My plans to move my ‘new to me’ NS26C is moved to 11th May due to dodgy weather.
I plan to bring the boat down from Midway Marina, East Haddam, through the Connecticut River and sail ‘as much as possible’ towards NYC.
This is my first time handling a Nonsuch. It would be great if there’s anyone in the CT area who can join me on Saturday and teach me valuable lessons on sailing a Nonsuch this Saturday.
I can be reached at +1 848 469 9297.
Thanks,
Siva Surendira
ND26C #42 “Inner Peace”
Jersey City
Siva - I hope you do find someone to sail with. The only real thing to be careful of on a Nonsuch that is vastly different than sailing any other boat is when gybing. If you do not get assistance beforehand, I have a few “rules” for you (these are just my own, others may have theirs):
Sailing dead downwind is fine on a Nonsuch. Even sailing by the lee by 10 degrees can be safely done, depending on wave action. The sail should be perpendicular to the boat, but not forward of the mast.
Never gybe a Nonsuch when the wind is over 12 or 15kn. Until you’ve done it a lot, keep your gybes to 10kn of true wind or less.
When gybing, pull in as much main sheet as possible before flipping the wheel enough to catch the wind. Then, haul in as much of the sheet as you can while the wishbone swings across before you begin to let it out - fast. This all happens in a fraction of a second, so practice a lot in light air. The main sheet is a very dangerous weapon during a gybe, and it can easily get wrapped up on a limb, the bimini, a stern flagpole, the swim ladder, etc. A friend of mine slashed his cheek open when gybing his NS36. He was lucky it didn’t wrap his neck!
Look up the “Hudson River Gybe” - which is a technique involving oversteering during a gybe. It’s a useful move once you’ve mastered regular gybing.
Don’t be ashamed to Chicken Gybe until you’re comfortable gybing. Failure can cause harm, destruction, and the loudest bang you’ve ever heard on a sailboat!
Everything else when sailing a Nonsuch is just like any other sailboat. Sail trim is key, telltales are essential. Once the sail is up, loosen the topping lift so that the sail is holding up the end of the wishbone, rather than the line. It should be just slightly slack.
More reading can be done on the INA website. The entire collection of Updates is available in PDF. There are dozens of tips on sail trim specific to a Nonsuch that have been written over the last 40 years. I suggest downloading the whole thing and do some reading on your fantastic voyage!
Best of luck,
Bob Gehrman
NS30 #396 “Quickbeam”
Baltimore, Maryland
Bob puts it all very well in his note. I have one or two slight differences of opinion. I speak strictly about your your little voyage that’s coming up, not your lifetime that will follow with the boat.
On this upcoming trip, DO NOT GYBE THE BOAT, PERIOD. Seriously. A “chicken gybe” means tacking your way through roughly 270 degrees until you arrive (still tacking) with the downwind breeze blowing against your sail but on the other side of it i.e. ending up as if you had just gybed your boat.
And, if you are running with the wind at your back, compromise - don’t sail dead down wind. Make it harder to “accidently” gybe her. And … Sorry, Bob, but Nonsuches are famous for being able to sail downwind with the sail/boom end further forward than perpendicular to the mast. Like truly 20 - 30 degrees ahead of the mast. This seems to promote additional forward “pull” (speed) and will also help to prevent an accidental gybe.
My mantra for this upcoming trip is to get her (and you guys) there, nice and safe and in one piece. Personally, I would not spend time, etc. practicing all that much on this trip - you’ll have enough challenges. Make sure your fuel tank is full and if the wind falls off (or it’s coming from a truly disadventageous direction), turn on your engine.
You simply need to be where you are supposed to be at the right time. In one piece. All else is secondary.
I agree with Ernie except I would motor the whole way and raise the sail only when advantageous. The purpose of your trip is to get her home. You don’t need to prove anything , just get her home.
When I transit areas like the East River or going through inlets to or from the ocean, I always have my sail up with the 1st or 2nd reef. If I lose power, I have a means of steering the boat as opposed to drifting.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Hi Siva,
Planning your departure to coincide with favorable weather is smart move for your maiden voyage. PredictWind is pretty good for planning in the 24-36 hour range. Not to be trusted beyond 36 hours.
Others have provided good advice… avoid the jibe and think Cat rig ( or Sunfish ) on other angles of sail. Surprisingly easy to sail.
We moved our boat from Westbrook, CT to Westport, CT two weeks ago.. and had a wonderful sail yesterday in 8-10 knot breeze.
I’m glad we practiced a few jibes in light air… . gave me lots of respect for the advice to take care in more wind. Jibes are easy to avoid and I will avoid them over 10 knots till I have time to practice.
Standout points for me in our first two weeks are :
Make sure you display your registration sticker. Coastal towns have marine patrols that don’t have much to do till Memorial Day. They are likely to swing by to ask about PFDs and registration. Expired stickers provide an excuse for a more lengthy conversation.
Glad I took time to get used to using prop-wash and prop-walk to maneuver at slow speeds in tight quarters. We have a fixed prop and find they are surprisingly effective. They work just like the video says.
Once you get out of the marina, it is great to have someone to steer for you on your first couple sails. For the skipper, there are lots of things to looks at, check and learn. It’s nice not to be stuck behind the wheel.
I was happy that I got to know my chartplotter ahead of time it was useful on our maiden voyage…but a bit confusing. ( My first time with a B&G Zeus3 )
The choker and mainsheet are very different yet very effective for controlling sail shape. We were sailing pretty close the NS30 polars with just a little practice. ( we have a NS33 so I realize we have a ways to go to be competitive… also maybe a new sail )
We absolutely LOVE our NonSuch yet I can see she’ll be pretty high maintenance… the todo list is growing as we get to know her better.
Smooth sailing on your maiden voyage !
Why not the sail the river with the sail in the cover or properly bound and the halyard fastened to the port stanchion base loop and tensioned at the cleat.
If everything is tidy going thru the East River and Hells Gate you will reduce windage and the chance of things getting away from you.
I hope you find a mate for your trip.
As one relative Nonsuch novice to another I think you’ll find it pretty easy compared to a sloop. I’m in San Diego and there’s nobody here to show me anything. Just a wealth of advice to be gleaned from this group.
Due to a cracked fairlead collar I sailed for most of a year without even tightening my halyard all the way. And it didn’t really slow me down much.
And it was months before I found myself with someone aboard who could fiddle with the choker while I steered. That really did make a difference in speed, but sailing was fun before and after learning to use the choker. And I still don’t fuss with it when there’s no one on board who can work the winch or steer.
If you can raise and lower the sail and manage the sheet (just one!) then you can learn and refine the rest as you go. They’re very easy boats to sail.
I will agree with the gybing advice, though. I gybed once, early on, in light wind and it was loud. LOUD. Since then I’ve either chosen my courses to avoid gybing or just made really long tacks (chicken gybe). But even then you’ve got a lot of sheet out and it tends to hang up on the corners of my stern railings. So you still have to pay attention and make sure it crosses over smoothly.
Last Friday I tried a more controlled gybe (9 kts wind) and just hauled the sheet while standing at the helm. To my surprise the boat yawed slightly as the last of the line came in and I let it back out again on the new tack. Even my non-sailor wife was impressed. (As if I actually knew what I was doing . )
I am also finding myself keeping up with or out-pacing boats that are quite a bit larger and fancier than mine. It’s not my intention. In fact, it’s usually a passenger who points it out. I just try to make the thing go as efficiently as I can figure out.
If I can figure out how to sail this boat, I’m sure you’ll do fine.
As I said, Siva, just get her there. But, bottom line, as Joe said, put in your #2 reef (NOT #1 - too much sail) and either go with the sail raised or truly ready to raise. Plan to motor (or motor sail). Don’t try to point high, close to the wind - everything will be fine but … you’ll be way heeled over for no good reason (could be scary on a big new boat), the engine will be running on a non-level angle (like 15 - 20 degrees), etc. It won’t be thrilled. Motor sail a little further off the wind and the rig will thank you. Yes, your boom end may end up in the drink as the boat oscillates. For that, try (and it might be VERY hard) to tighten the T/L keeping the boom a bit higher.
The sailing articles and videos on the www.Nonsuch.org website, as well as the New Nonsuch Owners Guide, all have useful sailing tips.
They’re on the MEMBERS tab, under SAILING GUIDANCE and MANUALS, respectively.
But I’d like to second Brian Godfrey’s reassurances.
There’s lots to getting the most out of the boats under saiI.
However, they’re pretty forgiving boats, and sailing them well enough to enjoy the experience is not that hard.
Have the topping lift tight, and the choker and mainsheet a bit loose, when raising and lowering the sail. When the sail’s up, tighten the choker a little in light air, a lot in stronger breezes. Adjust the mainsheet so the sail isn’t luffing and the telltales are flowing (assuming you have telltales).
That will be enough to get you going. The rest is finetuning, and you can learn that at your own pace.
Just remember, after you have hoisted the sail to loosen the topping lift before adjusting the choker, otherwise they fight each other and you won’t be able to shape the sail. Harden the choker so that about 2-3 feet of sail are kissing the boom on your point of sail. You can adjust it for upwind sailing and just leave it there for your first few times using the boat. As long as the casting for the line organizer is not cracked crank up the halyard enough to keep scallops out of the luff. Mainsheet, when in doubt let it out. On a beat trim in until the boom end is in line with the outside corner of the transom. Ease out as you come off the wind. Sailing DDW, the boom should be at least 90 degrees to the boat. Those simple guidelines should get you going. Do watch the Nonsuch sailing videos Bob Neches mentioned. They are old fashioned in style but the info in them is well worth the time to watch.
Mark Powers
. )