Keeping Head to Wind

Emiliano Marino on rigging a riding sail

Aye, shipmates, have ye ever been on the hook and lain awake all night as the chop slapped her about like a kitten with a ball o’ yarn?

Or have ye ever gnashed yer teeth in frustration as yer doughty yacht dodged and crabbed about on her rode, sailing off on one tack or t’other like a wild tarpon on a line? Aye, if y’ could only keep her head to wind and give yer weary bones a rest!

Some boats and rigs are more prone to wigwagging at anchor than others: boats with high topsides and windage up forward, especially. And, for some, there may be no cure; but, for many, the best solution is what’s called a riding sail. Not really a sail in the sense of powering a vessel by providing aerodynamic lift or resistant drag, a riding sail is basically a flat air-rudder located well aft so as to hold the bow into the wind and waves.

How’s It Look

A riding sail is triangular and has no camber. Stoutly constructed for its size, the small sail is made of stiff, un-elastic fabric. The handkerchief-size riding sails of small craft may require no seams at all; but the cloth direction—the warp—is parallel to the longest free standing edge of the sail.

The sail must be large enough to effectively deflect the wind and hold the hull and rig on a completely unbalanced status, the opposite of what is desired underway… in a sailboat, anyway. A riding sail is like the tail of a weathervane or a whirligig, and they are just as useful on non-sailboats.

It is important that sufficient tension be applied to all edges so that the sail can be held flat and parallel to the centerline of the hull. Making your own riding sail is easy and may be preferable to buying a pre-made one off the shelf.

Where’s it Set

A yawl rig with a small mizzen may already possess the sail and placement to serve as a riding sail, except for two things: a mizzen sail is not perfectly flat and, as one of the working sails, shouldn’t be left out in the sun and weather while sitting at anchor for long periods of time.

With other rigs, the challenge then is how to securely carry a riding sail far enough aft to function correctly… the farther aft, the better…

How’s it Set

One can set a riding sail flying with a tack pendant, halyard and sheet; but, preferably the sail is bent to a spar or stay.

Many Maine lobster boats carry a riding sail at the mooring and while tending the pots. The sail is set on a short, unstayed mast, offset at the stern, with a boom and sheet.

I carried a similar setup in a 21-foot canoe; only the tiny little rig was stepped through the aft thwart and sheeted to the sternpost.

Alternatively, if there’s a backstay, the riding sail can be hanked to the stay, hoisted by the main halyard, tacked with a pendant, and have the sheet(s) led forward. In this scenario, it is the leech that is hanked to the stay and, somehow, the sail and sheets must not foul on anything forward of the stay.

Likewise, in another alternative, the leech can be hanked to the topping lift of a boom. This could be done on a mizzen or main boom if the main boom extends far enough aft. It is probably best to set the riding sail high enough above the boom to be clear of everything below it. The sheeting of the boom would counter-balance the hoist of the riding sail.

Bonus Uses

A riding sail is different from a steadying sail which, though also flat, serves to dampen the roll of a vessel and is often carried amidships. But, sometimes a riding sail will have the added benefit of dampening the roll of a hull. A riding sail can also assist a sea anchor in keeping head to wind in a blow off shore. And lastly, underway, the wee s’l may provide a little more weather helm, if necessary, for driving into a chop or heaving to.

Thar ye have it, shipmates, my prescription for a good night’s rest at anchor: keep her head to wind with a riding sail and remember to raise yer centerboard! •SCA•

Emiliano Marino wrote The Sailmaker’s Apprentice. For more information visit The Artful Sailor. •SCA•

As appeared in issue #73