heave to in a catamaran

How to Heave To On A Sailboat

If you’re wondering how to heave to on your sailboat, and why you might want to, then you’re reading the right article!

Heaving to is an important safety technique that every sailor should know, and practice regularly. But do you know how to heave to, and under what conditions might need to use this manoeuvre?

In this article we take a deep dive into the practice of heaving to – exploring how to enter a hove-to state on different kinds of sailing vessels, when and why to use this technique, and taking a look at some historical examples of instances where heaving to has saved lives.

You can trust us to tell you everything you need to know about the heave-to manoeuvre, because we are seasoned sailors with RYA-accredited qualifications and thousands and thousands of miles under the keel, hard-won in every sea state imaginable. We have also heaved to quite a few times ourselves!

Before we get into the mechanics of how to heave to, let’s take a quick look at what this technique is and aims to achieve.

Table of Contents

What is heaving to, why heave to in sailing, how does heaving to work, how to heave to in a sailboat, how to heave to in a sloop.

• How to heave to in a cutter
• How to heave to in a ketch

How to heave to on a catamaran

Heaving to as a storm tactic.

Heaving to is a manoeuvre that sailors can use to slow their vessel down to a near-crawl, while fixing the helm and sail positions so that the crew no longer need to actively steer the boat or manage the sails.

When performed correctly it will also place the bow of the boat at angle up into the waves, allowing her to ride them smoothly and producing maximum comfort for all aboard. It should also minimise leeway.

As we’ll see in a moment, the exact technique to achieve these outcomes varies by the kind of sailing boat you have – principally, by her sail plan.

You may occasionally hear power-boaters use the term “heave to” to simply mean throttle back and come to rest. In this article, we’ll mostly be talking about the technique of heaving to under sail instead.

Heaving to is an important safety manoeuvre commonly used to sit out heavy weather, allowing the crew to go below, take a rest and get warm and dry. A correctly hove-to boat can sit out most kinds of weather, just bobbing along on the top of it.

Heaving to can also be used as a low-effort way to simply wait in position for a time, such as when waiting for tides to turn, a squall to blow past ahead, or for a bridge to open.

Some sailors have been known to heave to just to have a cup of tea and a biscuit!

Another application is stopping the boat in a hurry while under sail. For this reason, it’s used in some man-overboard recovery techniques. Naturally, you can dump the sheets to achieve a similar outcome, but that doesn’t apply reverse thrust in the way that backing a sail does.

When it comes to MOB scenarios you could heave to in order to stop the boat rapidly, then engage the engine, throw the sails down and proceed to recover the MOB under power.

Or, if you intend to recover the MOB under sail, you can approach them while hove-to in order to drift up to them slowly.

Not everyone agrees that heaving to is the correct way to initiate an MOB; a lot of sailors advocate for letting the sheets fly instead, forgetting about the flapping canvas and getting the motor on as soon as possible.

You’ll see a lot of complicated explanations online for how heaving to actually works. We think most of them overcomplicate things, and generally prefer to explain it like this:

Heaving to works by backing the headsail so that it fights the mainsail. If you get it right the two sails cancel each other out and the boat stays more or less static, despite being powered up.

That’s not quite the whole story, but it’s by far the easiest way to visualise what’s happening on a hove-to boat.

To initiate a heave-to, you proceed as though you are going to tack the boat, but do not tack the headsail sheets or adjust the headsail in any way. The main, of course, will self-tack, but the headsail (or storm sail ) needs to be blown backwards through the triangle formed by the mast and the forestay, and end up backed – with the belly facing inboard – rather than outboard as it usually would.

Still with us? If you’re lost, think about it like this: you are literally just performing a normal tack without tacking the headsail sheets. At the end of the manoeuvre, you will have a normal, correctly tacked main, but a headsail that is backed and still sheeted as though you were still on the opposite tack.

The result of this is that the mainsail powers the boat forwards normally, but the headsail is backed and resisting it, pushing it backwards; so the boat achieves a state of near-equilibrium and simply drifts.

You should only be travelling at around a knot, but the boat is still powered-up and stiff rather than at the mercy of the waves, and therefore orders of magnitude more comfortable than if you had put the sails away.

That’s the flavour of it: now let’s look at exactly how to heave to on a sailboat, step-by-step.

When heaving to, we’re always trying to achieve the same thing: to get the headsail and the mainsail balancing each other out, so that the boat is still powered-up and comfortable, but no longer making any headway.

Generally speaking, we achieve that either by tacking a sail, but not the boat; or the other way around – by tacking the boat, but not one of the sails. Either way, we end up with one sail fighting the other, and the boat comes to a stop.

The exact procedure to enter a hove-to state is different for different kinds of sailing vessel and rig, so let’s start with the simplest scenario: you are a sloop, with one mast, a mainsail and a jib.

There are two ways for a single-masted sailing vessel such as a sloop to begin a heave to. For both of them, you want to be travelling upwind.

The first way is to literally heave the jib over to the “wrong” side of the boat, i.e. the windward side. This means releasing the leeward sheet and manually hauling the sail through the gap between the forestay and mast using the windward sheet.

It sounds complicated when you spell it out like that, but it’s literally the same set of steps you would follow to tack the headsail, just like normal- except you don’t tack the boat.

The jib moves, the wind doesn’t, so the jib ends the manoeuvre backed and pushing backward against the main; which is still on the correct tack, powered up and propelling the boat forwards.

The alternative is to tack the boat but not the jib.

In other words, the helmsman swings the wheel to wind; the bow of the boat tacks as you would expect, but at the point the crew would normally scramble to release one jib sheet and tension the other to tack the headsail (the moment your helmsman booms “lee ho!” , if you’re that sort of boat) – you instead do nothing.

The jib ends up backed again, because nobody tacked it. The main self-tacks and re-powers on the new tack, and the two still end up counteracting each other. Personally, we feel this is much easier, as you don’t have to manually heave the jib back through the gap between the forestay and mast – you just turn the helm.

Tacking the boat also slows you down a lot right away, which is one of the goals of heaving to in the first place.

Whichever of these two methods you use, the next step is to turn the wheel to windward – as though you are trying to tack back again. Of course, you will not have the speed or drive to do this with a backed headsail.

The purpose of turning the helm to wind like this is threefold:

One, we need to stay head-to-wind to keep the headsail backed. If we bear away, the headsail will fill and we will exit our heave-to.

Two, heaving to doesn’t truly stop the boat. You will still be making a knot or two through the water. This is actually desirable, because you will also be making leeway. By pointing upwind, we aim to use that knot of speed to counteract the leeway and remain more or less stationary over ground. 

Thirdly, we want the bow of the boat to be facing up into the waves, at an angle, because that’s a lot more comfortable for the crew than taking them on the beam.

Start by turning the wheel to wind by hand and finding the point at which the boat settles down and maintains a steady course to wind and wave. You can lash the wheel there if you desire, and then you’re free to go below.

If she doesn’t want to settle down, or you’re making too much headway over ground, you may need to ease the sheets or even take a reef in the main.

It’s important to try heaving to in different conditions so that you know how your particular vessel performs, before you need to perform the manoeuvre in anger. Old, heavy-displacement, full-keel boats are often much easier to heave to than modern fin-keelers.

How to heave to on a cutter or Solent rig

Cutters and Solent-rigged sailboats have a single mast, like a sloop, but they have two headsails. The addition of an extra headsail makes heaving to a little more difficult.

The primary headsail on a cutter is usually a large genoa that attaches at the masthead and runs to the bow, or often to a bowsprit enabling a larger sail. This is usually the sail we will be backing in order to heave to.

The second headsail on a cutter is usually called a staysail, and attaches about a quarter of the way down from the masthead. This second, smaller headsail is often set up to be self-tacking.

When you want to tack a sloop, you only need to pull the headsail through the very large gap between the forestay and mast. When you want to tack the genoa on a cutter, you have to fit that extremely large sail through the much smaller gap between the outer and inner stays.

The upshot of all this is that it’s harder to back the sail on a cutter. You can either drag it laboriously through the gap using the winch, or someone can go forward and manhandle it along – but that’s not always the safest in heavy weather.

When it comes to a Solent rig, it’s usually much easier. A Solent does have two headsails, but the outer one is usually a cruising chute and the inner one is the jib. As such, to heave to on a Solent-rigged boat, you perform the exact same steps as on a sloop.  

How to heave to on a ketch or a yawl

Twin-masted sailboats, such as ketches, can also heave to.

These vessels have a main mast and a second, smaller mast called a mizzen, and can fly sails from both masts. The difference between a ketch and a yawl is the size and position of this aft mast.

Most ketches and yawls fly a headsail, a mainsail, and then a smaller mainsail from the mizzenmast called a mizzen sail. In other words, only the main mast has a headsail.

You do get mizzen staysails that sit between the main and mizzen masts but they’re rare. To all intents and purposes, we’re dealing with three sails here, and two of them – the main and mizzen – are self-tacking.

The principle to heave to on a ketch or yawl is similar to a sloop: we’re still looking to balance the sails, by backing the headsail and leading the main powered up.

Because the mizzen behaves like a small main, we treat it like one and let it self-tack along with the main. As a result, in our hove-to position, we have a backed jib, and a main and mizzen flying regularly.

We now turn the wheel to windward and use the tension on the mizzen sheet to adjust how high or low we point into the wind and waves. We can also use the tension on the main sheet to influence how much headway we make.

Most catamarans actually can’t heave to. When a monohull heaves to, part of what makes it work is the action of the sails pivoting around the keel – and the keel provides drag and dimension stability that reduce leeway.

Catamarans don’t have keels. At least, not deep keels with heavy ballast bulbs. They can have fixed, stubby little mini-keels, or long retractable daggerboards – but either way, their keels act like the fins on a surfboard rather than ballast. They also have two of them – they just don’t behave in the same way as monohulls.

Cats do have a few heave-to-adjacent manoeuvres that they can turn to in a storm, though. The first is to deeply reef the main, drop the traveller all the way to leeward, and then pull the mainsheet in hard. Lash the helm so that the cat is on a safe, close-hauled course. If you get it right, you should be drifting sideways calmly at about half a knot, with your bows into the waves at an angle.

This is sometimes called “parking” a cat. Performance cats with daggerboards, when performing this manoeuvre, should leave both boards about halfway down.

Performance cats also have the option to pull the boards right up and skate freely over the surface of the waves; either with or without sail power.

Performance cats are fast, so as long as there’s enough room to run, they also have the option to turn down wind and match the cadence of the wave train – creating a smooth ride with minimal wave impacts. They also ride higher on the waves as they accelerate, effectively creating more reserve buoyancy.

When sailing in heavy weather in a catamaran, however, it’s important to remember that cats don’t heel and it can be harder to tell when one is overpowered. They also don’t spill wind and self-compensate in the way that a heeling monohull does, so it’s wise to reef early and often.

Heaving to as a storm tactic exploded in popularity, particularly in the RYA syllabus, after the 1979 Fastnet disaster.

The 605-mile race is held once every two years off the coast of the UK. In 1979, it was struck by a terrible storm; more than a hundred boats capsized and 19 people died.

Hundreds more would certainly have been lost if not for the brave actions of an unbelievable, impromptu volunteer search and rescue operation – the largest ever in peacetime – consisting of more than 4,000 members of the public and pleasure boat owners.

It was later discovered that every single boat that had heaved to had emerged from the storm completely unscathed. Every boat that capsized or been knocked down had either attempted to carry on sailing, or had used a different technique called “laying ahull”.

In the aftermath of these events, the RYA took it upon itself to disseminate the information that heaving to saves lives, and they continue to recommend it as a storm tactic today.

As noted earlier in the article, not all boats actually can heave to, but if your boat is capable, it’s certainly a valuable trick to keep up your sleeve. It’s a good idea to read up on how sailing your sailboat in a storm just in case you need to employ other tactics.

In conclusion, heaving to is an important safety technique that every monohull sailor should be aware of. At a basic level, it provides you with a window of calm and safety to gather your thoughts and take some refreshments. At the extreme end of the scale, it could save your life in a storm one day.

It’s important to practise heaving to before you need to use the technique for real, because every boat performs a little differently. This goes double if you intend to incorporate heaving to into your man overboard protocol.

Heaving to isn’t a particularly difficult technique, but you do need to try it out a couple of times in order to get comfortable with the sail and trim your particular vessel requires to settle down into a nicely hove-to state.

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Sailing Tips: How To Heave To

Last Updated by

Gabriel Hannon

August 30, 2022

The ability to heave-to is a key part of seamanship that can keep you safe on the water in any breeze strength.

Throughout this article, we will discuss the basic requirements and steps necessary to heave-to and the advantages of doing so in various conditions. We will go through the basic physics of the position and help you to understand why it is such an effective way to slow down your boat.

While there are various positions that are roughly equivalent to heaving-to, including the safety position for smaller boats and fore-reaching in certain conditions, this is a highly useful skill that gives you a good balance of safety, position holding, and quick maneuverability while on the water. It may require some practice and a few erstwhile attempts before you get the complete hand of it, but in situations where you want to put the brakes on without anchoring your boat, heaving-to is a great solution!

As a certified small boat instructor, I have helped all levels of sailors learn how to perform this maneuver in dinghies and similar boats, but its utility is further extended for keelboats and other cruising classes, including catamarans and trimarans. From my conversations with cruisers and a bevy of research, I can assure you that, as long as you’ve got a mainsail and a headsail, this is a viable option for your needs. Maybe I’ll even be able to give you an insight or two into the physics of the whole setup, but first, let’s take a look at the basic premise and a few steps that will help you get there.

Table of contents

‍ The Basics of the Heave-To

While highly maneuverable and not always the easiest to execute, the fundamental premise of the heave-to is not terribly complicated.

Though the balance and the angle will be slightly different depending on the boat and the breeze, there are four basic characteristics of heaving-to.

Angle to the Wind

Though not explicitly included in the diagram, you should expect to be somewhere around 45-50° to the breeze while in this position. This should be far enough from the breeze that your main is not luffing too hard, but close enough that you aren’t powering up too much.

Jib to Windward

Now this is the most important characteristic of heaving-to. While normally frowned upon, and potentially dangerous when unanticipated, backing the jib like this is what gives you stability in this position. You trim the jib, genoa, or other similar headsail with the windward sheet and keep it locked down. If heaving-to in heavy breeze, it is good to employ a storm jib or to reef your headsail if possible to keep it from being too tensioned up in this position, as a big gust could pull your bow well off the breeze and cause trouble.

Main Trimmed

Trimming the main in this position serves two purposes. First, it balances out the jib's pull to turn downwards. This is why you would not take the main down when attempting to heave-to. Second, it preserves the main from the luffing that will age it very quickly. Moreover, if you want to exit this position, you already have your main set for the close-hauled course that you would take on right afterward. Similarly to the jib, you may find that reefing the sail helps in heavy winds, or is useful in balancing the sails overall.

Tiller to Leeward

Keeping the tiller to leeward helps you maintain this position in two ways. First, it continues to balance the jib’s attempts to draw you off the breeze. Second, by opening the rudder’s face to the water flowing under the boat, you are essentially using the rudder as a sea anchor, helping you to slow down even more and continue to hold your position.

These four steps are the baseline characteristics of heaving-to. How this will work on your boat depends on many factors that you cannot necessarily control or anticipate before you get on the water. That is why, rather than giving you a detailed boat by boat procedure, we are going to talk about some of the fundamental physics that you are working with when heaving-to, so that you know how to adjust for yourself when certain things are happening the first few times you try this out.

The Physics of Sail Control

In the type of boats with the headsail-mainsail sail plans where heaving-to is most effective, be it a catamaran, trimaran, keelboat, winged-keelboat, or simple dinghy, there are a few basic forces with which you have to contend while maneuvering of which heaving-to takes advantage. In order to talk about that, however, we first have to deal with

Centers of Effort and Resistance

In sailing in general, the goal of upwind sailing is to balance what we call the ‘center of effort’ with the ‘center of resistance.’

The center of effort is the theoretical point on your sails from which you generate all of the lifting force for forward motion. It is essentially the engine of your sails and the mathematical center of the sail plan.

The center of resistance is the point somewhere underwater on your hull -- on a keelboat it will be somewhere close to that keel -- which provides the lateral resistance that helps your boat move forward, rather than sliding with the wind.

Ideally, your boat is set up so that when you are trimmed to go upwind, the center of effort is directly above the center of resistance. Once you do this, all that lift generated by the center of effort is channeled forwards by the center of resistance. If they are misaligned, or your sails are overpowered for your boat, you will slide laterally. This is why over-heeling your boat to leeward tends to be slow and cause you to sleep sideways, as this effectively reduces the resistive force. Thus reefing, even though it lessens your sail area and reduces the lift generated, actually helps you go forward in heavy breeze as it keeps you from heeling as much and ensures that your centers of effort and resistance are still lined up.

But I digress. The real point of this is to talk about…

Sail Trim and the Center of Effort

Since controlling the balance of the center of effort is crucial to keeping your boat moving, it is useful to know how each sail affects the center of effort. On most boats, the center of effort is at the deepest part of your mainsail, called the draft, about ⅓ of the way back on that sail. This means that you can consider that as the central axis of your boat.

If you move to trim your jib -- or genoa or other headsail -- you are essentially adding more force forward of that central axis, which, in turn, pulls the bow of your boat down, away from the wind. If you overtrim your jib or, even worse, backwind it coming out of a tack, you will feel your boat pulling downwind towards a reach, or even dead downwind if unchecked.

On the other hand, if you move to trim your main in, you will be adding more pressure to the back half of your main, effectively turning your bow upwind (you can even think about it as pushing your stern downwind!).

It is this balance of jib trim and main trim that keeps your boat sailing forwards and your rudder light and helm-free. You can, in fact, use this phenomenon, along with some bodyweight steering in smaller boats, to effectively sail your boat without a rudder, either for fun or in case of a breakdown. Many double-handed race teams actually do this to practice perfecting their sail trim!

Using this to Heave-To

Ok, ok, that’s a lot of that talk, but how does this help you figure out how to find the perfect heave-to balance for your boat. Well, it actually gives you a pretty good sense!

Heaving-to takes advantage of this balance and flips it on its head. Instead of using these characteristics of the main and the jib to propel you forward, heaving-to uses them to stall out your boat entirely. By trimming the jib to weather, a move that would normally tear you down to a beam reach in a second, keeping the main working, and throwing the tiller over, you effectively have fixed your boat somewhere around 45° to the wind.

If you think about the relationships a little more, you see that each of the three main controls, jib, main, and tiller, are effectively keeping each other in check. The jib cannot pull you off the breeze because of the dual action of the main keeping the stern down and the rudder turning the boat back upwind if it gets any flow. The main will not propel the boat forward because the backwinding of the jib is choking off its airflow, and even if it did get moving it would push too close to the breeze and start luffing. Finally, the rudder, positioned as it is, both acts as a brake against the water underneath and helps keep the boat from turning down, which could end this game of dynamic tension.

Troubleshooting

Because this balance relies so much on the individual characteristics of your boat, it is difficult to say exactly what trim settings you will need to maintain this position for a long time. Therefore, it is up to you to experiment!

If you find that your jib is overpowering your mainsail, pulling you off the breeze, you may have to either reef the jib, push the tiller over farther, pull the jib farther to weather, or get more power in the main. With the opposite problem, you may find it necessary to reef the main quite a bit, or find a better way to haul your jib to weather. It is good to have a rough guess of how to set your boat to heave-to in various wind conditions, as it may be different across sea states and breeze strengths, so I would encourage you to try it out a few times on a few different days so that you know before you need it!

How to Heave-To

After all of that, I would be remiss not to give you the rundown of the easiest way to get your boat in the heave-to position. While it is occasionally possible to simply sail upwind, luff your sails for the moment, and heave your jib to weather, this is not necessarily the most efficient way to do it, and it can put excessive strain on your sails and sheets (and yes, that really is why they call it ‘heaving-to!’).

In general, you accomplish the heave-to by sailing upwind then turning your boat into a nice, slow tack. As you do this, keep your headsail trimmed to the sheet on the old tack, so that when you come out of it, you are trimmed on the weather side.

As you come out of the tack and the backwinded jib is trying to pull you off the breeze, keep your tiller pushed, or wheel turned, to leeward. If you don’t overdo it, the fight between the jib pulling you down and the rudder turning you up should stall your boat out so that you are more or less stopped in the water. Throughout this whole process, the main should be trimmed-in, approximately to where you have it when sailing close-hauled, a little looser if anything, but not luffing.

When you find the point where the main is not ragging, the jib is full but not pulling you down, and the tiller is set, you have effectively heaved-to! Again, finding the right balance may not be that easy, and may require various reefing, trimming, and steering adjustments. These are too many to count, which is why I hope the explainer on the various forces that you are trying to balance will help you diagnose any potential issues you have so that you can make these adjustments as you go!

You should find that this is a highly effective way to stop your boat without the need to drop anchor or your sails. In fact, the little forward progress that you will make from the fact that your sails are still filled should be just about enough to keep your position against the wind and the waves, which would drive you backward in any other unanchored arrangement.

Like anything else in sailing, however, it takes a few attempts, a couple of tweaks, and a good feel for your own boat to master the heave-to, so I hope you take this as a good excuse to get back on the water. Happy Sailing!

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I have been sailing since I was 7 years old. Since then I've been a US sailing certified instructor for over 8 years, raced at every level of one-design and college sailing in fleet, team, and match racing, and love sharing my knowledge of sailing with others!

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How to Heave To – Complete GUIDE

Sailboats are a little bit like airplanes in some ways. Their sails work like wings, sure. But they also cannot be stopped. If you want to come to a stop in a car, you can stomp on the brakes. If you are in a powerboat, you can kill power to the motor and drift to a stop. But what do you do in a sailboat, when the sails will continue producing power once they are set – just like a plane cannot stop in the sky.

The answer might surprise you. An airplane can’t stop, but a sailboat can – sort of. The answer lies in a maneuver called heaving to.

Table of Contents

What does heave to mean, windward sheet handling, main sail trim, rudder position, getting out of the hove to position, heaving to on a catamaran, how to heave to with a self-tacking headsail, storm jib and storm trysail heaving to, practice makes perfect—even when trying to stop, heaving to faqs.

The heaving to sailing maneuver is one that every skipper should be familiar with. It’s much handier than it might sound.

It’s roughly akin to coming to a stop in a powerboat and drifting. But the sails are still up, so the boat is much more stable than a powerboat would be. A better comparison might be a powerboat with stabilizers and can automatically hold a position relative to the waves for a comfortable ride.

Once hoveto, a boat makes little progress to windward or leeward—its motion stops to the point that its ground speed will be less than two knots or so. But one of the best things about heaving-to is that you can do it in a flash—meaning it’s a way to slam on the brakes and stop your forward movement if someone goes over or you need to fix something on board immediately.

Why else might you want to try heave to sailing? Here’s a list of times when skippers have found it helpful to heave to.

• To take a break from sailing for a while, maybe to get some sleep or make dinner when in heavy weather
• To wait outside a dangerous cut or inlet until dawn or a move favorable tide for entry
• To reduce pressures on the rig to make a repair
• To ease the motion on deck so as to make going forward safer or more comfortable
• To make it easier to put a reef in the mainsail 
• To come to an immediate stop in order to retrieve an object or even recover a man overboard 
• With reefed sails, to ride out a storm at sea

A Guide to Heaving To in Your Own Boat

Figuring out how to heave two in your boat isn’t very difficult, but it will take a little practice. Because each boat handles a little differently, has a different amount of windage and sail area, there can be no precise guide for the exact setup that will work best. 

Instead of focusing on specifics, like speed or direction of drift, look to get the basics set up and then fine-tune the ride for your boat when heaving to . 

Any kind of sailboat can be hove to. The technique works well for full-keel cruisers, fin-keel racers, catamarans, trimarans, cutters, or ketches–regardless of sail plan or sail size. But to figure out the best way to get your boat hove to, the best solution is to go out and practice!

It’s worth noting that you might want to plan which tack to take once you’re in the heave to position. If you take the starboard tack, you will have the right of way over other sailing vessels on the port tack. Even though you’ve stopped your forward movement, you are still technically considered to be sailing under way.

Basically, a heave to is begun by slowly tacking through the eye of the wind. But instead of allowing the windward sheet to run and letting the headsail swing across the bow, you keep the windward sheet made fast on the cleat. 

The backwinded jib is the first step to getting the boat to stop. The headsail drives air over the main, so you are depriving the boat of all of that power by backwinding it. 

Once the jib is backwinded, the boat’s bow will start falling off to downwind. Use the helm to keep the boat’s bow at about 45 to 60 degrees off the wind, sort of at a close haul angle.

The main sail may still be producing a little bit of lift at this point. The next step is to fine-tune that. It should be sheeted tightly for the tack, and now it’s a good time to let it out a little.

Keep in mind, though, that you don’t want the sail luffing. Luffing and flogging sails can be damaged easily, not to mention that the sound can really wear a sailor down. You want the sail to be right on the edge of producing what power it can with the jib backwinded. If the boat moves and the sail starts producing power, you want it to start to luff and fall off.

In the end, heaving to is a balance between the boat sailing and it not sailing. It may oscillate a bit, but any time it starts picking up speed or falling off to leeward, it should stop. 

The final component in the equation is the rudder position. To keep the backed jib from making the boat fall off into a run, you will have had to turn the helm sharply to windward. In this setup, the sail pushed the boat one way, and the rudder counters it going the other. 

Of course, the amount of rudder force will change as the boat slows down. So it’s most likely that you’ll leave the rudder locked at its stop. But you can tinker with it as necessary, especially if the boat is heading to irons or running the risk of tacking back on the original side.

When in doubt, tinker with the mainsail. Its trim and traveler position will have the most significant effects. 

What to Expect when Hove To

So you’ve successfully hove to and figured out how to do it in your boat. You’ve tried several sail configurations, found the best hove to position, and just the right balance on the controls. Now what?

The benefits of heaving to might not be readily apparent until you’ve started cruising significant distances and embarking on multi-day passages. In coastal boating, the need to hove to seldom arises beyond getting some practice.

But on longer trips, crew fatigue becomes a much bigger problem. The sea state and strong winds often make a key part of that, as how the boat moving adds to the physically demanding nature of being out in heavy seas is hard to imagine without experiencing it a few times.

Heaving to is a great way to find the right balance of keeping the bow into oncoming waves in bad sea states while at the same time giving the crew a rest period.

Ready to move on? You can get out of the maneuver in one of two ways–either release the rudder and allow the boat to fall off on the new tack or sheet in the mainsail and go back on the original tack. The direction you pick will have to do with any other sailboats out there with you and how your boat handles in the conditions present.

Heaving To Modifications and Other Setups to Consider

Again, finding the correct setup to heave to successfully is all about trial and error. For it to work, you’re best off to go out in fairly calm conditions and see how it goes. Then practice every time you get a chance, progressively working up to understand how the boat handles in any condition.

One word of advice is not to take too much advice. Many people will tell you that such and such a boat won’t heave to, or that it won’t work. The more likely fact is that they just haven’t gone out and tried, or they tried once and didn’t know what to tinker with. 

One of the most common complaints you’ll hear is that people have trouble getting catamarans to heave to. This is because catamarans have an incredible amount of windage on their topsides, which gives them more tendency to fall off to leeward sooner.

One technique is often described as parking a cat. This technique is like heaving to in a monohull , only the headsail is completely furled. Next, a heavily reefed mainsail is traveled all the way to leeward and sheeted hard in. Remember, the main is usually trimmed with the traveler and shaped with the sheet on cats. Finally, the rudders are turned hard to windward. The result should be a comfortable sideways drift at less than one knot.

Self-tacking headsails are great for short-handed sailing. Imagine tacking your boat without doing any winch work at all! If you short-tack up rivers or like to beat to windward often, a self-tacker is a miracle worker.

Self-tacking headsails have been around quite a while, although they are becoming more popular on recent models that feature fractional rigs with big mains. But if you look at the staysails on many cutters, you will notice that they are boom mounted on self-tending tracks. So if you can’t sheet the headsail in to backwind it, how can you heave to.

There are two methods you could employ, and which one you choose will depend on your boat and the conditions. 

The first option is to rig a preventer to keep your headsail lashed on the windward side . This is an extra step, and it might be difficult if you want the ability to heave to at a moment’s notice. Rigging your preventer to the cockpit is one solution.

Another way is to forego the headsail altogether–furl it or drop it. Catamarans, fin-keel boats, and even some full-keel boats with cutaway forefoot can heave to just fine on a reefed mainsail alone.

Finally, sail selection will dramatically affect your heaving to success and technique. If you’re using heaving to as a storm tactic, don’t discount using it along with storm sails. A storm jib and storm trysail can be hove to like any other combination, although it is something you’d want to practice before trying it in stormy weather and rough conditions.

Every boat handles a little differently, and many skippers experience varying success with heaving to depending on the boat and the conditions. Start by practicing and getting a feel for how a hove to boat moves and remains stable. Then, expect to tinker with the setup a little to get it right.

Want to learn more about storm sailing, and practical boat handling in general? One of the best resources out there is the timeless classic by Lin and Larry Pardy, Storm Sailing Tactics.

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What does it mean to hove to?

A sailboat that is hove to has stopped its forward progress but still has its sails up. Heaving to is a way of positioning the sails to counteract each other. A vessel that heaves to is stopped in the water yet still in a stable position to take on rough seas or storm conditions. Heaving to is a handy maneuver for skippers to know, whether used as a storm sailing tactic, to rescue a person in the water, to make a rigging repair, or as a simple way to stop for a snack or to cook something.

Should you heave to in a storm?

It depends on the storm, but it also depends on the boat and crew. Heaving to is a well-known storm tactic that reduces the boat’s motion and helps reduce fatigue and stress on both the crew and the vessel. A correctly set up vessel can lie hove-to for as long as it takes for the weather to pass, so long as there are no hazards as the vessel drifts slowly to leeward. In many instances, heaving to is preferable to other storm tactics available to a skipper, such as laying ahull, bearing off, using a sea anchor, or fore reaching.

Matt has been boating around Florida for over 25 years in everything from small powerboats to large cruising catamarans. He currently lives aboard a 38-foot Cabo Rico sailboat with his wife Lucy and adventure dog Chelsea. Together, they cruise between winters in The Bahamas and summers in the Chesapeake Bay.

Heaving To And Something About It That You Might Not Know

Most sailors already know how to heave to so I’ll give the quick part of this tip up front.

The Quick Bit

When heaving to, and if you have the choice, do it so that your boat is on a starboard tack. This way you are the “Stand-on” vessel in an approaching situation with other sailboats. Oh durh that’s clever.

The Longer Bit – How to Heave To

What about the what-is and the why first? Ok

When your boat is hoove to, it will essentially be standing still, broad side to the wind and drifting slightly down wind under full sail. It’s a combination of the sails and rudder that creates this situation.

There are a few situations when you might do this.

The most common is when taking a break. When I ran my practical sailing school, I would often do this to stop and brief or debrief a learn to sail situation or concept. It’s also great for a lunch break.

A sailboat hoove to

During a severe storm it is sometimes prudent to heave to. While it seems counter intuitive to go broad side to the waves during a storm – as shown by the graphic, the slick (wake) created by the down wind drift will flatten any breaking waves right before they reach the boat. During a heave to in a storm the crew can go below and rest. The NauticEd Storm Tactics Course and our sailing for dummies courses also covers heaving to in a storm and more.

So now onto the how: When sailing on a close haul (on port if you – can see the quick tip above) simply tack the boat but do not release the working jib sheet. This leaves the jib sheet in a back winded position. Now let the main sheet out almost completely. Steer the boat on about a close reach heading until the boat comes to an almost complete stop. Then turn the wheel all the way to windward (tiller all the way to leeward).

The dynamics of the set up is that the back-winded headsail wants to push the front of the boat downwind while the rudder counteracts and steers the boat upwind.

There are a couple of ways to get out of the hoove to position. (1) Straighten the wheel, release the jib sheet and tighten up on the mainsheet – your boat will start moving in the direction it was pointing. (2) Leave the jib where it is, tighten up on the main, turn the wheel to leeward and gybe the boat around.

If you’re just learning to sail, practice heaving to – it’s fun, impressive to land lubbers easy and some day you really might need it.

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Keep Calm and Heave to

• Joe Bassani
• January 15, 2020

Table of Contents

Heave to some professional advice.

“Heaving to is not just a storm strategy, it’s also a vital seamanship skill.” – John Kretschmer, Sailing a Serious Ocean.   

In my opinion, the best strategy for dealing with storms is to avoid them.  If you are docked safely in your home port, stay there. If you are on a cruise, find a protected anchorage and button up to ride out the weather.  Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to avoid storms. If you find yourself in storm seas, consider heaving-to as an option to safely weather the storm. 

What is Heaving To?

Heaving-to is one of the first skills a keelboat sailor learns during her basic sailing instruction.  It is a time-honored storm strategy that, along with more active techniques like forereaching and running off, is an important part of a sailor’s heavy weather “tool kit”.

Heaving-to is a simple maneuver that places the vessel in a balance of forces, allowing it to “fend for itself” while sailing slowly and under control.  This allows the crew to take a break and conserve energy while waiting for the storm to pass.

How is it Done?

Photo taken from American Sailing Associations “Basic Coastal Cruising” textbook used for the ASA 103 course.

From a close haul, the helm should announce her intention to tack and heave-to.  The crew signals readiness for the maneuver and the helmsman initiates turns through the wind to the new close-hauled heading. T he previously working jib sheet remains made off and the jib backs or fills with wind on the opposite side.  In calm winds, the captain may wish to let the main sail out to stall; in heavy seas and high winds, it may be advisable to douse the mainsail.  

Finally, turn the tiller to leeward or the wheel to windward so that the rudder is counteracting the force of the wind on the jib. Adjust the rudder as necessary to achieve the proper balance that will ensure the vessel travels slowly (1-2 knots) along the new close-hauled course with very little heel and noticeable leeward drift.  

Several factors affect the ability of a vessel to heave-to, including amount of freeboard, keel type, sail size and wind speed.  It is a good idea to practice heaving-to on your boat, in fair weather, to understand the design characteristics that are unique to your vessel and the optimal rudder and sail adjustments required for a stable heave-to.  If at first you struggle to achieve a satisfying heave-to, don’t give up. Every boat is different, and practice is the key to success. 

Why We Heave To

Heaving-to is a great storm strategy, but it is also a useful fair-weather technique for loitering or holding in a particular area without anchoring:

• When arriving at a destination at night and waiting until daylight to enter unfamiliar waters
• During repairs that require a steady ship
• While waiting to link up with other yachts for a flotilla or start of a race
• When the crew needs a break

Becoming proficient a heaving-to is an important skill that will make a keelboat sailor’s time on the water safer and definitely more enjoyable.

If you’d like to learn more about this or another sailing-related topic, visit us at Sail Monterey or call us at (831) 742-7245. The American Sailing Association has also written this great article about heaving to if you’d like to dive deeper into the manuever.

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Home » Blog » Sail » Heave to – definition and how to do it

Heave to – definition and how to do it

By Author Fiona McGlynn

Posted on Last updated: August 18, 2023

Sailboats, unlike cars, don’t have the luxury of pulling over to the side of the road, whenever the driver needs a break. Fortunately, they can heave to, a simple technique for stopping a sailboat that is far more comfortable and controlled than just dropping the sails and drifting.

Over three years and 13,000 miles of blue water sailing, we hove to on many occasions. By adjusting the mainsail, headsail, and rudder, we were able to comfortably stall our boat for hours, even days, at a time. It’s a simple maneuver that we’ve found useful in many different situations—stopping the sailboat to make repairs, take a swim, or wait for daylight to enter a harbor.

Notes: this post contains some affiliate links. If you purchase through these links we’ll earn a small commission

Heave to definition and meaning

The 67th edition of Chapman Piloting & Seamanship defines heaving-to as “setting the sails so that a boat makes little headway, usually in a storm or a waiting situation.”

I would add that it’s a very useful technique in everyday sailing (e.g., making repairs, breaking for lunch), especially for short-handed and solo sailors.

How does it work?

Heaving to is accomplished by backing the headsail (i.e., sheeting it to the windward side). This counteracts the force of the main sail. The headsail pulls the bow to leeward, while the mainsail pushes the bow back to windward. This push and pull between the sails results in halting the boat’s forward progress.

Benefits of heaving-to

Stops forward progress

Heaving too is a controlled and comfortable way of staying relatively stationary.

Makes the boat more stable and comfortable

By staying at 40-50 degrees to the wind, with the bow taking the brunt of the waves, the boat becomes more stable.

Some also say that as the boat drifts downwind, the keel creates a slick of disturbed water which further dampens the effect of any breaking waves to windward.

Offers a quick getaway

If you need to move in a hurry, say to get out of the way of oncoming traffic, your sails are already up and ready to propel you forward. You can be back underway within seconds.

When to heave to

Here are some situations where you might find heaving to useful:

• Waiting for another boat . On a 26-day Pacific crossing, we hove to in order to wait for a disabled yacht so that we could accompany them for the rest of the passage.
• Waiting for daylight . Rather than risk entering a harbor with unknown hazards, we would often heave to and wait for daybreak.
• Freeing up hands from the helm . Heaving to is a helpful technique for short-handed or solo sailors who don’t have a self-steering wind vane or autopilot. While hove to, the person at the helm is freed up to do other tasks.
• Making repairs en route . We hove to when we needed to make repairs to our auto-pilot while during a multi-day passage. It was also helpful when we needed to stop so we could dive and inspect our rudder for damage.
• Having a coffee break or making lunch. Sometimes it’s just nice to take a break. The stability that comes with heaving to can make cooking a meal below decks a lot easier.
• Going for a swim.  On hot days near the equator, we’d heave to and indulge in a quick dip (while tied in of course).
• Letting seasick crew rest.  If your crew is struggling with seasickness, heaving to may offer them some respite.
• Heavy weather.  While we’ve fortunately never needed to heave to on account of bad weather, we know sailors who have. One friend spent three days hove-to off in heavy seas and strong winds off the coast of Australia.

While heaving to can be very effective in heavy sea states, it’s important to recognize that there is no single storm tactic that is  always  going to be the right choice, regardless of the boat and conditions. In truly extreme weather, say a survival storm, you may also need to consider the use of a sea anchor, drogue, and more advanced techniques. For more on storm tactics,  Storm Tactics: Modern Methods of Heaving-to for Survival in Extreme Conditions by Lin and Larry Pardey.

Can all sailboats heave to?

Some say that modern boats with fin keels don’t heave to as well as a full keel boat, but you should be able to heave to on most sailboats, including catamarans.

It is possible to inadvertently end up fore reaching while attempting to heave to, which may account for some confusion over whether your boat is properly hove to or not. We discuss forereaching in more detail at the end of this post.

How to heave to

The goal of heaving to is to balance the mainsail and a back-winded headsail so that they cancel each other out. When done properly, the boat stays at roughly a 40-50 degree angle to the wind and waves while making minimal headway.

Finding that balance is different on each boat. Your boat’s sail plan, displacement, keel type, and hull design will all affect how she heaves to. While most sources recommend aiming for 40-50 degree angle to the wind, there are boat types that might heave to anywhere from 30-60 degrees off the wind.

You’ll need to experiment with how you set your sails on your own boat to achieve the right combination.

As with any new skill, practice in good weather when the conditions are steady and well within your comfort zone.

1. Reef according to the conditions.

If you’re at full sail, your first step may be to reef both the headsail and mainsail appropriately for the conditions you’re sailing in. On our boat, this would have been full sail at 5 knots of wind and fully reefed at 25 knots.

Too much sail and you’ll risk being knocked down, too little sail and you won’t stay pointed in the right direction.

To reef the headsail this may mean furling your genoa, using a staysail, or even getting out your storm jib. In some cases, you may want to swap out your reefed mainsail for a trysail.

2. Sail close haul.

Sail close haul, ensuring your sails are tightly trimmed.

3. Slowly tack the boat without releasing the jib.

You should land on the new tack with a backed jib.

4. Steer the boat so it stays at a 40-50 degrees angle to the wind.

The backed headsail will cause the boat to head down past 60 degrees. Steer to compensate for this and keep the boat 40-50 degrees off the wind.

Feather the main as you work the boat back upwind. Take care if you approach 40 degrees – too much momentum will cause you to tack back again.

If the boat won’t round up, your headsail is overpowering your mainsail. You may need to reduce the head sail area to find the right balance.

If the boat wants to round up into wind and tack, your mainsail is overpowered. You could try easing the main slightly.

5. Turn the rudder to windward

Once you’re reached 40-50 degrees and you’ve bled off speed, turn the rudder all the way to windward (wheel to windward, tiller to leeward) and lock it off or lash it in place.

Watch to see what your boat does and if it stays in a relatively stable position, within 40 to 50 degrees. Don’t stress if the boat swings between 40 and 50 degrees. This is normal and is caused by the wind and waves. The boat should stay hove-to unless thrown off by a big wave or gust.

Getting out of heave to

When ready to get underway again, bring the rudder amidship and release the windward sheet, allowing the jib to flip to the other side. Trim your jib on the leeward side and once you’ve got some forward momentum you can head on your intended course.

Other tips for heaving to

Stay aware of your speed and course, and always maintain a good lookout . Though not underway, you can still drift into hazards or get into a collision. It’s a good idea to give yourself enough sea room (space) when heaving to.

If you’re in a busy area, heave to on a starboard tack (keep boom on the port side) to maintain the right of way over sailboats on a port tack.

Inspect your sails for chafe. When heaving to, your jib sheet or the clew of your genoa may sit and rub on the shrouds. If left unattended it will eventually wear through your sheet or sail.

You can prevent this by reefing the genoa , putting chaffing protection on the shrouds TK, or even re-running the sheet inside or between the shrouds.

Watch Skip Novak demonstrate how to heave to in this video

Fore reaching vs. heaving to

Fore reaching is an alternative to heaving-to in some situations. Unlike heaving-to which completely stalls the boat, leaving you drifting at 1-2 knots downwind, fore-reaching keeps a boat moving forward at 1-2 knots to windward.

It may involve sheeting the jib amidship (not backed) or lowering it entirely while keeping a reefed mainsail sheeted in tight and the helm kept slightly to leeward.

Fore reaching can be a useful technique when you want to continue to make headway but go much more slowly. Say, for instance, if you were heading into an outgoing tide of current but wanted to maintain your position.

Some think that fin-keeled boats are prone to unintentionally forereaching while attempting to heave-to. Unlike heaving-to, fore reaching does not provide the slick of calmed water on the windward side of the boat.

Heave to or hove to?

Heave to is a phrasal verb. In the present tense, you might say, “Let’s heave to and take a break for lunch.”

If the action is complete (past tense), you can use the past participle: hove to. For example, “The sailing ship hove-to for days off the coast of New Zealand.”

Fiona McGlynn is an award-winning boating writer who created Waterborne as a place to learn about living aboard and traveling the world by sailboat. She has written for boating magazines including BoatUS, SAIL, Cruising World, and Good Old Boat. She’s also a contributing editor at Good Old Boat and BoatUS Magazine. In 2017, Fiona and her husband completed a 3-year, 13,000-mile voyage from Vancouver to Mexico to Australia on their 35-foot sailboat.

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Heaving To - Parking your boat without anchoring

There will come a time when you either want or need to stop and park your boat in a place or under circumstances where you either cannot or wish not to deploy an anchor. This can be far out at sea where the water is simply too deep to anchor, or near shore when you simply want to stop your boat for a while.

Heaving-to is first and foremost a very viable storm tactic. It is used by all the more knowledgeable offshore sailors. When the wind and the seas become unmanageable, this is an excellent (albeit a mite boring) way to park your boat and wait out the bad weather. The fact is that after struggling to sail on in a storm, the act of heaving to has an almost immediate positive effect on crew. The boat's motion eases, the fury of the wind seems to abate, and the stress on gear, sails and the crew's morale quickly dissipates. It is truly a quieter and calmer situation that lets your crew prepare a meal, eat in peace, and get much needed rest. It also gives you an opportunity to calmly assess your situation, survey for damage, and effect repairs.

“Being hove to in a long gale is the most boring way of being terrified I know.” Donald Hamilton

Heaving to need not solely be a storm tactic. Stopping the boat at any time, to navigate, make repairs, or simply have a quiet lunch or dinner, is an option often overlooked. If you are not in a hurry, then stopping for a while can be a real pleasure. We used to practice heaving to in good weather just so we could perfect our technique (not that there is much to it). If we wanted to sit down for lunch on a beat, we would just park her for a while and put up the table.

When heaving to in storm conditions, you first reduce your sail area down to a manageable amount (storm jib and heavily reefed main, trysail or mizzen). To heave to you simply tack your boat without releasing the headsail sheet. It is a good idea to make the initial tack very slowly. Head into the wind until your speed has really come down before finishing the tack. At this point your headsail is backed and your main is trimmed for a close reach or a beat. This is where practicing is important so you can determine what works best for your boat – every boat responds differently.

Once you have come about you bring the helm over steering the boat to windward and fix it there. If your boat makes way, it will steer to windward, towards the oncoming waves. As the boat rounds up the main loses power. At the same time the backed headsail is pushing the boat to lee and fighting its forward movement. So your heading is a squiggly course to windward while the actual course made good is downwind, drifting sideways - at perhaps a knot or two. With its sideways motion, the boat is disturbing the water and creating a significant upwind slick, flattening any chop that might otherwise be there. With your boat pointing to windward it is at the same time riding up and over the oncoming swell at the optimal angle.

Each boat reacts differently. So practice this before you need it. Some boats heave to better trailing a drogue off the stern or even abeam. Practical Boat Owner published one of the best overviews of how different boats behave when hove to in 2011.

Contrary to what you may hear elsewhere, heaving to works very well on catamarans – and why not. Friends of ours, who own a catamaran and were told it would not work, let us talk them into trying it as we simply wanted to know the truth. Since then, they hove to many times in all sorts of weather – and loved it.

In modern masthead sloops of moderate to light displacement, another method of heaving to in heavy weather is under storm jib alone. To heave to, trim the storm jib to windward, force the bow off the wind and then tie the helm down to maintain a slightly upwind. The boat will seek an angle approximately 60 degrees off the wind and will then proceed forward at one or two knots. The course will be erratic as the boat rides over large swells and falls off again in the gusts at the top of the wave. The boat will occasionally take a breaking wave on the forward windward quarter that will shove the hull to leeward. Your progress under the storm jib alone will be a diagonal vector at about 130 degrees from the true direction of the wind, as you will be going forward at about two knots and going sideways at about one knot.

In a split-rigged boat, you can accomplish the same with a storm jib and reefed mizzen or trysail. On our ketch rigged boat we have to sheet the mizzen in very flat. Since each boat reacts a little differently, you should practice with your boat under various conditions until you are comfortable enough to deploy it when you need it most.

In our first crossing of the North Atlantic, we encountered six gales. We sailed through four of them and hove to in two others when the conditions became too rough. For 36 hours each time, we ended up reading, baking cookies (truly – peanut butter and they were great), and otherwise passing the time. We even had our first glass of wine at sea - our boat is dry while underway. We alternated between being terrified by the massive seas when going on deck to check our status and being hugely frustrated and bored when waiting for the time to pass below. We also hove to a third time in 30 foot confused seas to effect a repair on the Monitor wind vane self-steering. We couldn’t have dealt with it otherwise.

It was interesting how many people asked us where we would be stopping at night on several transatlantic crossings. A few actually asked about anchoring mid-ocean. Now we tell them gently about heaving to – the alternative to anchoring.

To heave to in a sailboat

When you are ready to resume your normal course...

Some other ideas for use of this technique

Alex and Daria Blackwell are the authors of “ Happy Hooking - The Art of Anchoring .” It covers every aspect of anchors and anchoring in a fun and easy to read format with lots of photos and illustrations. It is available from good chandleries, Amazon  and on our publishing website.

For more information on this subject or on anchoring in general, please see our book:

Happy Hooking - the Art of Anchoring

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How and Why to Heave To

By: Zeke Quezada, ASA Safety , Sailing Tips , Weather

“Heaving-to” is a classic technique employed to endure severe weather conditions while at sea. Heaving-to is an essential skill for all mariners, as it proves valuable in various situations. This maneuver allows you to delay your arrival at a port until more favorable light or tide conditions prevail or simply “park” the boat while attending to necessary repairs.

When a vessel is hove-to, it positions itself with the wind coming from just forward of the beam, causing it to drift gradually sideways and slightly forward. The wind’s force on the sails maintains a steady angle of heel, ensuring relatively gentle motion, even when facing significant waves.

To execute the heaving-to maneuver, you configure the sails in opposition, causing the jib to exert force in one direction and the mainsail in the opposite direction. The rudder is employed to control the boat’s course.

Here’s a step-by-step guide for heaving-to:

• Observe the wind’s direction and determine the desired drift direction. Decide whether you want to be on the port or starboard tack.
• To lie on the tack opposite to your current one, tighten the jib sheet, tack, and leave the jib sheet cleated.
• As the boat approaches head-to-wind, the windward sheet will set the jib aback, pushing the bow downwind. Keep the mainsheet on the winch with the clutch open.
• Steer the boat back towards the wind and make adjustments with the helm and mainsheet until the boat maintains a steady position relative to the wind on a close-reaching heading. Typically, you’ll turn the wheel to the windward side. The mainsail may or may not require luffing.
• Secure the wheel in place to prevent movement, but ensure it can be easily released if necessary.
• Continuously adjust the sheets and helm as needed to maintain the boat’s attitude, all while maintaining a vigilant lookout for potential hazards.

When and Why to Heave To?

Heaving-to is a versatile sailing maneuver that can be employed for safety, comfort, and strategic purposes in a variety of sailing conditions and situations. It’s an essential skill for sailors to have in their toolkit, especially when cruising in challenging environments or undertaking long passages.

There are several scenarios and reasons why you might choose to heave-to in a sailboat.

Heavy Weather: One of the primary reasons for heaving-to is to ride out heavy weather conditions at sea. When the wind and waves become too strong and dangerous to continue sailing or navigating comfortably, heaving-to allows the boat to maintain a stable position relative to the wind and waves, reducing the risk of capsizing or taking on excessive water.

Safety and Rest: Heaving-to can provide a more comfortable and stable platform for the crew in rough conditions. It allows the crew to rest, tend to injuries, or address equipment problems without the constant motion and stress of sailing in heavy seas.

Reducing Speed: Sometimes, you might want to slow down or delay your arrival at a destination. Heaving-to can effectively slow the boat’s forward progress, allowing you to wait for more favorable weather, tide, or daylight conditions before proceeding.

Navigation and Position Fixing : In certain situations, heaving-to can be used for navigation purposes. It can help you maintain your position in a specific area, wait for a tide change, or assess your location when landmarks or navigation aids are unclear.

Maneuvering Space : If you need to give way to another vessel or avoid a navigational hazard, heaving-to can provide a controlled way to stop or slow down your boat while maintaining some degree of control and maneuverability.

Emergency Situations: In emergency situations, such as a crewmember falling overboard, heaving-to can create a stable platform from which to conduct rescue operations. It reduces the boat’s drift and makes it easier to recover a person from the water.

Single-Handed Sailing: For single-handed sailors, heaving-to can be a useful technique to pause the boat and attend to tasks like reefing sails, making adjustments, or taking a break when there is no other crew available to assist.

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Can You “Heave To” in a Catamaran?

“Heave to” is a worthwhile skill for sailors. This technique stops the boat and holds it almost completely still in the water. The long keel on monohull sailboats makes this easier to manage. Catamarans, like sailboats, can “heave to”.

A catamaran can indeed “heave to”, though a cat may not hold still completely. This is due to the role that the keel plays in this technique. In “heaving to” the jib and the mainsail are counter balanced by each other and both depend upon pushing against the boat’s keel. The longer the keel, the easier it will be to heave to.

“Heave to” is a tool for stopping the boat almost completely in the water with the sails still up. The boat maintains a relatively steady position. This is in complete contrast to “lying ahull,” in which all the sails are dropped and the boat is permitted to drift. This motion, which can be uncomfortable and even dangerous. A boat “lying ahull” is pointed into the waves and puts you at risk of capsizing.

Catamarans Can “Heave To”

Boats that “heave to” like this normally drift slightly with the wind. Just like a monohull, a cat could drift around 40 to 50 degrees off the wind. This dramatically eases the boat’s motion. This motion, which is normal, may seem skittish or uncomfortable at first. So, of course your catamaran can “heave to”. It is a less solid location than a monohull with a deep keel but it works just the same.

A Worthwhile Sailing Skill

“Heaving to” is a worthwhile sailing skill that every sailor should learn. This simple technique will stop your boat in a controlled manner without the captain having to stay at the helm. This can be used for mundane purposes, such as lunch. It can also be used to ride out a storm. Any catamaran can “heave to” like any other sailboat.

It can be used for waiting out bad weather because it allows you to “freeze” the boat at a safe angle to wind and waves and go below to ride it out. Sailors who are sailing their boat without an autopilot will find this technique a valuable skill if they need to leave the helm for any reason.

“Heaving to” is a useful skill for “freezing” your catamaran in it’s tracks, and it can be used even with the sails up. The jib and mainsail are carefully balanced against each other. This works best with monohulls with longer keels but can be applied by any boat, including catamarans. There are excellent “heave to” instructions here .

If you have more information, please send me feedback and I will be glad to respond.

https://www.liveabout.com/heave-a-sailboat-2915472

Question? Contact me here ! Curious? More about me here .

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The ocean is your parking lot  (published July 2012)

For centuries, heaving-to has been the most reliable trick in a sailor’s arsenal for “parking” a sailboat at sea. Throughout that time, sailing vessels have changed and sailors have changed with them, but one fact remains—heaving-to is an important and necessary skill every sailor should master.

On ships of yesteryear, heaving-to was somewhat complex due to sail size and vessel maneuverability. In contrast, heaving-to in a modern sloop is quite easily done with minimal effort. By using a headsail, mainsail and rudder, we have the ability to heave-to for hours or days if required.

WHAT, WHY, WHEN? Simply put, heaving-to is a maneuver used to slow a sailboat’s progress and calm its motion while at sea. When successfully “hove-to,” a sailboat will gently drift to leeward at a greatly reduced speed. The reasons for heaving-to are numerous and often situational. When teaching students the maneuver, I impart the three Rs of heaving-to: Rest, Repairs and Reefing.

When sailing in rough seas (especially shorthanded), there will come a time when you need rest. Resting could mean sleeping, eating, or simply completing tasks that might be difficult or dangerous while underway. Making coffee or a warm meal, using the head, waiting for daybreak outside a harbor and navigation fall into this category. So too does one of the main reasons sailors heave-to—waiting out rough weather. Heaving-to is a completely acceptable storm tactic during the passage of a moderate squall or large front, especially when compared to riding out a storm with bare poles in a heavy sea.

Your need for calm could also come in the form of repairs to your vessel. Working over a diesel engine is far easier when hove-to than when beating into a punishing sea. Also, if a shroud were to break, heaving-to opposite the broken rigging will allow you to assess the damage and possibly make a repair.

When reefing, it may be necessary to send a crewmember forward to use lines near the mast or to attach a luff cringle on the reefing hook. Heaving-to makes this considerably safer and much easier for crew to move forward and work on deck.

HOW TO HEAVE-TO? One of the best ways to heave-to in a modern sloop is to use the tacking method. Start off close-hauled or on a close reach. Turn the bow of the boat through the wind slower than you would during a normal tack and DO NOT release the jib. The goal here is to let the jib backwind and stall the boat’s momentum.

When the bow has passed through the eye of the wind, the jib will be backed to windward. As pressure on the backwinded jib forces the bow to leeward, ease the main and feather the boat into the wind. If you have too much momentum, the bow will want to tack back through the wind, so go slow. Eventually your speed will diminish to a point where the rudder will lose steerage and stall. At the same time the rudder stalls, the bow will blow down. When this happens, turn the helm hard to windward and lock it in place. If you are on a tiller steered boat, push the tiller to leeward and lash it down.

Another acceptable method for heaving-to is to sail close-hauled and tension the windward jibsheet while easing the leeward jibsheet. Once the jib is backed to weather, ease the main and start feathering into the wind to reduce speed and stall the rudder. When the bow blows down, turn the helm hard to windward and lock it. This option is more physically demanding in heavy weather and can be difficult when sailing short-handed.

When hove-to, the sails are essentially canceling themselves out. The rudder and main are trying to drive the bow into the wind, while pressure on the backed jib keeps the bow pinned down. The boat will settle in and drift slightly forward and to leeward. Look down at the water over the windward side of the boat and you will notice turbulence being created by the keel and rudder. This turbulent water is helping to break the oncoming sea as it gets to your boat, thus making your ride more comfortable.

The ideal way to lay hove-to, especially in heavy seas, is at a 45° angle to oncoming waves. Laying abeam can be dangerous and unpleasant. To ensure you are not laying broadside to the swell, trim in the mainsail. Tensioning the main will bring your bow into the swell at an angle and make the boat’s motion more comfortable and safe. It will also keep the main from flogging noisily and causing unnecessary wear to the sail.

When you are ready to get underway again, there are a few good options for getting out of being hove-to. If your intended course is the one you were on prior to heaving–to, unlock the helm and turn it hard to leeward. This will turn you downwind and eventually to a gybe. Once you have safely gybed, you can easily continue to any point of sail on your original tack.

If your desired tack is the one you hove-to on, bring the rudder amidships, release the windward jibsheet—allowing the jib to blow through—and tension the leeward jibsheet. From here, you can steer and trim for your intended course.

THINGS TO REMEMBER Just because you are successfully hove-to and comfortably making a sandwich down below does not mean you can jettison good seamanship. Always keep the following in mind when heaving-to. Every sailboat responds differently when hove-to. Try different sail configurations and reef the sails as necessary for a given wind strength. Also, vessels with a full keel will have a more comfortable motion and will drift slower when hove-to. Fin keel and bulb-keeled boats tend to skitter across the water faster due to the lack of lateral resistance below the waterline. If you plan to stay hove-to for a while, be sure to note how fast and in what direction you are moving.

Make sure you maintain a good watch and always consider how much sea room you have before heaving-to. In the middle of the Atlantic you could lay hove-to for days, but in Narragansett Bay you could be on a collision coarse with another vessel or on the rocks in minutes. In areas congested with other sailboats, try heaving-to on a starboard tack and you will maintain right of way over those on port tack.

If you plan on being hove-to for a while, inspect the rig for places where lines and sails may be chaffing. On boats with an overlapping genoa, the sail will lay against the shrouds and spreaders. To relieve this, reef the sail or ease it slightly to move the clew off the shrouds.

Andrew Cross, a USCG licensed captain and US Sailing certified sailing and navigation instructor, is also the editor of www.cruisingcompass.com. After putting thousands of miles under his keel on the East Coast and in the Caribbean, he and his wife Jill now reside in Seattle and are looking forward to cruising the Great Northwest and beyond.

Author: Andy Cross

Heavy Weather Tactics

Scores of books have been written about heavy weather sailing, but few of them address the particulars of multihulls and their individual considerations. Monohulls have more commonalities as a group, therefore there are more general guidelines. Storm tactics for multihulls will depend more on the capabilities of crew and vessel than any other factors.

Barreling along at 18 knots in strong winds can be thrilling and is a highlight of multihull sailing. Making no seamanship errors will be as important as the simplest rules of keeping all lines neatly organized and kink free. Often tangled lines have gotten sailors into more trouble than anything else. Keeping a neat cockpit and thinking ahead are the cheapest insurances against mishaps.

In heavy weather the boat should be set up with appropriate safety lines and attaching yourself to them must be mandatory, even if one only ventures briefly into the cockpit. All crew should wear full gear and always have their life jackets at the ready. Each member should have a strobe, knife and whistle permanently attached and there always should be a big knife with a serrated edge mounted in the cockpit to quickly cut a jammed line, if necessary. Basic safety drills, location of life saving equipment, rafts and throw-able MOB devices must be known to each crewmember. Everyone on board must understand the crucial function of EPIRBs, VHFs, firefighting equipment, as well as engine operation and bilge-pump system. It is all really common sense.

If in the highly unlikely event that you capsize, stay with the boat at all costs. Rig one life raft or dinghy to the underside of the bridge deck, fly a kite and wait for help. Never, ever separate from the mother ship as your chances of being spotted will be close to zero in a raft. Staying warm, hydrated, and clear headed will be as important as keeping crew morale up. Salvage as much food and water as you can and secure them, as waves in the interior will wash them out any opening. It has been suggested to await help in the upturned vessel, but unless it is a perfect calm, it will be impossible. Wave surges in the cabins will be violent and there will be leaking battery acid, foul smells and floating objects that will force you onto the upturned platform of the bridge deck.

Storm strategies will depend on the sea state. The shorter and higher the wave faces, the more critical correct seamanship will be. It is my opinion that the use of sea anchors should be carefully weighed and avoided if one can actively deal with the conditions. In theory, they work well if conditions do not change. The crew can rest and the multihull will make nominal drift downwind, provided there is minimal searoom. But the sea is a chaotic environment and waves do not always remain in one and the same pattern, direction, and period. The forces and loads on the boat when tied to a parachute type device can be huge.

True and Apparent Wave Height

Imagine your boat hanging off a sea anchor and suddenly a wave from a different direction slams into the boat from the side. As the boat is not moving, actually drifting slightly backwards, it will not have any possibility to handle this odd rogue wave. The catamaran might be overwhelmed and rotate around its longitudinal axis and flip. Most cruising catamarans that have capsized were constricted by sea anchors. In one well-documented incident, the parachute's lines caught under the rudders and turned the boat.

A sea anchor might lull you into a false sense of security and your vigilance will be reduced. Being caught with your guard down is the most dangerous situation, and I feel it is better to actively deal with storm conditions, rather than letting the boat drift off a sea anchor. Besides, retrieval and deployment are risky, and if not done properly the first time, they can subject crew and boat to more risks.

This is not to say that a parachute anchor does not work. On the contrary, many multihulls have ridden out hurricanes with these devices. Personally, I would want to position the boat to sail with the seas if there is sea room. The vessel's speed should be adjusted to the wave period and therefore would reduce the relative impact of waves. If one's cat sails too fast, even without sails up, a drogue or warps could be dragged behind the boat. Streaming warps off a stern bridle will also be helpful if the boat has lost steerage. It will keep the bows pointing downwind. Ideally, seas should be taken off the rear quarter in order to present the longest diagonal axis to them. This will be the most stable attitude, and a good multihull will be able to handle the most severe conditions. A well-working autopilot, an alert crew, and a strong boat will get you through anything. Concentration will deteriorate as the conditions worsen and any mistake will be very difficult to rectify. Your margin for error will be minimal and advance thinking and anticipation will be key. Approaching a safe harbor during heavy weather can be nerve-wracking and should be carefully weighed with the risk of running aground and encountering much rougher than usual inlets. Often standing off will take discipline but be safer.

Again it should be mentioned that everyone manages differently with storm conditions and there is not necessarily only one right or wrong way to do it. Making the vessel's speed work for you and being able to

Wave heights make great subjects for sea tales, but the altitude of seas are often overestimated. Especially on smaller vessels, when the horizon is hidden, one feels that the seas are steeper than they actually are. The apparent gravitational pull makes one think that the boat is sailing parallel on the horizontal plane. Usually however, the boat is already ascending the next wave, leading to estimation errors as high as 50% in judging wave heights.

Safely slowing the multihull is accomplished by streaming warps or trailing a special drogue. A large bridle is either fastened to the windward hull or to the sterns.

Streaming Warps or a Drogue to Slow Down

Streaming Warps or a Drogue to Slow Down outrun a system will reduce your exposure time. Drifting slowly downwind tied to a sea anchor will expose you to bad weather longer. The advantage of a fast catamaran should be used to get you out of trouble, or even better, by using today's advanced meteorological forecasts, you might be able to avoid it entirely. Yet, once you are in storm conditions, slowing down the boat to retain full control will be challenging.

If there is no sea room, or one is forced to claw upwind, reducing speed to minimize wave impact is imperative to the comfort of the crew and safety of the boat. Finding the right groove between stalling and too much speed is important. You do not want to be caught by a wave slamming into you, bringing you to a halt. This could end up in a lack of steerage and, in the worst case, you could be flipped backwards. Always keep on sailing at a manageable speed and if your boat has daggerboards, both boards should be down one third only. Head closer to the wind towards the top of the wave, and fall off as the boat sails down the slope. This will aid in keeping the sails drawing and boat speed in check. Structural shocks upwind in very strong winds can be very tough, so find the right speed. Reducing your main to 3 or even 4 reefs and furling your headsail for balance will drive you to weather. We all know that this will not be comfortable, but if there is no choice other than to windward, one will manage until conditions have abated. Flatten sails as much as you can to depower the boat. If you need to tack, plan ahead, do it decisively, and with plenty of momentum. You do not want to be caught in irons while drifting backwards. Loads on the rudders with the boat going in reverse can damage the steering, leaving you crippled.

Running off at a controllable speed is the safest way to handle a storm. If you are deep reaching or sailing downwind with the storm, retract both boards if your boat has daggerboards. In the event that the catamaran is skittish and hard to steer, lower one foot of daggerboard on both sides. Long, well balanced, high-aspect-ratio hulls, especially ones equipped with skegs far aft, will track well, even without boards. A tiny amount of jib sheeted hard amidships might be all that is needed to point the boat downwind. Reduce the boat to a speed where you are just a fraction slower than the waves.

Keep in mind that the term "slow" is relative as this could still mean that you are traveling at well over 15 knots!

Sailing with the beam to the storm and seas should be avoided at any cost. If, because of say navigational issues, one has no choice, both daggerboards must be lifted to assure sideways slippage.

Heaving-to is a tactic which lets the boat sail controlled, almost stationary, and should be used only if one has no more alternatives.

This could be caused by crew exhaustion or mechanical issues with the boat. When heaving-to, the helm is locked to windward, a tiny scrap of jib sheeted to weather, and/or a heavily reefed mainsail can be set. The traveler should be let off to leeward and, theoretically, the multihull will steadily work herself to windward. At 40 degrees, she will either be stationary or slightly fore-reach. This does not work on all multihulls and different mainsail and jib combinations should be tested. Also letting the main or jib luff slightly will take speed off the boat, if

far right Boarding via the transom platform, any guest will easily find his/her way to the spacious cockpit by walking down wide, teak-covered steps. Notice the lack of any sail controls or helm station - they are all located out of the way, on the flybridge above.

so desired. Catamarans with daggerboards should only have very little windward board down to avoid tripping.

Similar to "heaving-to" lying-a-hull differs from boat to boat. In this attitude the boat will carry no sails at all and fend for herself. In case of daggerboards, retract them. Most boats will take the seas on their beams (not my favorite) and let the waves pass under them by surfing sideways. Just as trying to avoid the use of sea anchors, this tactic should only be reverted to if one has exhausted every other possibility.

There are a few generalities that will help you learn about heavy weather sailing tactics. Fine-tuning the sails will help depower the boat. As the wind increases, move the mainsail sheeting point to leeward. This is one of the best features of multihull sailing. Multihulls have wide travelers and an extensive sheeting base which allows for more choices for sail trim than narrow boats. Ease off the traveler to move the main to leeward and use a strong outside rail attachment point, such as a cleat or toe rail track to move the jib to leeward. As the wind strengthens, reduce camber and flatten the sails. Double up preventers and reef lines to create backups and divide the loads. In the end, knowing when to reef and how to control your cat is the most important skill to develop to prepare for heavy weather sailing. Practicing maneuvers in strong conditions will raise your level of confidence and prepare you for the worst Mother Nature might have in store for us.

Heaving-to is an important "parking" technique that should be practiced by every catamaran owner. One tacks from a close-hauled position and either luffs the mainsail or furls it completely. Once on the other tack, the jib is left on the "wrong" side and the helm is turned hard to windward. Every multihull will behave differently, and one has to experiment how hard the headsail must be sheeted in or how far the rudders must be turned. Keel catamarans will behave slightly differently than daggerboard cats. The headsail will keep the bows turned away from the seas, while the rudders will prevent the boat from presenting her beams to the waves. In the heave-to attitude, the catamaran will fore-reach and slightly drift to leeward.

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Readers' Questions

What size waves can a caramaran handle?

The size of waves that a catamaran can handle depends on various factors, including the design and build quality of the specific catamaran, the experience and skill of the captain and crew, and the conditions of the sea and weather. In general, catamarans are known for their stability and ability to handle moderate to large waves. Some larger, more robust catamarans are designed for offshore sailing and can handle rough open ocean conditions, including large waves of several meters in height. However, smaller or lighter catamarans may be more suitable for calmer or sheltered waters and may have limitations in handling very large waves. It is important to consult the manufacturer's recommendations and consider the specific characteristics of a catamaran before taking it into rough seas. Additionally, it is essential to have proper training and experience to safely handle a catamaran in challenging wave conditions.

Are catamarans good in rough water?

Yes, catamarans are generally considered to be good in rough water. The design of a catamaran with two hulls provides better stability and maneuverability compared to a monohull. The wide beam and low center of gravity of a catamaran make it less prone to capsizing in rough conditions. Additionally, the dual hulls help reduce the wave impact, making catamarans more comfortable in rough seas. However, it's important to note that extreme weather conditions can still pose challenges for any type of boat, including catamarans.

How to sail in a storm?

Secure all loose items in and around the cockpit. Reef main sail if possible. Lower the jib, or furl it tightly if possible. If a storm jib is aboard, hoist it. If single handed, rig a preventer to hold the boom in place if a sudden gust should cause an accidental jibe. Double up all sail sheets, halyards, and control lines. Reduce windage by dropping the mainsail traveler and vang. Keep an eye out for squalls. Wear your life jacket and a wet suit or dry suit if the weather is cold enough. Trim the helm to keep the bow into the waves. Try to maintain a consistent speed and course to avoid broaching. Monitor the boat, keeping it free of water and heeling as little as possible. Be prepared to take evasive action, such as dousing the sails, heaving to, or running off.

Can catamarans handle rough seas?

Yes, catamarans can handle rough seas. They are designed with a shallow draft and wide beam that make them more stable, allowing them to handle the waves better than a traditional monohull boat. Additionally, modern catamarans have been designed to be more resistant to adverse weather conditions, which helps them perform better in rough seas.

Are catamarans safe in heavy weather?

It depends on the type of catamaran, its size and design, but generally catamarans are considered to be very safe in heavy weather. They have a wide beam, low center of gravity and are relatively stable in rough seas. A good quality catamaran will have also good deck drainage and self-draining cockpits, adding to their safety in bad weather.

How well are catamarans in heavy waves?

Catamarans usually have good stability in heavy waves, as their wide, shallow hulls help to provide good lift and reduce rolling. However, the size and weight of a catamaran will determine how well it handles in heavier waves, with larger catamarans generally being more stable in larger waves. It is also important to note that catamarans may not perform as well as monohulls in heavy waves as they often have less grip in the water due to their shallow draft. Therefore, it is important to consider the size and weight of the catamaran when planning to take it out in heavier seas.

How to park a catamaran heavy weather?

Ensure that the sea state is suitable for anchoring and that the area is suitable for your catamaran. Set the anchor and let out chain or rope depending on the type of anchor you are using. Monitor the anchor and the mooring lines for any signs of distress. If possible, secure more anchors or mooring buoys to the sea floor away from the catamaran to increase the overall stability and security. Use fenders to protect your catamaran from the sea swell. Make sure that the crew is off deck and has safety lines in place if they are on deck. Aim to park the catamaran in a sheltered area and away from the prevailing winds. Check regularly to make sure the anchor stays in place and that the mooring lines and fenders remain secure.

Why catamaran rotate beam on wave?

Catamarans rotate their beam on waves in order to remain stable and reduce drag. When a catamaran is moving through the water, its hulls can act like wings, causing the boat to tip sideways. By rotating the beam, the catamaran can counter the sideways motion, allowing it to remain relatively level and cut through the water more effectively. Rotating the beam also helps to reduce drag, helping the catamaran to move faster and more efficiently.