Hi Tom,

Practice makes perfect. Pick a light day, motor out a safe distance from any hazards, and try doing everything solo that you'd normally do with crew. Just do it carefully and wear a pfd & vhf.

Most of my sailing is done solo, and the only "modification" (hardly) I've incorporated so far is to put a light bungee line across the cockpit that I use to hold the tiller in place while motoring or sailing in light to medium air--and that only works part of the time. I use it primarily so I can climb around the deck and prepare sails for hoisting while I motor out/in of the Oakland estuary. Just a minor time saver in that instance. (side note: I'm shopping for a tiller pilot, in case anyone is selling)

While under sail, I have the standard setup of mainsheet aft and port & starboard jib sheets going to winches on their respective sides of the cabin top. I haven't even felt the need to try cross-sheeting the jib sheets yet, as some recommend, but the standard winch location shouldn't require modifications even if you were to do that. I usually don't adjust the main while tacking so it's just a matter of throwing the tiller alee and working the jib sheets. If I'm using the traveler, I uncleat the previously windward traveler sheet mid-tack and adjust the newly windward sheet after.

I've had some difficulty reefing the main on occasion but that's mostly due to a poor setup and lack of practice. I find that the trick to singlehanded sailing is just thinking things through carefully ahead of time, visualizing your steps, and preparing accordingly. These boats are pretty forgiving, so it's hard to screw up too much.

Singlehanded spinnaker usage is my next endeavor. If anyone has tips, I would like to hear those, too!

:: Hi all,
::
:: I'm a relatively new tuna owner, and have been doing
:: great with double handed sailing. I'll bring an
:: inexperienced friend aboard to hold the tiller while I
:: raise the sails, and to work the jib and main sheets
:: when sailing.
::
:: My question is for those who have the dual main sheets
:: across the top and sides of the cabin. How do you single
:: hand with that configuration?! I am not ready to start
:: re-arranging my running rigging or install new winches
:: and blocks. Am I out of luck? Sometimes a guy just wants
:: to sail alone, ya hear? (and a single-hand race sounds
:: really fun also)
::
:: Thanks!
::
:: Oh, does anyone have any spare jibs? I'd be looking to
:: buy an 80% or storm jib for those bigger scary days.