Hi There: I am not familiar with the S2 line. My suggestion re sailing and boat handling skills would be to get yourself involved in some racing, preferably in small centerboarders. One season’s racing will be worth years of messing around in the larger keel boat, in terms of learning curve. Regards – Steve

Hi Kevin: Sounds like you are on the right track. And yes, racing would help very much with the learning curve. You find out right away what works and what doesn’t! The other key ingredient is learning about weather – which is not as hard these days as some think. Understanding weather patterns and precursors affects you not only at seas, but at anchor (and on land) as well. Nothing else will have as much positive impact on your cruising as having a feel for the elements. Good Luck – Steve

Hi Scott: I don’t trust my memory of the details on the back end of your boat. But for general principles consider the following: How the drogue is attached depends on the loads, chafe, and how long it is to be used.

For something like a Jordan Series drogue, you will need to have hard spots, reenforcements to spread the load, usually in the form of pad eyes on the corners of the transom.

Galerider type devices have much lower loads.

Sharp turns around corners of cleats, chocks, etc. are prone to chafe. Chafe can be reduced by use of high modulus lines which don’t stretch. Stretch equals movement which causes chafe.There are also minimum radii issues to be considered and these vary with rode construction and diameter.

Using the feet of the cleat as a turning block, taking thr rode around this and to a winch is probably not a good idea. The 90 degree turn substantially increases the loads (there’s a diagram on this in Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia). I don’t recall the reinforcement under the cleat which TPI used, but in general, this is not a good idea if we’re dealing with really high loads.

When thinking about leads keep in mind that the device being dragged is going to be swinging back and forth in angle as the boat changes course relative to the position of the drogue. So the attachment points on the hull need to allow for this. A negative example would be the lead of a port quarter chock with the boat turning to starboard. The port rode would then rub on the corner of the transom.

Good luck with whatever you do. – Steve

Hi Richard: A very tricky question, to which there is no really satisfactory source. Best thing to do is to decide whose gear you want to carry, and then talk with both the supplier and users of the gear (in boats that have comparable design characteristics to your own). Regards – Steve Dashew

Hi Keith: I can’t point you to anything specific to cats, but the sail trim issues are much the same between mono and multi-hulls. There are differences in anchoring techniques, and of course handling under power since you’ve got twin engines. Regards, Steve Dashew

PS – For heavy weather tactics you might want to look at our Surviving the Storm which has a detailed chapter on multihull tactics.

Hi Everett: Heading from Puerto Vallarta to Cabo can be difficult depending on the boat and how the northers are doing coming down the Sea of Cortez. There is no way for us to estimate the time involved, but the skipper of the boat should be able to do that for you.

Assuming it is a beat all the way, where you live aboard the boat will have a big impact on your comfort. The closer you are to the center of the boat, and the lower down in the hull, the less motion you will feel.

Also, the course taken can have a big impact. Sometimes, especially if conditions are light when you start, it can make sense to run due north along the coast, and then hop across to Cabo when the you have a more favorable angle. Good Luck – Steve

Suggest he contact Bob McDavitt (mcdavitt@metservice.com) for routing info. Costs are low and he is very good. Regards – Steve Dashew

Hi Jeff: Singlehanding is a controversial subject, as it is impossible for a singlehander to stand proper watches. That said, unless you have a very large multihull, one which has enough size to resist capsize, I would suggest a monohull, which will be faster than any cruising cat, and give you far more factor of safety in heavy weather.

None of our books address singlehanding on its own, but all of their information applies as much to singlehanding as to cruising with a partner or crew. Good Luck with your plans–Steve

Hi John: The combination required to heave to varies with wind velocity and sea state–for any given vessel. So what works in one set of conditions will have to probably be modified for a different situation.

The principle is to get the fore and aft sails to offset each other, hopefully so that the boat maintains a constant angle to the most dangerous (or uncomfortable) seas, at as close an angle as possible (closer is usually safer and/or more comfortable).

If your boat will create a slick to weather, it sometimes helps to get the angle so that the boat drifts dead downwind of the slick. In theory the slick reduces the tendency of the waves to break (but we have no direct experience with this ourselves).

It is hard to give you the specifics of what to do on your boat without being on board, or knowing more details. However, if she is ketch rigged, as a guess I would say that some combination of staysail and mizzen might work. Or perhaps mizzen and a small jib.

I would aim for a 50 to 60-degree angle to the waves/wind as a start. Experiment in moderate conditions first. From your description, it sounds like a neutral helm or even some helm to weather might help. Also, I would try it without the main, or only use the main in lighter winds.

As to a reference, our book Surviving the Storm has a chapter with lots of drawings and images on the subject of heaving to. Good luck – Steve

Best thing to do is to call Switlick and ask who they recommend. There will be somebody in your area who has been certified by the Switlick folks. Also, it is a good idea to have a look at your raft when it is repacked, see what it looks like when it is blown up, check what is inside, etc. Steve