How to Rig Your Boat for Single-Handed Sailing

Single-handed sailing can be enjoyable and rewarding far beyond the typical experience of sailing with a normal crew compliment. The solitude and peacefulness of sailing by oneself allows for a greater connection to nature, as well as creates a deeper understanding of how your boat interacts with the wind and water. Typically, a solo sailor more easily handles a boat with a single mast and a total length of 30 feet or less rather than the larger, more complicated rigs. Junk-, lateen-, gaff-, gunter- and marconi-rigged sloops or catboats fall into the category of common rigs that are easily single-handed. Boats with multiple masts are generally too complicated for solo sailing and would be quite a handful for even an experienced sailor to handle.

Things You'll Need

  • Basic hand tools
  • Helm control
  • Fairleads
  • Cheek blocks
  • Cleats
  • Winches
  • Lazy-jacks or boom topping-lift
  • Harness or PFD with harness
  • EPIRB
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Instructions

    • 1

      Install a form of helm control. Autopilots either that follow a set heading or that maintain a constant boat-to-wind angle are useful on boats that are equipped with a steering wheel. Tiller minders work well on boats with a traditional tiller and rudder setup. Purchase tiller minders as a kit, or fabricate one from scratch.

    • 2

      Lead all sheets to within easy reach of the helm. Install fairleads on the deck or on the toe rails to maintain the proper sheet angles. Place the sheet winches, cleats and sheet clutches around the edge of the cockpit to allow for quick adjustments, without the need to move forward, out of reach of the helm. Install self-tailing winches for headsail control if the headsail sheet load is too heavy to be easily adjusted by hand strength alone.

    • 3

      Install a roller furling headstay or a dousing line from the headsail halyard shackle to allow for striking the headsail from the safety of the cockpit. Lead the roller furling line or dousing line to a cleat at the forward edge of the cockpit, and use fairleads or cheek blocks to control the route of the line as it comes aft along the deck.

    • 4

      Install mainsail and headsail halyard cleats at the forward edge of the cockpit. Install fairleads at the base of the mast to allow the halyards to run aft to their cleats. Add any fairleads or cheek blocks, as needed, to allow the halyards to clear any obstructions on deck along the route to their respective cleats.

    • 5

      Install quick-reefing gear on the boom if the mainsail is equipped with reef points. Place the quick-reefing cleats aft on the boom so they are reachable without leaving the cockpit. Roller furling is not recommended for mainsail reefing, as the mainsail quickly loses its shape and power when the sail is rolled around the boom.

    • 6

      Install lazy-jacks or a boom topping-lift. This will prevent the boom from falling into the cockpit and possibly striking you or entangling the helm during reefing or dousing operations of the mainsail. Lead the lazy-jack lines or topping-lift to a cleat at the forward edge of the cockpit.

    • 7

      Install lifelines along the deck and along the cockpit sole. Wear a safety harness or an inflatable PFD with a built in harness and a tether that may be snapped onto the lifelines when going forward while underway or for use in the cockpit during heavy weather or rough seas. Ensure that the tether is short enough to prevent you from being able to fall completely overboard.

    • 8

      Install an EPIRB device. Manual deployment types are suitable for day sailing, but an automatic-deploying device is appropriate for areas with rough and unpredictable weather or for overnight voyages.