A boat is in irons when she is pointing straight into the wind, has lost her forward way and will not answer the helm. The sails flog uselessly along the centreline, the rudder has no water flowing over it, and the boat sits, then starts drifting backwards. The phrase comes from the days when a prisoner in leg-irons could not move; a ship caught head to wind was just as helpless. Older texts call it being “in stays”, from the moment during tacking when a square-rigger hung between tacks. The beginner needs to know that irons is simply a stalled tack. The experienced sailor knows that the rudder still works while the boat is moving astern, but in reverse, and that this is the key to getting out.
How a Boat Gets into Irons
Every tack passes through head to wind, and the boat has to carry enough momentum through that dead zone to reach the new tack with the sails filling. Anything that robs her of that momentum leaves her stuck. The common causes are tacking from too slow a start, especially in chop, pinching so hard before the tack that the boat is already half stalled, turning the helm too slowly so the boat sits in the no-go zone for too long, or turning it too fast so the rudder acts as a brake. Waves stopping the bow, a too-early sheet release that lets the jib flog rather than backwind, and a fouled sheet that stops the jib coming across all make it worse.
Getting Out of Irons
The trick is to remember that the boat is still a boat, only moving the wrong way. As she begins to make sternway, water flows over the rudder from astern, and pushing the tiller toward the side you want the bow to fall away from will swing the stern the other way. Then the sails can do the rest.
- Back the jib: hold or sheet the jib on the windward side so the wind pushes the bow off toward the new tack.
- Ease the mainsheet so the mainsail does not try to hold the bow up to windward.
- Reverse the helm: as sternway builds, put the tiller toward the side the jib is backed on, and the stern will swing away, the bow will fall off.
- Bear away and build speed: once the wind is well on the bow, trim the jib on the new leeward side, sheet the main gently and sail a little free until the boat is moving before pointing up.
Racing: Where Irons Costs the Most
In a start-line fight a boat in irons loses her lane and her ability to defend it. The mistake usually comes from luffing hard to hold position and then trying to tack out of a bad spot with no speed. Coaches teach two things: keep the boat moving even when holding position, using small scallops rather than a full luff, and never begin a tack unless the speedo shows you have enough way to complete it. When forced to tack slow, tack with a slightly bigger turn and sheet the jib late so it backs briefly and pushes the bow through. A boat that has come out of irons is also a boat without rights she thinks she has; a stalled boat drifting backwards is still on a tack and must keep clear as the rules require.
Cruising: Irons Has Its Uses
The cruising sailor turns the problem into a tool. Rounding up into irons deliberately is how you stop a boat under sail to pick up a mooring, take a reef, or wait for a bridge, and the same head-to-wind stall is the first half of heaving-to. It also happens when tacking a heavy boat into a short head sea; the fix is to bear away a few degrees before the tack to build speed, and to ease the traveller so the mainsail does not pin the bow. Sailmakers see the aftermath of irons in worn sails: a headsail flogged for minutes head to wind loses far more life than an hour of proper sailing, particularly at the leech and the seams, and the batten pockets on a full-batten main take a beating. Keep the flogging short.
Frequently Asked Questions about Irons
Why does the rudder feel dead when I am in irons?
A rudder only steers when water flows past it. Stopped head to wind, there is no flow, so the helm does nothing until the boat begins to move again, ahead or astern.
Which way do I push the tiller when the boat is going backwards?
Opposite to the way you would when going forward. To make the bow fall off to starboard while moving astern, push the tiller to starboard; the stern swings to port and the bow to starboard.
Irons is the price of losing momentum in the one place a sailing boat cannot make power. Carry your way through the tack, keep the rudder working, and if you do stall, back a sail, reverse the helm and let the boat show you which way she wants to go.