A solo sailor shares his top safety tips

John Cotton describes the modifications he has made to his Albin Ballad to make her a safe and dependable yacht for Nordic single-handing

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As a solo sailor, I find my Albin Ballad, Josin to be an ideal boat for the purpose.

She is seaworthy, strong, safe, easy to handle and with excellent, predictable sailing characteristics.

Over the last 50 years of cruising boat design, a priority has been placed upon improving space, comfort and facilities: when Josin comes into a harbour she’s accordingly surrounded or squeezed out by much larger, more modern boats.

These have a higher potential cruising speed, so they can get to the next harbour first and occupy the best spots.

There’s not much I can do about that – but during nearly 30 years of sailing in Josin, I’ve carried out a number of adaptations which have at least made her into a safer and more comfortable boat in which to sail single-handed.

The first safety rule for a solo sailor is, of course, not to fall overboard.

The odds against being spotted and rescued are not good, and in the cold, Nordic waters I sail in, survival time is short – so to begin with, appropriate clothing needs to be worn.

It’s always a good idea to wear more clothing than you may think necessary: it’s much easier to remove a layer than to put one on, and it must be borne in mind that body cooling by degrees leads to an insidious and gradual reduction in acuity.

Thin, industrial goatskin gloves are also recommended, both for better grip and first defence against cold fingers.

And of course, it goes without saying that an automatic lifejacket should always be worn, one with crotch straps and a becket for lifting and clipping-on.

Safety lines

Safety lines set up on a boat for a solo sailor

Credit: John Cotton

These are snap-hooked onto strong eyebolts low down in the cockpit, and are short enough to ensure that you can’t hang outside the railing.

Safety Hoop

A safety hoop on a boat to make it safe for a solo sailor

Credit: John Cotton

A boom on a boat

Credit: John Cotton

Josin has a safety hoop over the cockpit, formed in such a way that if you are under it or behind it, the boom cannot strike you.

It consists of double, curved tubing with a space between: the end of the boom rests on the forward tube, the aft one being a safe, non-finger-pinching handhold. The sides are ranged forward to make them easier to hold onto when going forward.

Sprayhood

A sprayhood on a yacht modified for a solo sailor

Credit: John Cotton

This has been enlarged, with larger, more vertical windows for better vision, and has been extended aft for better sheltering space.

Jackstays

Jackstays on a boat to allow a solo sailor to clip on to the boat

Credit: John Cotton

Flat webbing jackstays, with a large ring to ease clipping on, run from the forward ends of both sides of the cockpit to the bow, and inside the shrouds.

Danbuoy

A danbuoy on the back of a boat

Credit: John Cotton

The danbuoy has a quick-release mounting, with horseshoe floater and an automatic, upside-down-on, blinking light.

Autopilot

An autopilot on a boat

The autopilot engaged. Credit: John Cotton

An autopilot on a boat

The autopilot drive disengaged. Credit: John Cotton

This is an essential piece of equipment for the solo sailor.

Mine is a Raymarine EV1 with my own design of coupling/operation and remote placement of the tiller drive.

Pulpit

A pulpit on a yacht

Credit: John Cotton

A dip in the aft ends of the pulpit/forward end of the railing allows the foresail to keep its shape when not close-hauled.

The pulpit has been widened at the front to accommodate a platform wide enough for two welly-shod feet, and a bow ladder hooks onto the platform.

Top Rail

Top rail on a boat

Credit: John Cotton

This is constructed from 20mm tubing instead of wire, which is much sturdier to hold onto at sea.

The posts are slightly longer than standard, and the genoa slides nicely over the tubing when easing the genoa sheet.

Bags for ropes/sheets

Bags for lines on a sailing boat

Credit: John Cotton

There are five of these in the cockpit – an important safety feature as it means your legs don’t get entangled.

Pushpit

A pushpit on a boat

The pushpit top rail in place. Credit: John Cotton

the back of a yacht

The pushpit top rail disengaged. Credit: John Cotton

A detachable pushpit top rail provides ease of access and, in an emergency, would make it easier to haul a soggy, overboard crewmember back on board.

Other modifications

A boat modified to make it safer for a solo sailor

Josin under sail. Not all of the improvements listed are visible – like all boats, she’s a work in progress! Credit: John Cotton

  1. Radar Reflectors: One passive radar reflector is fixed to the top of the backstay, while the active Echomax has its antenna mounted on the pushpit top rail.
  2. Mainsail: The Elvstrøm mainsail is fully battened, with lazyjacks, one-line reefing and a ‘Zippack’ sail cover. Hoisting, lowering and reefing manoeuvres are executed from the cockpit
  3. Foresail: The roller-reefing foresail is very important for Josin’s performance, and a padded luff helps to maintain shape when reefed.
  4. Lines brought aft: All ropes, including reefing lines, are taken back to the cockpit, where there are two self-tailing winches and 12 jammers on the coachroof.
  5. Rodkicker: A Seldén Rodkicker has been fitted for boom control, and is adjustable from the cockpit.
  6. Winches: All six winches are self-tailing Lewmars, a good safety feature when you don’t need to haul the rope-end.
  7. Stern Ladder: Not fixed in the up position, easy to swing down from the water.
  8. Aft Stay: Much higher apex facilitates ease of entry over the stern. 6x purchase.
  9. Gybe-Preventers: Lines run from near the aft-end of the boom, over the railing and forward to snap-blocks, then aft to jammers at the cockpit.
  10. All Stays… are sheathed in two layers of plastic. (This results in more windage, but make the stays much safer and more comfortable to hold on to.)

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