Jib sheet pulling out of the cam cleats

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D

Doug

A couple weeks ago we were beating it back to the docks in a building breeze -- I'm guessing 15-20 knots -- and the cam cleats were not able to keep the jib sheet from slipping. We were getting a lot of spray and the sheet was getting pretty wet, but even so I'm wondering if I need to either get a new sheet (the one I have is pretty old), new cam cleats, or both. Has anybody else experienced a similar problem. Needless to say we got quite a workout that day...
 
J

J

me too

I've been experiencing the same thing this season. I've thought about roughing up the cleats a little, but the light July winds have taken away my ambition. I guess new sheets and cleats wouldn't cost too much and might prevent a Mac vs Towboat session on the mississippi. Its interesting though, my genoa sheets dont slip like my jib sheets do, even under high winds. That kind of makes me think its the sheets themselves. What does everyone else think?
 
S

Spirit Air

it's the cleats

Clam cleats are notorious for slipping under load, particularly when the direction of load is parallel to the mounting position, like on your side rail. You could try shimming the forward end, tilting the cleats, but the surest fix is to replace the cleats AND buy the mounting shims to change the direction of the load. MacGregor loved clam cleats because they were cheap, like everything else they did. They knew you'd never know the difference until some time when it really counted. I recently re-rigged my 1974 Venture 21. APS had the best pricing right down the line. check their website. The url is apsltd.com
 
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Norm

It's the sheets

Okay, it could be either. But in my case on my 1986 Mac25, I just replaced the jib line and that solved the problem. It was just worn down in the area that got cleated the most.
 
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Dan McGuire

Repair Cam Cleats

I have had some success dressing cam cleats with a triangular file.
 
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Doug Rodrigues

Just wrap the line around the winch drum.

The way I do it is to have at least two wraps of line around the winch drum, pull the line tight during the tack, and then insert the line into the cam cleat Rarely have the line slip out of the cam cleat that way.
 
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