all lines back to cockpit ??????

zeehag · Jan 19, 2010

my formosa is 41x12 and has everything running to cockpit--go figger--wide decks and everything except lazy jacks lol--so needs to have someone up on deck anyway lol....but is ok because of the wide decks and flat coachhouse roof lol.yes i will get lazy jax made before i take her out for long sail lol......my ericson needs to have lines running to cockpit as she is harder to run forward while underway-lol----is up to you--sometimes with kines running aft you still need to go forward in bad situations as stuff breaks lol and gets stuck
i wouldnt count on aft running lines as the be alll and end all to the problems of running forward--you are gonna do it anyway, but the rest of the time why not have some comfort--and , by all means--do wear the tethers when going forward so we donot have to read about losing you .....w ehave roller furl jib on the boat i sail in gulf---when is down and dirty , i still had to go forward occasionally to make sure the drum wasnt fouled or what have you--- lines to cockpit arent the answer ot all the troubles but they do fix a few lol.....goooodluck......

sailme88 · Jan 19, 2010

What is to Wonder?

koolfrog said:
I have been mulling the idea of leading all the control lines back to the cockpit of my Allied Seabreeze , convinced , until now that it would make singlehandling her much easier ,but looking at Jessica Watsonn S&S, with sealed hard dodger and all winches and lines , still on the mast......I wonder ?
Has anyone led everything , back to the cockpit , and decided , afterwards , that the benefits were not that great afterall ?

With a dodger in place it would be MORE imperative to have lines directly back to the cockpit. I do not have a dodger. I did however runn my main halyard and slab reefing lines to the cockpit. Smartest, cheapest and fastest upgrade on my boat. I can reduce sail to the doulble reef position single handedly in about a minute! I have reference marks on both the halyard and reef line.Releasing the halyard from it's side in a double cam cleat, i pull the bitter end thru the cleat until positioned at the reference mark. Fall off and winch in the reef. viola!

Rick

Patrick17430 · Jan 19, 2010

All I know is when I see that photo on the home page, I cant even remember what the question was. Oh well..... What beautifull scenery! If I were able to get pictures like that on my deck, I would leave everything just where it is and wouldn't change a thing.

henkmeuzelaar · Jan 19, 2010

One type of sailing that heavily favors leading as many control lines as possible back to the cockpit is short-handed cruising or overniting.

Pretty much every cruising couple we know has made a firm mutual agreement that the person on nightwatch -- whether actually manning the helm or primarily functioning as a lookout -- is not to leave the cockpit without first waking up the off-watch partner.
The heartbreaking stories where the off-watch wakes up to find the cockpit empty are simply too powerful to ignore for most of us.

Especially when sailing tropical tradewind belts or conversion zones, however, it is not unusual to run into a handful of powerful squalls necessitating several different sail de- and re-powering actions within the span of a single 3-4 hour nightwatch. Waking up one's partner every time guarantees a totally exhausted crew by sunrise, if not earlier.

Moreover, when sailing within relatively close range of islands and reefs and/or busy traffic lanes, or when trying to utilize a short weather window, simply taking a rest by heaving- to is often not feasible.

As already mentioned by other posters, careful routing of lines plus use of friction-reducing mast-track technologies (e.g. batten cars) will usually keep friction forces manageable for a single watchperson.

Fair winds,

Flying Dutchman

mark_swart · Jan 20, 2010

Here's the question....

Do you have an autopilot that you can trust? I used to have a Cheoy Lee 30 and it had the halyards at the mast. I sailed out of Annapolis, often singlehanded, and there is always a lot of traffic there. And no autopilot. Having to go forward was a pain, and a safety issue. On my next boat I routed the main halyard back, and it had a roller furling genoa. BIG difference when it came to getting going.... but it also had an autopilot.
I personally wouldn't bother with every other line (reefing, boom vang, downhaul, etc). But I do really like being able to raise and lower the main from the cockpit (as well as furl or lower the jib).
And as someone else had mentioned, it's easier to just do it yourself if you can reach the lines, rather than ask them to do it.
My two cents, of course.

Nicholson58 · Jan 24, 2010

We have a 58 Camper & Nicolson ketch. Both masts are in-mast roller furling and the for stay and cutter stay are also both roller furling. There is no reason to have halyards in the cock pit. The main sheet is permanently rigged with port and starbord sheeting so as to make a boom brake. Main sheet, vang and outhaul are led to the cock pit. All mizzen controls end up at the aft end of the center cockpit. Also, the permanently rigged main running backs run to dedicated winches at the art corners of the cockpit. Mizzen running backs and vang require on-deck attention. The mizzen is stepped at the rear margin of the cockpit so mizzen staysail halyard and sheet are right there. I need to go forward to hoist a storm tri-sail on the main but it sits pre-rigged on its own track and bagged on deck at the ready.

I raced a Heritage One-Ton for 18 years. All halyards were led to the cockpit as well as vang, outhaul, fore-guy, after guy, and double spinaker sheets and guys. We still had to haul at the mast for racing. There was too much speed sacrificed otherwise due to the increased friction over the blocks and fairleads. It was convenient to make trim changes without having to send crew forward. It was also handy for dousing a sail to seperate mast crew from deck apes. (me)

One thing to consider is if your deck structure can tolerate the increased mechanical damage from the huge, unplanned loads you will put on it. If you do this, make sure you add some backing plates secured to the mast partner and tied to the keel. There have been many sad stories about delaminated decks due to halyard blocks.

Personally, I wouldn't run anything to the cockpit that would add to clutter, that you don't want to trip over, for which you don't have a proper storage place. On the Heritage, the halyards stored in large custom sheet bags either side of the companion way. The first action to operate one was to toss it on the cabin floor.

sailingdog · Jan 25, 2010

On a deck-stepped mast, if you use the mast step itself for the attachment points for the lines being led aft, there is no additional load on the cabintop.

Roger Long · Jan 25, 2010

koolfrog said:
Well , I am glad I started this thread, except for the fact that , now , I am even more "undecided " !!!!!

Maybe this will decide you. The women will be a lot more impressed when you spring up on to the deck to do manly and sailor like things while the boat rolls and pitches than if you just pull on strings in the cockpit.

sailingdog · Jan 25, 2010

Unless he falls overboard and leave them in a sailboat by themselves....

Roger Long said:
Maybe this will decide you. The women will be a lot more impressed when you spring up on to the deck to do manly and sailor like things while the boat rolls and pitches than if you just pull on strings in the cockpit.

Roger Long · Jan 25, 2010

sailingdog said:
Unless he falls overboard and leave them in a sailboat by themselves....

That's right. He doesn't have an extra hull on each side to catch him when he falls over.

sailingdog · Jan 25, 2010

I keep forgetting what a despicable and evil old codger you are...

Picking on my poor boat because its faster than yours...

Roger Long said:
That's right. He doesn't have an extra hull on each side to catch him when he falls over.