New boat owner here and I may have messed up! I replaced our main halyard with a 3/8" StaSet line. We were so happy with the look and feel of the new line we decided to do the same with the jib line. I went out and bought 80 more feet of 3/8" StaSet in a contrasting color but when I got back to the boat I realized that the jib lines were much thicker than the main halyard. Is the extra thickness necessary?
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Jib lines
I assume being you stated that in plural you mean the jib sheets ? 3/8" for halyards shouldnt matter , I understand tho many purchase line by $$$$$$ , not sense .
I assume being you stated that in plural you mean the jib sheets ? 3/8" for halyards shouldnt matter , I understand tho many purchase line by $$$$$$ , not sense .
Mauri Pro website
Take a look at the Mauri Pro Sailing website. It has technical recommendations from New England, Sampson, etc. for all the different applications and boat sizes. I have seen recommendations for considerably larger line sizes from people on this O'Day website, but I am going with what the manufacturers recommend. CVP
Take a look at the Mauri Pro Sailing website. It has technical recommendations from New England, Sampson, etc. for all the different applications and boat sizes. I have seen recommendations for considerably larger line sizes from people on this O'Day website, but I am going with what the manufacturers recommend. CVP
On the small side
3/8" Sta-Set is on the small side for halyards on a 34' boat. Halyard loads will be about 1500 lbs (Lewmar) Sta-Set 3/8 is rated 4400 lbs. That puts the halyard load at 34% of the line's strength. 20% is a safer guideline, so for 1500 lbs you need 7500 lbs rated line. That means 1/2" Sta-Set @ 8,200 Lbs. 7/16" Sta-Set X is close at 7400 lbs rating. For strength and to limit stretch, Endura Braid 3/8" is rated 10,000 lbs. That said, the 3/8 line will hold the sail up with no worries. If you are not worried about stretch and inspect the line often for wear, the boat will sail just fine.
3/8" Sta-Set is on the small side for halyards on a 34' boat. Halyard loads will be about 1500 lbs (Lewmar) Sta-Set 3/8 is rated 4400 lbs. That puts the halyard load at 34% of the line's strength. 20% is a safer guideline, so for 1500 lbs you need 7500 lbs rated line. That means 1/2" Sta-Set @ 8,200 Lbs. 7/16" Sta-Set X is close at 7400 lbs rating. For strength and to limit stretch, Endura Braid 3/8" is rated 10,000 lbs. That said, the 3/8 line will hold the sail up with no worries. If you are not worried about stretch and inspect the line often for wear, the boat will sail just fine.
I'm reading...
...your question as whether you need jib sheets thicker than 3/8 inch? The answer is "maybe." Your new 3/8 inch StaSet jib sheets are plenty strong enough (using the formula for sheetloading: windspeed squared x .oo4 x sailarea you would be exerting about 800 lbs of pressure on the clew in nomimal winds of say 20 knots on a headsail clew that was 500 sq feet. So the issue really isn't strength of the sheets. The issue, IMHO, is how easy or not it is to handle line that size when tacking or trimming sails, and the ability or lack thereof of your self-tailing winches, assuming you have them, to grip lines of various sizes. I would recommend something like 7/16 inch fuzzy braid, which is easy on your hands and easy for winches to grip.
...your question as whether you need jib sheets thicker than 3/8 inch? The answer is "maybe." Your new 3/8 inch StaSet jib sheets are plenty strong enough (using the formula for sheetloading: windspeed squared x .oo4 x sailarea you would be exerting about 800 lbs of pressure on the clew in nomimal winds of say 20 knots on a headsail clew that was 500 sq feet. So the issue really isn't strength of the sheets. The issue, IMHO, is how easy or not it is to handle line that size when tacking or trimming sails, and the ability or lack thereof of your self-tailing winches, assuming you have them, to grip lines of various sizes. I would recommend something like 7/16 inch fuzzy braid, which is easy on your hands and easy for winches to grip.
Most everyone makes the same mistake when it comes to halyard size. As Moody said, 3/8 StaSet will work fine. The manufacturer is almost always going to recommend over size because this protects them from legal issues. The ideal line for halyards is as small as possible, with as little stretch as possible and still have good 'hand' feel. The problem with larger diameter line is the dramatic increase in turning friction as size increases. Hi tech lines are vastly stronger than much larger sized double braid dacron. They also stretch much less which seriously affects sail shape as the wind strength increases. I recommend a spectra cored dacron covered halyard. The spectra core carries the load and can be down sized to save weight, money and turning friction. The dacron cover gives a good feel to the rope but has no affect on strength and stretch. Yes it will cost a little bit more, but don't forget that you are down sizing which saves money. And when the wind increases and you need to increase halyard tension to maintain proper sail shape, the spectra halyard will hold that tension with negligible stretch where double braid simply cannot.
Thanks for Info
Thanks to all for info. I think I will try and return what I bought and upsize if possible. If not, I'll live with it for the time being. The line is intended to be used as port and starboard jib sheets, not to raise it. Probably my terminolgy is wrong. We strolled down the docks after writing this and found almost every other sailboat had larger diameter jib sheets than their main halyards. So much to learn....
Thanks to all for info. I think I will try and return what I bought and upsize if possible. If not, I'll live with it for the time being. The line is intended to be used as port and starboard jib sheets, not to raise it. Probably my terminolgy is wrong. We strolled down the docks after writing this and found almost every other sailboat had larger diameter jib sheets than their main halyards. So much to learn....
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