capri 22 headsail sheet size

[georgecapri22]

just bought a capri 22
The headsail sheets appear to be 3/8 braid, but keep falling out of the factory installed clamcleats below the winches.
A smaller diameter sheet would stick in the cleat, but is that too small?

Has anyone replaced the clam cleats with a self jamming cleat such as Schaeffer 4" cleat?

 

[paphman]

We use 5/16" sheets on our C-22. We also installed a pair of Lewmar 14st winches three years ago, so line size is not a real problem. We use to have 3/8" lines, but changed them out for 5/16" and have been very pleased with them.

Dale

 

[Ray Bowles]

George, If the headsail is a larger sail such as a 150 or 135 then it is used for lower wind strengths. For these a 5/16 inch line is fine. If you want smaller then go into the newer high tech lines and 1/4 inch or 6mm will work but they are spendy. If the sail is a drifter then 1/4 is fine. Big heavy lines will make a light wind sail collapse inward because of their weight alone.
I have used clamceats on 3 different boats that I single hand and race in the Wed. night bashes with great results. They work best for their designed line size and are very fast in both directions. If cost is not that important then jaw type cleats work for a larger range of line sizes.
Ray