Paddle or Oar

No good.  Yesterday, I tried some of the methods listed but none allowed me to make headway against a 10 knot wind.  I had a praddle and kayak paddle.  The praddle had me going in circles even with the rudder.  I used a paddle end and tried paddling stern first.  Finally, I used the full kayak paddle.  It got me closer, but eventually, I stalled out.  I ended up reloading my boat and driving to a beach 30 minutes away.

Regardless of the method, the sails had to come fully down.  Even the slightest bit of material caught the boat and had me going backwards.

I suspect that I need my full oars in those wind speeds.

Thanks for the suggestions.   On my latest foray, I used a 4 piece kayak paddle (2 handles, 2 blades).  It worked quite well, but I had to drop both sails.  Even loose, the sails had enough drag to pull the boat off course.  It wasn't quite as easy as a kayak due to the width, but I was still able to make headway against a 15 kph wind.

The handy part is that if I have a partner, each can take one of the blades.  The separate pieces are small enough to fit in the compartment under the foredeck.

I liked the suggestion of poling, but the channel depth was over 3 metres.  It didn't become shallow until right next to some nasty rocks.

Is the water shallow enough to quant? That can work well singlehanded with the tiller on elastic to centre it. Perhaps stay near the windward shore to keep in shallow water to reduce quant length required.

You could mount your paddle onto the boom - a couple of spring clips of the appropriate diameter would do the trick - the paddle is off the floor then

May make things a bit tricky if you have a spinny pole that comes down both sides though

I suggest:

1. fit a roller furling on the jib to be able to reel in quickly and easily,

2. lower the sail to prevent the boom violently swinging from side to side and stow it in the cockpit possibly with some elasticated cord.  You can then tighten mainsheet to centre boom or fit topping lift to raise as suggested by JimC.

3. Raise the rudder and use oars to control direction.

3. fit removable plastic row locks onto the gunwale and make sure its reinforced enough to handle the force of rowing. I've seen this system used on Miracles and Mirrors for cruising.

4. buy a couple of telescopic portable oars similar to the ones in the link below.  They can be stowed in the boat without taking up space. I keep one in my boat for an emergency.

http://www.towerwholesale.co.uk/tower/images/282680pad.jpg

Sculling is a good idea and would give you more power since you are pulling the oars rather than pushing them.  Just keep an eye out behind you every couple of strokes to make sure you avoid obstacles.

Don't agree with electric nor small petrol motors since these take up space on the transom and prevent the rudder from working correctly whilst sailing.  Unless of course you have a boat with an outboard motor bracket fitted purposely. In which case a petrol engine would be better since it would avoid a heavy battery and could incorporate a fuel tank on the motor itself.  I used to use a small Yamaha 2HP 2stroke on the back of my old Miracle.

Google, ‘sailing dinghy cruising’ for more information. There’s a lot out there.  Also try:

http://www.btinternet.com/~sail/cruising.htm

Hope this helps.

Bernard