relax in the helm as the sails do all the work.

Tanbark Sails

Tanbark sails is probably one of the most identifiable features we have from a far.

When we are sailing along, we know when someone is trying to hail us because they will call out "Sailboat with red sails" and right then we know that they mean us. This cuts down on confusion and wondering who they are trying to get a hold of. Instead, we know they want to talk to us and this speeds up the informational exchange that needs to occur. 

Another really beneficial aspect of tanbark sails has to deal with inclement weather. White sails fade away into fog and rain, while tanbark sticks out like a dark smudge in the distance. 

Lastly, when cruising, you will meet the same people over and over again. Having tanbark sails means that they can spot us from far away and then come join us where we are. We have had numerous boats see our sails and radio us to invite us into the anchorage, as well as see us in an anchorage and come over to hang out (before the sails get covered). 

While mostly all boats in the distance have white sails, the few with tanbark sails stand out and makes you easy to see and easy to identify. 

Beauty of a Ketch

For full disclosure, I am very partial towards multi-mast vessels. In my opinion, schooners are the most beautiful rig, followed by ketches and yawls.

This Morgan 41 Out Island is a wonderful example of a cruising ketch. They were designed as charter boats in the islands, and they are truely purpose built. They have a shallow draft, allowing them to creep into perfect anchorages, and plenty of beam to house their paying clientele in comfort. They are also designed to cruise in waters where they will always be on a beam reach, where a ketch will excel! The split sail plan means that each sail is smaller and more easily managed than it would on a sloop with the same sail area. This gives you great comfort and control while maintaining speed and drive through the water.

Best of all, a ketch is gorgeous to see under full sail!