wrote ...
It makes me wonder if there is something else
out there for sailing that would make life so much easier.


Yes, there is, an autopilot.

Scotty

There Sure is!!!

This coming from "An Old Single Hander", Lazy Jacks for your Main Sail;
A Auto Pilot, as Scotty said, with a remote control, and the best of
all; A Pilothouse with inside steering station.

That Furler is a HUGE step forward in singlehanding. Without it I would
never sailed into my Late 70's, with a neuro disorder. I love
singlehanding!! What a way to clear your mind.

db, if you don't have Lazy Jacks there is a very inexpensive solution.
If you want, I'll explain how to set it up. E-mail me. I also have Half
ass solution to the inside steering for bad weather. Here in the high
Latitudes, I found it very nice to get out of the weather and had my
previous boat rigged for foul or cold weather sailing



http://community.webtv.net/tassail/ThomPage

http://community.webtv.net/tassail/Pneuma

We have the auto-pilot and I use it. I bought all the stuff to make
Lazy jacks but have not installed them yet.

I did not put up the main going downwind because I'd have to turn into
the wind to do it and the channel starts going directly downwind. My
wife was steering in the channel and she HATES the main blocking her
vision while it is going up, especially in the channel. By the time we
cleared the channel, I was rigging a fishing line for my 9 yr old and
that took awhile.

All my controls lead to my cockpit with stoppers. My first reef is a
two line system and my second reef is a single line system.