I have a small pocket cruiser 25' and I'm wondering how one positions jib sheets. I found early on that they push against the stantions if kept on deck when sailing so I have them positioned outside the stantions so they are more free to control the jib. Could someone inform me what the proper positioning of the jib sheets are, inside the stantions or outside?
- Status
I've Not Found A Common Answer Yet
I've not been able to get anyone to agree as to what the proper routing is. A lot will depend on the design of your boat, how much beam you have, where your lifelines run, and what size head sail you've got up. I've even seen differences from one boat to another that are the same manufacturer, model, and vintage. I've seen pocket cruisers with lead cars inside the life lines and outside. I've got an '85 model Mac 25. On it, with my 150 Genoa, I must run my jib sheets over the top of the lifelines, and out around the stanchions, back to the Genoa cars on my cockpit coaming. I'll usually stick with my Genoa a bit longer in higher winds than other sailors at my lake do, before I'll hank on my working jib. I've run the WJ sheets the same as my Genoa and I've also run them through a set of separate fairleads on top of the cabin roof. I've found that in lighter winds, I can get away with running the WJ with the narrower slot that comes from routing over the cabin, but in higher winds, it's a lot of work and I want it to spill more air, so it's better run the same route as my Genoa. To that end, I've got a stainless steel carbiner (designed for climbing, not the kind you use for a key chain) that my jib sheets tie to. It speeds up head-sail changes, and no, my deck and mast don't have a bunch of war scars from it banging around.
I've not been able to get anyone to agree as to what the proper routing is. A lot will depend on the design of your boat, how much beam you have, where your lifelines run, and what size head sail you've got up. I've even seen differences from one boat to another that are the same manufacturer, model, and vintage. I've seen pocket cruisers with lead cars inside the life lines and outside. I've got an '85 model Mac 25. On it, with my 150 Genoa, I must run my jib sheets over the top of the lifelines, and out around the stanchions, back to the Genoa cars on my cockpit coaming. I'll usually stick with my Genoa a bit longer in higher winds than other sailors at my lake do, before I'll hank on my working jib. I've run the WJ sheets the same as my Genoa and I've also run them through a set of separate fairleads on top of the cabin roof. I've found that in lighter winds, I can get away with running the WJ with the narrower slot that comes from routing over the cabin, but in higher winds, it's a lot of work and I want it to spill more air, so it's better run the same route as my Genoa. To that end, I've got a stainless steel carbiner (designed for climbing, not the kind you use for a key chain) that my jib sheets tie to. It speeds up head-sail changes, and no, my deck and mast don't have a bunch of war scars from it banging around.
Jib sheet must run clear
On every boat I have owned, jib sheets run outside of everything including stanchions. Jib sheets must have a clear lead no matter what and you must design a system that allows that. A big jib - like a 150 - can put tremendous loads on gear and you do not want a stanchion or a life line bearing that load. Typically, a jib sheet is lead, w/o obstruction to a car on the genoa track and then to a turning block, which bears the majority of the load. The turning block is often aft of the jib sheet winch, but this is not an absolute. If you do not use a turning block, be sure your genoa cars are rated up to the stress your jib demands. A smaller yacht, such as yours, may not need a turning block. Alot depends on the size of your head sail. I am not familiar with the loads of boat in your size range.
On every boat I have owned, jib sheets run outside of everything including stanchions. Jib sheets must have a clear lead no matter what and you must design a system that allows that. A big jib - like a 150 - can put tremendous loads on gear and you do not want a stanchion or a life line bearing that load. Typically, a jib sheet is lead, w/o obstruction to a car on the genoa track and then to a turning block, which bears the majority of the load. The turning block is often aft of the jib sheet winch, but this is not an absolute. If you do not use a turning block, be sure your genoa cars are rated up to the stress your jib demands. A smaller yacht, such as yours, may not need a turning block. Alot depends on the size of your head sail. I am not familiar with the loads of boat in your size range.
If you are a cruiser and not making a lot ...
of tacks ... you may find that the tracks are just a compromise and may not work ideally all the time. There are times when we take the lazy sheet over to the working side and run it through the spinnaker turn block at the stern of the boat. and then we take the original working sheet back over the to lazy side. Of course it helps to have two winches on each side. Or you just reroute it on the lazy side ahead of time. All depends where you feel the clew is happy on a beam or broad reach. Vic "Seven"
of tacks ... you may find that the tracks are just a compromise and may not work ideally all the time. There are times when we take the lazy sheet over to the working side and run it through the spinnaker turn block at the stern of the boat. and then we take the original working sheet back over the to lazy side. Of course it helps to have two winches on each side. Or you just reroute it on the lazy side ahead of time. All depends where you feel the clew is happy on a beam or broad reach. Vic "Seven"
What size
is your jib? On my 26' MacGregor the 150 was sheeted outside of the stantions to the tracks on either side of the cockpit. The 100 however was sheeted inside the stantions to the jib tracks forward of the cockpit. Same thing on my Schock 35. I trim so the 100% jib is 4 to 6 inches off the shrouds as a starting point. This requires the sheets to be run inboard of the stantions.
is your jib? On my 26' MacGregor the 150 was sheeted outside of the stantions to the tracks on either side of the cockpit. The 100 however was sheeted inside the stantions to the jib tracks forward of the cockpit. Same thing on my Schock 35. I trim so the 100% jib is 4 to 6 inches off the shrouds as a starting point. This requires the sheets to be run inboard of the stantions.
18 degrees?
I seriously doubt that 18 degrees can be correct for every boat. For instance, take a typical fat cruising boat like my beloved Catalina 30. The 150 has a foot of about 20 feet. 18 degrees off centre would put the track over 6 feet from the middle of the boat. That means the boat would need to have a beam of over 12 feet to put the sail in the "right" position. I think you would be hard pressed to find many boats that carry enough beam aft to get a 18 degree sheeting angle for a 150. Working jibs maybe, but not 150's. If you look at high performance boats, the sheeting angles are more like 7-10 degrees, nowhere near 18! You might want to see what sort of small boat the author of that article is writing about, wide sheeting angles and mitre cut sails are pretty old school.
I seriously doubt that 18 degrees can be correct for every boat. For instance, take a typical fat cruising boat like my beloved Catalina 30. The 150 has a foot of about 20 feet. 18 degrees off centre would put the track over 6 feet from the middle of the boat. That means the boat would need to have a beam of over 12 feet to put the sail in the "right" position. I think you would be hard pressed to find many boats that carry enough beam aft to get a 18 degree sheeting angle for a 150. Working jibs maybe, but not 150's. If you look at high performance boats, the sheeting angles are more like 7-10 degrees, nowhere near 18! You might want to see what sort of small boat the author of that article is writing about, wide sheeting angles and mitre cut sails are pretty old school.
It depends, Higgs!
I've also struggled with this question. Our Starwind 27 has the fairlead track mounted on the curve of the beam, directly underneath the lifelines. Our hanked-on 150 genny is a deck sweeper and the clew, when trimmed for close hauling is drawn down below the upper lifeline. Therefore, the only position for the sheets is to the inside to avoid the interference. It is a nuisance at times to winch in the sail after tacking because the foot hangs up on the stanchions and the knot of the sheet hangs up on the lifeline until somebody goes forward to pull it to the inside. This can be avoided with a little help from the helm, but sometimes that is a little too much to ask for!
The problem I have is that the sheet needs to be outside the lifelines for a reach, but when it is already set up to the inside, obviously it can't easily be changed. On a reach, the foot of the sail is pressing against the lifeline at the bow and the sheet is pressing against the lifeline at the clew. I can solve this by clipping a separate sheet to the clew, attached to the track on a moveable padeye and a snatch block with the sheet on the outside. I've done this and it works fine but is a bit of a nuisance on our small lake where we change headings frequently. This still leaves the foot pressing against the lifeline, but as I am writing this, I now realize why I see some boats with the upper lifeline angled down to attach to the pulpit at the base (deck level). *! When I sailed on a 30' O'Day with a furling headsail, I noticed that the clew was so high that the sheet ran to the outside with no interference either close hauled or on a reach. In this case, there was no track for a fairlead, instead there was a block attached to the toe rail in a fixed position. I guess they didn't worry about adjsting the position of the fairlead for headings or wind conditions!
I've also struggled with this question. Our Starwind 27 has the fairlead track mounted on the curve of the beam, directly underneath the lifelines. Our hanked-on 150 genny is a deck sweeper and the clew, when trimmed for close hauling is drawn down below the upper lifeline. Therefore, the only position for the sheets is to the inside to avoid the interference. It is a nuisance at times to winch in the sail after tacking because the foot hangs up on the stanchions and the knot of the sheet hangs up on the lifeline until somebody goes forward to pull it to the inside. This can be avoided with a little help from the helm, but sometimes that is a little too much to ask for!
The problem I have is that the sheet needs to be outside the lifelines for a reach, but when it is already set up to the inside, obviously it can't easily be changed. On a reach, the foot of the sail is pressing against the lifeline at the bow and the sheet is pressing against the lifeline at the clew. I can solve this by clipping a separate sheet to the clew, attached to the track on a moveable padeye and a snatch block with the sheet on the outside. I've done this and it works fine but is a bit of a nuisance on our small lake where we change headings frequently. This still leaves the foot pressing against the lifeline, but as I am writing this, I now realize why I see some boats with the upper lifeline angled down to attach to the pulpit at the base (deck level). *! When I sailed on a 30' O'Day with a furling headsail, I noticed that the clew was so high that the sheet ran to the outside with no interference either close hauled or on a reach. In this case, there was no track for a fairlead, instead there was a block attached to the toe rail in a fixed position. I guess they didn't worry about adjsting the position of the fairlead for headings or wind conditions!- Status