Home / Seamanship / Sailing manoeuvres and deck work
Manoeuvres are agreements, not tricks
A manoeuvre rarely fails on skill, and tricks will not save it. It fails because two people on board had different ideas about what happens next. So every manoeuvre starts with agreements in words and only then with the hands.
Tacking and gybing
The call is "Ready about?" and, after the answer, "Lee oh!". The point is not the formality but that everyone on board knows which movement follows which word. In a gybe the main crosses with the wind aft: sheet in under control, never let it slam across.
Reefing in good time
The rule of thumb: the first time you think about it, it is time. A reef taken calmly costs five minutes. The same reef an hour later costs nerves, and sometimes a sail.
Heaving to
Backed jib, helm to windward, main eased: the boat comes almost to a stop and lies quietly. For a meal, for a reef, for a think, and as the first thing to do when something goes wrong on deck.
Man overboard
First press the MOB button on the plotter and post a lookout who does nothing but keep watching. Then sail the drill you have practised. Which drill matters less than that the crew knows it.
Sail trim
Sheet, traveller, twist in the mainsail, cunningham, backstay. Trim is not only speed: a well trimmed boat heels less, holds her course better and puts less load into rig and fittings.
Getting ready for sea
Before letting go, lash everything down, close hatches and seacocks, check the bilge, stow loose gear below. What lies around in force three flies in force six.
Sailing manoeuvres start with a plan, not a winch
Every sailing manoeuvre starts in the cockpit. Before anyone gives an order, it is settled who steers, who eases the old sheet, who trims the new one and who keeps an eye on traffic and shallows. On a cruising boat with a small crew one person often does two jobs. That works as long as everybody knows in advance which two.
Tidy up first: sheets coiled and free to run, winch handle within reach, nothing lying on a line that could snag it. Then check the room you need. A tack needs little space to windward; a gybe needs considerably more to leeward. In a narrow channel, plan the point where you will tack, not the point where the water runs out.
Tacking and gybing, step by step
In a tack the bow passes through the wind. The boat loses speed doing so, which is why it needs plenty beforehand. Turn smoothly, without slamming the helm hard over, because a rudder at full lock brakes more than it turns. Let the jib sheet go as the sail starts to back, then sheet in briskly on the new side before the pressure builds.
In a gybe the stern passes through the wind and the mainsail crosses with real force. Sheet the main in first, bring the boom over the centreline under control and ease it promptly on the new side. The dangerous version is the accidental gybe, when the boat bears away a fraction too far on a run. A preventer rigged from the boom end forward stops it. The calls are ‘Ready to gybe?’, ‘Ready’ and ‘Gybe-oh’, and nobody moves before the word.
- Check the course, keep room to windward and build up speed.
- Give the call and wait for the crew to answer.
- Put the helm over steadily, not to full lock.
- Release the jib sheet as the headsail backs.
- Sheet in on the new side and bear away until the boat picks up speed.
- Retrim mainsheet and traveller for the new tack.
Shooting up into the wind to stop without the engine
Shooting up means steering the boat head to wind, letting the sails flog and allowing the remaining way to carry her forward until she stops. It is how you pick up a mooring buoy, come alongside under sail or stop next to someone in the water. Of all the sailing manoeuvres it may be the most useful, because it works when the engine will not.
The skill lies in judging the distance. A heavy boat carries her way a long time, a light one stops quickly, and into a chop the speed bleeds off faster than on flat water. Practise with a fender or a buoy to learn how many boat lengths your boat carries at a given speed. Fall short and you bear away and try again. Arrive too fast and the mainsail, pushed out against the wind by hand, makes a decent brake.
Harbour manoeuvres under engine: prop walk, turning and stopping
Inside the harbour the sails come down and the physics change. A boat only steers when water flows past the rudder. Going ahead, the propeller wash hits the rudder directly, so a short burst of throttle with the helm over turns the boat almost on the spot. Going astern there is no such flow, and the rudder bites only once the boat has real sternway.
Prop walk kicks the stern sideways as soon as you engage gear. With a right handed propeller the stern goes to port in reverse. Find out how your own boat behaves: in open water, engage astern briefly and watch where the stern goes. You will use that knowledge when stopping in a berth or turning in a tight fairway.
Harbour work succeeds slowly. Keep as little speed as wind and tide allow, and as much as you need to steer. Agree a plan B as well: where you will turn away if the gap proves too tight.
Practising manoeuvres, even when sailing two up
Manoeuvres become safe by repeating them in good weather, not by trying them for the first time in bad. One afternoon in open water is enough for ten tacks, five gybes and a few stops at a buoy. Swap roles as you go, so everyone on board steers once and handles the sheets once.
With two aboard, the helm takes on as much as possible, for example the mainsheet, so the second person can concentrate on the headsail. An autopilot or a lashed tiller can help briefly when both hands are needed on a line. And if a manoeuvre goes wrong, abandon it rather than rescue it: going round again costs a minute.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a tack and a gybe?
In a tack the bow passes through the wind, in a gybe the stern does. The gybe is the more delicate one at sea, because the mainsail can cross suddenly with the wind behind it.
What does shooting up into the wind mean?
Turning head to wind and letting the boat coast to a stop on her remaining way. You use it to pick up a buoy, to come alongside under sail and in a man overboard recovery.
Why does my boat stall halfway through a tack?
Usually she had too little speed, or the helm went over too slowly or too hard. In a short, steep sea, bear away a little first to build speed.
What is a preventer for?
It holds the boom forward on a run and stops it sweeping across the deck in an accidental gybe.
What is prop walk?
The sideways push of the propeller that swings the stern to one side, mostly when going astern. With a right handed propeller the stern goes to port.
Which harbour manoeuvres are worth practising before a cruise?
Stopping dead, turning in a tight space and going astern in a straight line. Practise in open water at a buoy before the first unfamiliar harbour.
What this has to do with insurance
On an older boat the rig is the most expensive single item after the hull, and it is where providers differ most sharply. Some exclude damage to mast, boom, standing and running rigging together with any consequential loss. Check that one line before you set two premiums side by side: in a real loss it decides more money than the difference in premium does.
