Heave to

[PHBenson]

What is the procedure for heaving-to in a core sound 17?

[Andy B]

Here's the general idea:

Uncleat the main (forward) sail so that it is completely free.

Cleat the mizzen (aft) sail so that it is fixed in the center of the boat.

Let the rudder free (not cleated or pulled up).

 

The aft sail is then like a windvane that will keep the boat pointed into the wind.  You can reef the aft sail if winds are high.  Note you will start going backwards, so make sure you have some room.

 

Others will chime in with their personal tweaks, I'm sure.

[Andy B]

Here's a lot of discussion on the topic.

 

 

 

 

[Alan Stewart]

Some good info there in past threads. I've added my 2 or 3 cents below. The best thing to do is take your boat out and try stuff. Be prepared to realize that the procedure is different depending on the conditions. A handheld GPS is super handy for see what works best for heaving to and not losing ground. The gustier the conditions the harder it is to keep the boat parked and stable. 

 

In all cases the main sheet MUST be completely free and loose and in all cases you have to decide which "tack" you want to heave to on. Port (wind coming over the port side) or Starboard. Pointing directly into the wind isn't heaving to. If you sheet the mizzen in, let the main out and then just let go of the rudder your likely to have the rudder swing violently over to one side as the boat chooses the tack your going to be on for you and begins drifting backwards. You can damage the rudder doing this especially if you don't have rudder stops. 

 

It's essential to have a way of locking the tiller (rudder angle) in order to heave to effectively in all conditions. 

I usually raise the CB when heaving to but it depends on conditions. Raising the CB allows the boat to slip sideways which is a good thing when heaving to. You don't want the boat to get going. you want it to drift slowly perpendicular to the wind or drifting slightly downwind on one tack or the other. 

 

Light wind easy sailing flat water 8-12 knots. 

Round up and sheet in the mizzen all the way (not crazy tight but fully sheeted).

Then decide which tack you want to be on and let the main sheet out and give the sheet some slack (pull some slack out for it). 

Head up into the wind and let the boat speed drop to zero. 

Once boat speed is zero you can push the rudder over to the "lee" side. About 20 deg or so but not on center. 

If you just lock the rudder on center then you'll start drifting backward very fast 2 or 3 knots just from the wind pushing the boat backward. You don't want to lose ground that fast or have that much flow over the rudder backward so rudder always needs to be off center. 

You'll be drifting backwards very slowly or not at all if you do if correctly. 

The boat will "hunt" about 10 deg or so up and then down. 

As it falls off and the mizzen catches some wind the boat will get a little energy and squirt forward and as soon as it does and there is some flow over the rudder, the boat will head up just a bit and the mizzen will luff allowing windage to take over again and the boat will slow, stop, and fall off again. Cycle Repeats. 

If you want it to be a bit easier drop the mainsail all together and reduce some windage on the bow. 

 

Reefing while Heaved to

This is how you "stop" the boat to put in the first main reef. When you do however you MUST NOT pull the mainsail "in" or you'll bear away and start sailing. You have to recognize this instantly and let it go or better yet you can control the boat by holding the main sail. Push it away from you to bring the bow back into the wind, pull it in to prevent the boat from tacking and knocking you overboard. If you have the reef lines led aft like the 20mk3 then you can do the reef without influencing the main sheet angle at all. 

 

Higher or very gusty wind. 

I've found that in higher wind or very gusty wind that can quicky switch directions by 10-20 deg. It's better to let the mizzen out just a bit (not sheeted all the way in) so that the boat parks at angle further "off the wind" say about 30-40 deg off the wind. Especially if you haven't reefed the mizzen. I also lock the rudder further off center. Having the rudder further off center makes that boat react sooner to a gust that hits the mizzen and having the boat sit slightly further off the wind makes it more resistant to a gust coming in from a different direction. If you have the sheet in tight and rudder just slightly over that boat will sit perhaps only 20 deg off the wind and a gust can cause the boat to tack. If the boat tacks you've got to change the rudder to the other side. 

In higher winds and chop if someone is "going forward" to reef the main then the helmsman should be careful to keep the boat just off the wind and stable for the crew. If alone, you've got to keep an eye on the boat's state when you go forward and touch the mainsail so as not to cause the boat to bear off or tack and push you over the side if you're caught unaware. You can never have too much situational awareness on a small boat! In very rough conditions it may be easier to reef the main by dropping it entirely and then doing what you need to do rather than standing on the foredeck if you don't have the main reef lines lead aft. 

 

Raising the rudder?

If you don't care about drifting backwards at all then let the main out, mizzen in and just lift the CB and rudder out of the water. In light wind the fastest you'll drift is the wind speed directly downwind and you don't have to worry about being on one tack or the other. I rarely do this because I think you can just as easily park the boat and not lose ground by keeping the boat plodding along as described above with rudder just off center. 

 

 

[Andy B]

Thanks, Alan, for the super detailed explanation.  I've only done the process under your "Raising the rudder?" section, because I'm usually not going anywhere so I don't care about losing ground.  Now I have something to practice next year!

 

And it reminds me I need a tiller tamer [edit Tiller Clutch} --do you guys have any available right now?

[Jonathan M. Cohn]

For holding the tiller in place I really like the Tiller Clutch over the tamer.

 

Alan demonstrated one here:

 

 

https://wavefrontmarine.com/

 

 

[Reacher]

A good topic and thanks Alan for the detail.

 

Are there any tricks to adapt this for raising the mainsail, especially when single handing? After the mizzen is up I feel like raising the main is more of a scramble than it should be with the boat moving backwards, stretching between the tiller and the halyard, etc. Rudder up or locked? Centerboard up? What is best?

[Andy B]

@Reacher  Good question, I'd love to hear more from others about that, too.  The only thing I've tried is to raise a partial mizzen.  Either reef the mizzen (normally or loosely).  Or just don't raise the mizzen all the way, then go raise the main, then come back and raise the mizzen.  It's not a great solution but it has worked for me.

[Jonathan M. Cohn]

I'm always anxious to raise the mizzen just to get the spar and sail out of the way so I can steer! I often put it up at the dock if possible as I worry about the reefing lines getting back towards my outboard, rudder, tiller, etc. I'm sort of a nervous Nelly until the mizzen is up and I have steerage. Then I find the main is not too bad and I can often raise it even without being completely head to wind. Of course, its easier with someone else on the boat. Luckily I still have a 10 year old minion along a lot of the time and he loves helming while I work on other stuff. 

[Alan Stewart]

On 1/10/2026 at 8:36 AM, Reacher said:

A good topic and thanks Alan for the detail.

 

Are there any tricks to adapt this for raising the mainsail, especially when single handing? After the mizzen is up I feel like raising the main is more of a scramble than it should be with the boat moving backwards, stretching between the tiller and the halyard, etc. Rudder up or locked? Centerboard up? What is best?

I usually raise the mainsail at the dock and then sail away from it. If you don't like doing than then I presume you motor or row away from the dock first (which is fine) and in that case you raise the mizzen all the way first which allows you to heave to on one tack and then raise the main. Unless it's absolutely honking conditions that should be no drama so long as the main doesn't get caught on something and pull the bow off. 

 

The way i'd do it would be not to heave to completely but once the boat was moving under mizzen alone on say a reach, i'd head up into the wind slightly and sheet in the mizzen close hauled and lock the tiller off straight ahead. Then move forward and pull the main halyard. If you're sufficiently head to wind (but not too much so you don't go into irons) it should shoot up easily as long as you don't have the downhaul cleated, snotter too tight or mainsheet sheeted in. Once it hits the top of the mast, a tug on the snotter tension and main downhaul and you're done. Maybe takes some practice but that's it. Should be done before the boat loses forward speed so you can sit back down, ease the mizzen sheet, bear away slightly, sheet main in slightly and you're sailing away. 

[Jonathan M. Cohn]

Alan, you sail off the dock on main alone without the mizzen? I'm not sure why but in my head I thought I wasn't really supposed to sail on main alone and always put the mizzen up and then the main. Are there other situations where you find it better to use main alone? How about when reefing down? For reefing, I've always thought the order for my 17.3 was sort of:

 

1. Fill the ballast tank.

2. Lower the sail height.

3. Put in the first reef in the main

4. Put in the first reef in the mizzen

5. Put in the second reef in the main

6. Put in the second reef in the mizzen

 

My plan at this point if still overpowered, assuming I couldn't just stop sailing, was to attempt to sail on reefed mizzen alone without the main. Is that really an option? I'm doing the Texas 200 this year and hear of sailors talking about having three reefs. I've always assumed I didn't need that. 

 

 

 

[Alan Stewart]

Didn't mean to confuse. When i said i raise the main at the dock that would be after raising the mizzen. In other words I usually always raise both sails at the dock and then sail away and if my main is going up my mizzen is already up. Mizzen up first always. I never have my main up without the mizzen up. 

 

You're depowering order is exactly correct with the slight sidebar that....

 

The ballast tank should always be filled when sailing the 17 or 20mk3 UNLESS you have the mast head float (which I know you do) which makes it an option to sail sans ballast. Or to put another way, I'd say that the 17 and 20 mk3 were always designed to be sailed with ballast since you can't effectively "hike out" (and you're not meant to) and the decision to make that ballast water ballast was in order to make the boat lighter for trailering and launching/retrieving. 

 

You can absolutely sail with just the reefed mizzen we've done it lots. Works great on a reach or any downwind point of sail. In a pinch it works upwind too in strong winds but you have to carefully mange the weather helm and keep the boat speed up and it likely won't work in very choppy conditions. 

https://smallcraftadvisor.substack.com/p/double-enders-vs-transom-sterns

Below a picture I took from the North Carolina Challenge. Great conditions for 2 finger sailing down long wind swells with double reefed mizzen.

[Steve W]

This is a great conversation. As mostly a recreational sailor, I've never done any of these techniques, but obviously will make notes and practice.

 

Mostly I've just sheeted the mizzen hard, pulled up the Centerboard and rudder and took my time while drifting backwards. It's usually doing something with the main and I can steer the boat by backwinding the main. I do lose some ground.

 

If it's going to be more than the few seconds it takes to reef, I'll tip the motor down and start it, locked straight forward. It only takes idle on my Suzuki or my E-Propulsion to stop the reverse progress and feels very safe. I've done this long enough to go below, look around for something while feeling very safe........Amos will remember when I got asked for my registration number approaching a lift bridge.......it's now written with a sharpie on the aft hatch cover. 

 

Take Care, 

Steve

 

 

[R Johnson]

Would it make sense to raise the board slightly when trying to heave to?  It would move the center of effort back and I would think allow the boat to point slightly off the wind, and then drift slightly sideways?  I think I remember that the boat would settle side ways to the wind if both sheets were released. 

 

[PHBenson]

Excellent discussion. Thank you.