Bad jib sheet clutches on Hunter 350

[gddill]

I have a 1997 Hunter 340. The Spinlock manual clutches that hold the jib sheets are a poor design. I have torn my sheets twice in less that two years. I looked for replacement / upgrade spinlocks of roughly similar design and can find none. Does anyone know of a fix for this problem? Not many clutches are designed to lay on their side as this one is - very important to the operation of this boat. Any thoughts much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Captn Dare]

stoppers

Unfortunately those aren't rope clutches, they are sheet stoppers with an integrated sheave/turning block and not designed to release under load (without damaging the line) like rope clutches are. They are there to free up the cabin top winches which serve double duty for the jib/main sheet/halyards. The rope clutches are the units directly in front of the winches on your 340.
It will make a big difference if you winch in a bit of the loaded sheet then push back the handle on the stopper then release the line off the winch. It is a bit of a PIA and ideally the best solution would be to mount an additional winch or two so that each jib sheet had a dedicated winch. That's probably going to be a little pricey and you may not have room on the cabin top. You could try mounting a rope clutch aft of the turning block in line with the winch. The lazy sheet may not release as smoothly when you come about but it might be be an improvement.

 

[Steve Dion]

I am not sure of the issue that you are describing here. If you have clutches why is Capt Dare saying they are not?

If you are looking for a good quality clutch I suggest that you take a look at the Garhauer Marine clutches. Very reasonably priced and no problem with them eating lines.