Close call

[zeehag]

if i am day sailing i do not cleat my sheets. when i cruise, i do,as passages may last a few days and holding the damn sheet will kill ye.

sounds lik eye did good-- keep the good work.
may the next sail be smoother.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Jam cleats - NO!

Never use a horn cleat for jib sheets or any sheet if you want to release in a hurry. Should replace them with a Jam cleat. You can run the bitter end backward to assist release.

WADR, those jam cleats are worse than any normal horn cleat. The only thing worse than a jam cleat (for anything on a boat) is a clam cleat for a mainsheet. The former locks when you don't want it to (hmm, wonder why they call the JM cleats???) while the latter don't hold when you need them to.

We do not have cleats for our jib sheet winches. In the 13 years I have sailed this boat, I have never felt a need for them. Didn't even use the ones on our C25 for 12 years, and even used Winchers for the winches.

 

[Ross]

Re: Jam cleats - NO!

Three turns on a winch and a single turn on a thumb or jam cleat serves me very well. You need only keep the tail from going slack the winch does all of the holding.

 

[higgs]

On my own boat, I have self tailers so cleating the jib is not an issue.