Self-Steering My Sailboat to Ocracoke using Sheet to Tiller 

It’s true. These trips are the best times we spend together.

Yup. I go the whole way across. Steers better than a human.

Have fun!

thanks for the feedback. It's kind of an ASMR approach. Glad you like it. Thanks for Watching!

Thanks 👍

Yep. I have considered that. I prefer my wrap method because I can pull off the elastic and the sheet-to-tiller line with one hand.

It’s a little shallower over on the Albermarle but doable. The question is where are you going? We love Ocracoke and it is just a great destination being more secluded than the other more inhabited islands. We have lots of Islander friends that live there. We prefer the lack of big box stores and corporate restaurants, but still want a community.

Hey Paul, so cool to see you here! You can use all of these techniques on the First Mod, but you may need to rig up some tail blocks or actually mount some blocks on the gunnels. Check out my other video. 5 minutes long with descriptions on the minimal hardware you’ll wanna put together. I read a book called Self Steering for Small Craft by John S. Letcher, Jr. whom developed these techniques crossing from CA to Hawaii on a 20 ft sailboat. I was hoping you would learn these light weight carbon neutral techniques.

Go to my channel and click videos, scroll to the bottom and watch “Self Steering Sheet to Tiller for Sailboats”. It explains the basics. Peace

@@adventuresofsailorpauli1543 Thx for the tip. Good Ocracoke vids :)

Absolutely. Downwind to a beam reach is tied to the foresail. Upwind to a beam reach is tied to the mainsheet. Sometimes a smaller jib has a difficult time actually pulling the tiller and I rig up a 2-1 to increase the motion. That’s in my September Sail video. Give it many tries. Sometimes you can feel like it’s not working but usually there is something simple you haven’t tried. It’s a lot like riding a bike in that at the beginning it seems hard, but eventually it clicks and becomes second nature. Most of my videos will focus on a different aspect of sheet-to-tiller. Thanks for watching!

Who ya gonna call ? Better to have a hand-held VHF radio.

In the last few years, phone service has improved greatly but when I am in the middle I have nothing. My handheld radio only works if I can see another boat. My Garmin always works. Navionics Boating ap seems to work well as well.

@@PMazOD Was looking at some nav apps for phone.

Rainbow Dash is a San Juan 21 MKII with a long retractable centerboard. This was a boat commonly found with small fleets in marinas for racing in the 70's and 80's. I believe there is no better trailer sailer available today. The mast is light so I can set up the boat all by myself. She can reach 4 knots in 6 knots of wind and can turn on a dime. She is fast and sleek yet offers a roomy interior due to the flush deck and low berths. We can sleep up to four people comfortably. The trip across the Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke is a great first crossing. Most of the boat ramps have creeks leading to the sound that often have a 3' depth limitation on the inland side. I have met a few seasoned captains that warn to stay a quarter mile away from any of the large shoal markers. The shifting shoals are littered with shallow wrecks. Rounding one of these "shoal markers" too close has resulted in sailboats hanging up their rudder on the rigging of sunken boats which could sink a boat in rough weather. It can be quite rough in 15-20 knots. Be prepared to reef your mainsail if you want to stay dry or just be comfortable. We prefer to use "Nine Foot Shoal Channel" to get into Ocracoke. "Big Foot Slough Channel" is in need of dredging currently. Anchoring in Silver Lake can be a little tricky as the bottom is a soupy mud. Bring appropriate ground tackle and always dig in your anchor with the motor. This trip is legendary. I have been dismasted twice and even chased by a waterspout. We often go there on Memorial Day Weekend. Maybe we will see you there some time. I hope you have fun! Peace

How were you dismasted?

Hmm.. its a Maptech chart kit. NC, SC, GA page 46 i think. Not sure what chart number it is derived from.

It’s tough. She does it when I ask her if she sees me worry. The other day, we told her not to stick a fork in the blender while it is running. She gave us hell. I am afraid you will be disappointed in my next video. But you right of course.