275 Traveler and Main Sheet

F260SS

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Oct 7, 2020
31
Catalina 275 Sport Grapevine
I was reading through the 275 Sport manual today and noticed that the traveler and main sheet are supposed to be continuous lines. On my boat these lines have been cut. Is there any benefit to having these as continuous lines or am I better off with them separated. It looks like the traveler would be easier to use but I don't know without trying.
 
Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
Continuous Control Lines – Use and Advantages: Most boats have control lines that end with a knot on each side of the boat. With large purchases in these controls, you often have to pull a lot of line to get to the right setting. When you tack, you either need to ease the control or release it completely to give you enough line on the other side. If you forget, the distraction of having to reach over to the leeward side to ease can be costly. Non-continuous control lines are easier to replace since they do not require them to be spliced together on the boat. With continuous controls, you simply ensure each control line is cleated on both sides of the boat. Then you can ease or tighten from either side. Simple and elegant and the line is easier to grab, since it curves back around to the other side, making it stand up off the deck slightly. Continuous lines allow faster tacks and trim adjustments. More information from SailZing: Continuous Control Lines: Quicker Trim Adjustment for Single-Handers | SailZing and how to splice a continuous line: Continuous Control Lines - made simple - Rooster blog (roostersailingblog.com)

All my sailboats from 16' to 46' had/have control lines that end with a knot on each side of the boat, except the in-mast mainsail and top-down spinnaker furlers, which had/have continuous lines.
 
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Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I've often wondered about a continuous traveler control line. Sometimes it's a strain to reach down to the cockpit sole to retrieve the tail of the traveler line to adjust it. Sometimes it's dangerous. And, being able to release later from the new high side helps the helmsman to steer up into the wind better.
But on one boat I sailed on that had a continuous line I didn't like it as much as I thought. You still had to reach for it at times if it was long enough. And if it is too short you can't take it up on the coming to take it or to get my back and legs into pulling it to up windward.
It's mixed.
I don't know about continuous main sheets. Having a hard time visualizing.
 

PMK

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Dec 3, 2016
43
Catalina 275S Annapolis, MD
The traveler control line is not continuous on my C275. It is tied on each side of the traveler. I don't see a reason or benefit for it to be continuous. The mainsheet on the other hand, on my boat is a continuous line. I can see how a cut line might work, but you would have to pay close and constant attention to keeping the two ends of near equal length. If you do or must have a cut line for the mainsheet, knot the two ends together and occasionally readjust through the blocks to make sure the lengths of the two lines exiting the control block are near equal length.
 

F260SS

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Oct 7, 2020
31
Catalina 275 Sport Grapevine
The traveler control line is not continuous on my C275. It is tied on each side of the traveler. I don't see a reason or benefit for it to be continuous. The mainsheet on the other hand, on my boat is a continuous line. I can see how a cut line might work, but you would have to pay close and constant attention to keeping the two ends of near equal length. If you do or must have a cut line for the mainsheet, knot the two ends together and occasionally readjust through the blocks to make sure the lengths of the two lines exiting the control block are near equal length.
I may have used the wrong term for the traveler. In the manual it is a single line that is tied to both sides of the traveler and the remaining line loops between the jam cleats on either side of the boat. Mine is two separate lines, each knotted right before it goes into the jam cleat.

My main sheet is not continuous and I have to balance it out about every other sail. It might be a good time to learn how to splice lines.

Thanks for the replies.
 

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
7,999
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
I rigged a continuous traveler control line on my boat and it is really handy. It essentially means you have only one line to manage.... and it allows you to control the traveler when sitting on the coaming steering with the tiller extension, especially if you want to un cleat the leeward side without leaving your position. I realize my description is vague.... but trust me... it'll make sense when you get it set up and start looking for the correct line. You might try tying the two lines together to get a sense of how it works. If you do decide to replace the whole thing, make sure the line is long enough to reach when you're hiked out. It's cool.

Note: On my Nacra beach cat... the traveler has only one line because the car is never pulled to leeward. So what beach cat sailors do is tie the end of the traveler to the mainsheet.... this allows you to hike out and have both traveler and mainsheet in hand. The jib sheet is also one continuous line, where the ends are both tied to the sail, leaving a big single loop for the crew to handle.
 
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Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
I just happened to be thinking on my last sail if I should cut my traveler line into two. As one, you can release the opposite side without reaching for it, but you still can't cleat it. But in 7+ years, I have never released it from the opposite side. The negative, you have an extra 5' of line reaching across the cockpit that can get tangled up with the cup holders. Either way works, but it is a matter of preference. Anyone cut their traveler line on a C275 and prefer one way over the other?

I have not had a problem with the mainsheet as I just favor one side or the other when sheeting in to balance it out from the last sail. I would be more concerned with splicing as it won't flex as easily and will probably add resistance as the splice moves through the blocks. It won't be dramatic, so it will be a personal preference. You can always undo the splice if you don't like it.
 

F260SS

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Oct 7, 2020
31
Catalina 275 Sport Grapevine
I just happened to be thinking on my last sail if I should cut my traveler line into two. As one, you can release the opposite side without reaching for it, but you still can't cleat it. But in 7+ years, I have never released it from the opposite side. The negative, you have an extra 5' of line reaching across the cockpit that can get tangled up with the cup holders. Either way works, but it is a matter of preference. Anyone cut their traveler line on a C275 and prefer one way over the other?

I have not had a problem with the mainsheet as I just favor one side or the other when sheeting in to balance it out from the last sail. I would be more concerned with splicing as it won't flex as easily and will probably add resistance as the splice moves through the blocks. It won't be dramatic, so it will be a personal preference. You can always undo the splice if you don't like it.
I take it your main sheet isn't continuous either. I will probably leave mine separated since a splice could bind up in the blocks.

Either way, I probably need to change out my traveler line. It is cut so that the stopper knot is against the jam cleat when at full travel on either side. Whoever cut it didn't leave a tail to grab onto so it's difficult to release. I can try it with one line and then cut it again if I don't like it.
 

Froudy

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Apr 18, 2020
30
Catalina 275 Sag Harbor
Having used both combinations i would go for a continuous line on the traveller and single lines for both the coarse and fine controls on the main. logic on the traveller is you can release from the windward and make the traveller an integral part of the tack / gybe. On the main i don't like the continuous line as it can get kinked and get jammed at just the wrong moment. I also like clear distinction on the coarse and fine tune sheets
 
Jul 1, 2023
5
Catalina 275 Riverton
As Codybear notes, whether continuous or separate lines, the real problem with the 275 set up is that you can't easily recleat the leeward side, which as Shemandr notes means sometimes leaning down in unfavorable conditions. I have been thinking about how to reroute the lines to solve this. Ideally I think it would work like the jib sheets on a dinghy, with a cam cleat next to the spinaker cam cleat. This would require block to get the line up and change direction then a cam cleat like the swivel ones on a typical dinghy. But I haven't seen anything that would work because the line has to go behind the cleat. An alternative setup would be like that on the j22 shown here, but I don't love putting cleats on the seat. Anyone else thought about this?
 

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PMK

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Dec 3, 2016
43
Catalina 275S Annapolis, MD
Another option, which I have been considering, is replacing the mainsheet car with a windward sheeting car, which will not require the side cleats. Just pull the windward line to bring the car up.