# Singlehanding a Snipe?



## Curtisfromcarlsbad (Jun 18, 2011)

I bought a 30 year old used Snipe for $850. It seems to be in decent shape overall. I want to know how difficult will it be to singlehand?Can I simply spill wind because of the reduced crew weight to avoid capsizing.( Recommended crew weight for racing this boat is about 320 lbs.) It will be used mostly in Mission Bay ,San Diego, Oceanside(sometimes I will venture out going south hugging the shore) and Newport Bay. I weigh 205 lbs. and am fit. I owned a Macgregor 26m for a year and singlehanded it once or twice so I have some sailing experience. I got the Snipe because I liked the looks of it, wanted a Main and a jib and read online that it tacks well. Also I wanted to reduce my set up time.Another question : How fast will this boat go either in knots or MPH? What should I expect as a cruising speed when singlehanding in Mission Bay 3-10 Knots of wind ? I have knot been able to find out the speeds this boat is capable of anywhere on the internet Thanks


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

My first sailboat was a Snipe. I used to single hand it as a kid.


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## WDS123 (Apr 2, 2011)

Yes


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## Curtisfromcarlsbad (Jun 18, 2011)

Sailed the snipe today in Mission Bay solo. Used only the main.Will try jib on next sail.The boat is very fast. Got it to heel and hiked out a bit in puffs. I am nervous about capsizing it if I use jib too(singlehand).Mission bay is shallow and I am not sure I could right it as I have never done this. I would worry the mast would get stuck in the mud. I spilled wind many times today to ease the heeling. I think this is a great boat for me as I am very interested in going fast and having to hike out a bit is exciting to me. The boat seems to tack very well.


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## jpmuncey (Jun 20, 2011)

*Good news for me*

Very happy to read this thread as I recently bought a used Snipe (~ 20 y.o) with the intention of sailing single-handed a fair bit of the time.

I am just a novice, but am looking forward to getting some experience asap.
Guess I'll also be getting wet too!

John


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## Sublime (Sep 11, 2010)

It'll take practice, but you should be able to single hand it. If you haven't gone dinghy sailing yet, you'll earn a whole new respect for those sailors. Things will happen much faster on it than on the macgregor. You'll probably end up in the water a few times so make sure it's warm enough and/or your dressed appropriately.


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## Curtisfromcarlsbad (Jun 18, 2011)

Thanks for the info. I wonder if I run the jib and am solo will the risk of capsize increase a lot? It heeled substantially yesterday but that was the best part because the boat was really moving fast and I hiked out a bit. The Snipe appeared to be quite faster than a lot of the other daysailors that were out there. And I was on main alone ! A few of the other daysailors could tell I was novice with this boat and smirked a bit when they saw me struggling and getting used to the boat but I could see they were surprised later when I screamed past them while hiking out on main alone. And my boat did not come with a boom vang. I managed to pull down hard on the section of boom that the vang would attach to and the boat went even faster! This was once on a beam reach and once downwind. When I add in a vang it should be even faster! My only doubt is if I will be able to handle the power of the boat with the jib up also when singlehanding. You have to temporarily let go of the mainsheet to free or secure the jib sheets when coming about. This could lead to a knockdown if I couldn't spill wind from the main fast enough because my only free hand would b on the jib sheet.


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## puddinlegs (Jul 5, 2006)

Just take the boat out and capsize it. Learning to right the boat is a necessary dinghy skill.

For more info:

United States Snipe Sailing - The best in one design dinghy sailing


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Second puddinlegs advice. 
The only way to gain confidence for when you do get knocked down is to take the boat out and capsize it. Then right it by getting your weight on the center board.
Once you get really good at it you can lay the boat over while climbing onto the C/B, then climb back into the cockpit when it rights without actually getting in the water. 
You will want to sail with the jib and main as using both sails will make your boat go even faster. When you start trying the jib try to get someone to go with you who can handle the jib sheets for you while you handle the main and tiller.


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## Curtisfromcarlsbad (Jun 18, 2011)

Thanks to both. Yes, I think what I'll do is manually capsize the boat in about 8 feet of water near the shore. I'll have a 50 foot line from the boat to the shore. If I can't right it using centerboard I'll swim to shore and pull boat to shallow water. Then I'll keep trying until I get it. Then I'll capsize it farther out gradually over time. I'd like to see in shallow water how easily the boat turtles. Can a 200lb. person right the Snipe solo in deep water if it is completely turtled and with windy conditions?


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## Curtisfromcarlsbad (Jun 18, 2011)

jpmuncey: Let me know how your test sails go. I'll send you any tips I learn as well during my singlehanding. We need two heads to optimize our Snipe sailing.


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

*Yes, but...*

The wind is definitely a factor in being able to re-right a dinghy like a Snipe. It gets more difficult to do as wind and waves increase. 
The first thing you should be doing when you start to feel the boat go over is to free the sheets (jib and main) while heading upwind. 
If you still capsize:
- and there is little or no wind just hop on the C/B and your weight should pull the boat up. You may need to tug a little to help get the sails out of the water.
- and there is 10 knots or over you may need to alter the position of the hull in relation to the wind as the wind is the force that will ultimately right the boat. Ideally, if your bow is pointed into the wind (mast perpendicular to wind) all you need to do is get some wind under the main and jib when free will help right the boat. If your mast is pointing into the wind and you try to right it the boat can go all the way over on the other side, or worse, start sailing away from you (if you did not release the sheets).

It can actually be a fun exercise to do this. Just try not to break anything on the boat or you while practicing. I volunteer at a Sunfish youth sailing program and the kids love this drill on windless days.

Make sure you have a bailer secured on board as you will likely take on water. An empty gallon bleach or beverage bottle with a handle with the bottom cut off or a bucket make functional hand bailing devices. A comfortable life vest is not a bad idea either.

Most of all have fun.


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## danielt63 (May 9, 2011)

Curtisfromcarlsbad said:


> I bought a 30 year old used Snipe for $850. It seems to be in decent shape overall. I want to know how difficult will it be to singlehand?Can I simply spill wind because of the reduced crew weight to avoid capsizing.


It's not super easy to sail such a boat single handed, but it can be done. Most of the power is in the main so be ready to spill wind from it. The only time the main should be cleated is when you are working the jib sheets. As I recall, the Snipe has a aluminum daggerboard. Be very sure it is secured in place before you capsize, otherwise righting the boat will be a bear and fishing the daggerboard from the bottom will be worse.

That said, spilling the wind works well, but you won't be able to point very high when there is a lot of wind. So going upwind will take a lot longer than you might expect, even if you are going fast.

Above all, have fun. I used to single-hand my Laser II and I'm only 160#. You should be fine.


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## Sublime (Sep 11, 2010)

Curtisfromcarlsbad said:


> Thanks to both. Yes, I think what I'll do is manually capsize the boat in about 8 feet of water near the shore. I'll have a 50 foot line from the boat to the shore. If I can't right it using centerboard I'll swim to shore and pull boat to shallow water. Then I'll keep trying until I get it. Then I'll capsize it farther out gradually over time. I'd like to see in shallow water how easily the boat turtles. Can a 200lb. person right the Snipe solo in deep water if it is completely turtled and with windy conditions?


Just use a constant pressure rather than brute force to right it. Uncleat the sails before you pull it back over. Have a place your daggerboard is tied to on the boat. 
I've seen some people use jib sheets to pull on when the center board comes back down into the water to continue to right the boat. There's lots of videos on youtube of people righting dinghies. 
Wear a life jacket. And make sure you've got something you can grab from the water to help you pull yourself back into the boat...hiking strap, a line, whatever. Until you learn how to keep from getting wet in a capsize, a few times of pulling yourself back up will wear you out.
As long as you don't putz around, the sails help keep it from turtling. It can eventually turtle but you have a little bit of time.

You'll figure out what you have to do to single hand. I've got a yawl rig dinghy. It's almost 19' and I single hand it most of the time. I tie the two jib sheets together to make it easy to grab. And never, ever, ever cleat the main in a good breeze. Like I said before, things happen fast. A gust will put you in the water fast so the time it takes to uncleat could be the difference between a capsize and not.


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## Curtisfromcarlsbad (Jun 18, 2011)

Wow ! Thanks guys. Quick responses. I kinda thought that I shouldn't cleat the main when at speed. It seemed I was constantly cleating/uncleating but I didn't know if it was ok to stay uncleated. That would definately save at least one valuable second of time. And if I went over at least the main would already be uncleated. Is the cleated jib less of a problem than the main in a sudden heavy gust ? Should I install a mast float if I know I will singlehand 75% of the time ? Great responses , I really thank you !


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## puddinlegs (Jul 5, 2006)

Curtisfromcarlsbad said:


> Thanks to both. Yes, I think what I'll do is manually capsize the boat in about 8 feet of water near the shore. I'll have a 50 foot line from the boat to the shore. If I can't right it using centerboard I'll swim to shore and pull boat to shallow water. Then I'll keep trying until I get it. Then I'll capsize it farther out gradually over time. I'd like to see in shallow water how easily the boat turtles. *Can a 200lb. person right the Snipe solo in deep water if it is completely turtled and with windy conditions?*


With some practice in calmer conditions, yes, you should be able to. And no! Don't put a masthead float on the boat. Go to the snipe class website. You'll be getting great answers and info from people who really know and are committed to the boat. Chances are there'll be someone in your area willing to help you out.


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## Curtisfromcarlsbad (Jun 18, 2011)

Ok Thanks- I'm close to mission Bay Yacht Club- I'll try to get some additional advice.


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## Irunbird (Aug 10, 2008)

Curtisfromcarlsbad said:


> Thanks to both. Yes, I think what I'll do is manually capsize the boat in about 8 feet of water near the shore. I'll have a 50 foot line from the boat to the shore. If I can't right it using centerboard I'll swim to shore and pull boat to shallow water. Then I'll keep trying until I get it. Then I'll capsize it farther out gradually over time. I'd like to see in shallow water how easily the boat turtles. Can a 200lb. person right the Snipe solo in deep water if it is completely turtled and with windy conditions?


A 200 lb person should easily be able to right a Snipe on it's side- all you do is hop out on the boat before the mast starts filling with water and begins to turtle, uncleat any sail (if still cleated), stand out on the centerboard and pull on whatever line you can to get good leverage (usually a jib sheet)- I've done this several times on our Buccaneer with my wife not helping much, so it's basically me doing the righting, and scooping her up back into the boat as she rights. A turtled boat will take a bit more effort, but it's the same thing- uncleat everything (and hope the mast isn't in the sand!), then grab a jib sheet and stand on the opposite side of the hull and lean out-- it should start righting slowly until the mast becomes more horizontal, then pop on up out of the water. I've single handed my Buccaneer 18 quite a bit, and it's really no big deal- just be sure to keep your sheets handy to ease and trim as you go. I know people who single hand Buccaneers and fly the spinnaker (w/o pole), which I'm going to do sometime this summer... in light air! It sounds like you've got sailing with the main down, so it won't be long. Your jib isn't on a furler, is it?

Ray


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## Irunbird (Aug 10, 2008)

Something else I thought of-- although I'm not sure about your spars. On Buccaneers, we stick pool noodles in the mast (the upper 1/2 or so is all that's important). You can slice them in half if it makes stuffing easier, but what this does is prevent water from entering the mast, not so much positive buoyancy with the noodle, but by displacing water that would otherwise fill the mast. It literally prevents turtling a Bucc, assuming you have a solid hull-- then you have bigger problems!

Ray


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## Curtisfromcarlsbad (Jun 18, 2011)

*Response to Irunbird*

Irunbird : Th mast has internal pulleys and the jib and main metal ropes (cables) running through it so I don't think it can be noodled. Thanks for the advice. I'll try this summer to practice some capsizing ( 30 or 40 minutes each time I sail). It is nice to know that even if turtled I've got a chance. The B
ucaneers are nice boats !


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## puddinlegs (Jul 5, 2006)

If you hook up with the right folks, learn to sail, then race your snipe, you'll learn far more in a couple of years than most will learn in a decade. The snipe class has some really great sailors involved in their group. Take advantage of it. When you move on to keel boats, you'll have a much more developed feel for sailing, sail trim, balance, boat speed, etc...


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## Curtisfromcarlsbad (Jun 18, 2011)

Thanks !


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## mocphoto (Jul 31, 2011)

I am a novice sailor, and a frequent reader, but having just capsized my '78 McLaughlin Snipe sailing singlehanded last weekend, I feel I should chime in. I was beating upwind in moderate breeze, feeling very comfortable, fully hiked out, but could not keep the boat level with my 190 lbs. Suddenly I felt I was going over, I cast off the mainsheet but the boom hit the water and did not spill. I tried to climb backwards over the rail, but it was like climbing out of a catapult. From the time of being aware of a problem to me hitting the cold water was about two seconds. In another three seconds the boat was turtled on top of me, with a lot of lines trying to wrap themselves around me. I was aware of the technique of how to right the boat, but I will tell you it is really, really hard for one person, even using the jib sheet it takes several minutes of full exertion standing on an extremely slippery hull. Finally I got the mast up out of the water. The mast came out of the water broadside to the wind, and the wind helped right the boat, but the mainsheet was fouled, the main caught the wind and it just came over on top of me again. 
Without another person to stabilize the boat , when my Snipe was righted but full of water, it was impossible to climb in from the side without tipping over. Climbing in over the stern is not possible, without a rope step, try it sometime. This process repeated itself three times until the daggerboard dropped out because it was not properly secured. Once that daggerboard is gone, you are done.
In the end, my mast was broken as I was being towed away turtled from the rocks where I was drifting.
Final bill: new mast and daggerboard- $900 to $1,500. (I bought the boat for $250.)
My conclusions for sailing solo in a Snipe:
Don't ever go out without a wetsuit, be fully prepared to spend an hour up to your neck in the water you are sailing.
Test your "waterproof" VHF before you capsize. Mine leaked and failed.
Secure your daggerboard as if it were hung over your head-it might be.
Don't sail your Snipe solo if you have not practiced righting it solo.
Without a mast float, if you go over 90º, you will not stop until you turtle.
Don't hate jetskiers or houseboaters- they came to my aid and spent over an hour helping me.


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## Curtisfromcarlsbad (Jun 18, 2011)

*Reply to mocphoto*

Wow ! Thanks for the detailed info. I am planning to turn the Snipe into a trimaran. I have two 10 foot "hydrobike" hulls made out of rotomolded plastic. They are thick strong plastic, and around 10" wide. I have been using them with the Hydrobike for 6 years now to go to see concerts for free at Humphreys on the Bay in San Diego. They are tough material, track nicely and weigh 30lbs. apiece. I plan to use two aluminum or other suitable metal poles perhaps 12-14' in length as akas to connect to the Hydrobike pontoons. This should allow me to fly the jib with less worry and get even more brazen with tightening the main when upwind. I have been afraid to try the boat solo as is with the jib so far and now am even more concerned .I am glad you posted this as it might have saved me from the same fate. We are about the same body weight and the hull and rigging for our two Snipes are probably very similar in weight. So I would have a hell of a time getting righted solo as I am new to dinghy sailing. The Snipe does feel very tippy to me but is exhilarating as well. I will temporarily rig up the pontoons just to see if the boat works well as far as pointing, turning and tracking are concerned then if all is good I will drill some holes in the deck and use a combination of large washers, bolts and large wingnuts to be able to rapidly assemble the trimaran at the launch ramp prior to launch. How does this idea sound ? I am planning a 9 day sailing/road trip down the 1000 miles of the Baja peninsula in late September or early October so I will need to get moving on this project soon. If it works it could really make one stable ,fun and versatile little boat! I have invested $850 in the boat and trailer but have spent an additional $600 rehabbing the 30 year old trailer. It has been welded heavily near the tongue and all other rusted through areas and has had additional metal added to these areas. It has been painted and looks beautiful. I had new wheel bearings put on and two new rims and tires and a new wiring harness. So I am now $1450 deep and wouldn't want to have to get a new mast. I strill have to either buff and polish the entire boat or paint it myself. I concentrated on the worn trailer first as I will be doing a lot of trailering each year. The boat did come with an extra set of nearly new sails (maybe 95% new) so I think I did OK overall. I will not use them for a few years until the first set is worn out


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