How does the M17 heave to anyway? I've sailed mine for six years now and have never seriously attempted it. I find that there's too much chafing and bumping involved. How would you guys do it in the typical 25 knot winds and San Francisco chop? Board up? Board down? Reefs? Jim M17 "Spirit" (c. 2007) On Apr 10, 2013, at 4:23 PM, Tom Jenkins <tjenk@gte.net> wrote:
I imagine that when you want to go below to make lunch it might be better to heave-to with the sails adjusted so you can lash the tiller against the cockpit coaming. If you are lashing the tiller to go forward, consider that it might be best to use a furler on so light a boat, and stay in the cockpit.
I picked up a simple tiller-lashing trick on the internet that consists of a line from the starboard stern cleat, thence to the tiller with about three wraps around the stick (do not cross the loops), and then to the port stern cleat. If you get the length right, you can slip the wraps back to the stern and steer, and to secure the tiller you slip the wraps forward and they will jam and hold the tiller. For a boat like the 17 that doesn't track well when you are jumping around, this simple trick seems to hold my boat as steady as a clutch, with no holes drilled and nothing to hit your hand on.
Tom M17 Scintilla (2004)
On Apr 10, 2013, at 3:40 PM, James Poulakis wrote:
I loved the autopilots on my other (bigger) boats but this time around I went with the TillerClutch. I guess it depends on your sailing philosophy and how your Monty is set up. My Spirit is a minimalist M-17 without batteries, or any electrical system at all. An autopilot would have been the only thing aboard that required a deep cycle battery.
I don't have a performance report on the TillerClutch because I just installed it. It is obviously a well made piece of hardware. Lashing the tiller holds Spirit on a fairly straight course in moderate seas (make course adjustments by scooting around the cockpit) but if you go forward to drop the jib expect the boat to take off on a great circle route . Bottom line is that comparing a TillerClutch to an autopilot isn't really fair. They really do two different things. If you want something to hold a steady course while you go below to make lunch then an autopilot is probably your best bet. Me? I just scoot around my boat a lot.
Jim M17 "Spirit" (c. 2007)
On Apr 10, 2013, at 3:04 PM, Dan Richman <danielarichman@gmail.com> wrote:
i'm trying to decide whether to install the nifty TillerClutch, from WaveFront, on my m-17. it's a beautifully made piece of gear. but in the past, i've used similar devices and they failed to hold the boat on course. not even close, even though they were properly installed. it's not that the clutch slipped; it's that the boat's balance seemed to be thrown off too much by my moving around.
i plan to add a raymarine st1000+ autopilot soon, and my thinking was that that would maintain a good course despite my movements, since it corrects itself to hold a set heading. i was thinking i'd just use the autopilot rather than the tiller clutch.
but then again, the autopilot uses up power, while the clutch does not.
does anyone have experience using the clutch, the autopilot, or both? if both, when do you use one and when the other?
thanks for your thoughts.
dan
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