On Oct 25, 5:40 am, "Roger Long" wrote:
"Joe" wrote

Question: If you have an engine running would you deploy a drouge at
all?

If duration of weather and length of trip permitted, use of the engine would
be a good tactic. There's a good account in the old "Heavy Weather Sailing"
of a sailboat being blown out of the harbor at Isles of Shoals in a
hurricane and spending the rest of the storm under power with little
problem.

Much depends on the boat. Your boat, with a pilothouse and helmsmen trading
places warm and dry with other members of the large crew bringing them cups
of hot coffee would be very different than having one of the two people on
board my boat hunkered down out in the cockpit steering.


uhhh that's Sun Dried, Hand Sorted, Fresh Roasted, Organic Caye
Coffee.


The problem with
the engine is that the boat has to be managed constantly and a big reason
for using a drogue or sea anchor is to let the crew rest.

Setting a drouge on my boat will be at the end of a very long process
of other options, but something that has to be praticed and thought
about before heading offshore.


I think danger to leeward is either an issue or it isn't.

Thats like looking in a rear view mirror, I worry about the one's
coming at me.

I was talking about land; not waves. The need to keep a vessel from going
to leeward can be a deciding component in the heave to vs running question.

Oh no doubt!...I thought you were talking about the calming effect to
lee.. some claim makes a better ride when hove to.

Having a fin keel boat, I'm going to start with a strong bias towards
running since that's what she wants to do anyway. Unless I really, really,
need to stay to windward or am sure the weather is not going to progress
much beyond the point where only crew comfort and rest is an issue, I'll
just run off. Easy to progress from jib alone to bare poles to drogue
deployment without leaving the cockpit.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that you have a ketch. Setting your
mizzen alone sheeted flat should set you up nicely to the top of the gale
range if your rudder and steering gear can handle the sternway. You might
need just a small sea anchor to help. You also have a traditional long keel
hull so I would be biased towards heaving to if I had your boat up until the
seas rise to roll over conditions.

--
Roger Long