R.W Landau made me think of this when he talked about jambing lines. This is mainly for the common seaman type that, like me, don't have self tailing winches. I've noticed a number of jib trimmers wrap the devil out of their jib sheet on the cleat after they have the trim set. Then when the wind or point of sail changes they have to fight to get the sheet loose and everyone ends up yelling at them to hurry up. There is also a safety factor involved where in some situations you have to free that bugger quickly. One wrap under the horns and then the loop or hitch is really all that is needed. This will hold the sheet up to the heaviest of wind. Then you may have to take another hitch. Actually, on the rare occassion when I have to trim a jib (I always try to avoid the job because it is too much work)I don't even make the hitch. I just take the wrap and jamb the sheet against itself. I then can instantly free the sheet. Here's a tip for the non self tailing winches. When it comes time to release the sheet a lot of guys tend to spin the sheet off the winch. There is an easier way - take the sheet in your hand and then just lift your hand straight up over the winch and the line will coil right off. It is easier to do than explain. It will also "kind of" work with self tailing winches but not exactly because you have to spin it a bit. Give it a try and see if it works for you. There are probably a million ways to do this stuff but I try to use the simplest and most effective way for me. I'm adaptable though and if someone shows me a better way, I go with it.
