I see what you did there.I’ve always preferred using the traveler to de-power the main anyway. Unless the mainsheet tackle is well designed, it’s likely not as fast as dumping the traveler, and/or not as fast to haul back in. De-powering with the traveler also has the advantage of avoiding adding any twist to the mainsail and changing its shape, which is generally what you want anyway because you dump the traveler in a gust and ease it back up with the same shape in the main.
And this is why every cruiser should crew on a racing boat for a few seasons. Ya learn a lot from a decent competitor. And get spoiled with the fancy go-fast kit.Heard an interview with Bob Perry awhile back and he (in his strait spoken/sarcastic way) said something like there no sense putting travelers on cruising boats because cruising sailors don't know what they do.
Because that’s were you leave it on lazy sail days........Ya' only need all those sail controls if (1) you know how to use them and (2) you're actually going to use them. Not that I would ever condone improper sail trim, but I've got "a friend" that will go out on a lazy Saturday sail, and just leave the traveler centered 'cause it's a pain to put down the beer every tack and haul it to the right spot. Betcha' that my "friend" has more smiles per miles than those up-tight racers that can't stand a little belly in the main.
Or sail a dinghy in stonger winds. You live or.....get wet by proper trim/depoweringAnd this is why every cruiser should crew on a racing boat for a few seasons. Ya learn a lot from a decent competitor. And get spoiled with the fancy go-fast kit.
Thanks, good point. I guess I shoulda said "Good, working traveler. Mine even pulls UP easy!So yeah, on a boat where both are properly designed for sail trim the traveler can be faster/better. But pure existence of a traveler isn’t automatically faster.
I believe that's called "German sheeting". Yep, it's as effective if you know where (3 dimensionally) you want the boom. Doubles the sheet length. I don't know if a inverted Y in the cockpit is less intrusive than an inverted T.The Catalina does not a traveller, however it has a two sided main sheet (I'm sure there is a fancy name for this). ... Is it as effective as proper traveller, I can't render an opinion. J Boats apparently does have an opinion. The latest JBoat, the J 9, does not have a traveller.
Sail trim is not limited to traveler adjustment, Vang adjustment, or Mainsheet adjustment. Perhaps the situation called for an adjustment to the sail size.This past summer we saw more high wind than anything else and were constantly adjusting because we were over powered,
Oh we got very proficient at reefing the main this summerSail trim is not limited to traveler adjustment, Vang adjustment, or Mainsheet adjustment. Perhaps the situation called for an adjustment to the sail size.
Your conclusion that you were overpowered may have been 100% accurate. Time to adjust the sail size, if cruising, by reefing one or more sails.
If racing that is another situation all together.
I will say that with a double reef and a partially furled genoa she handled great and we were still doing 7+ knots on a close reach. My previous Cat30 was a standard rig shoal keel where this one is a tall rig fin keel. I feel like that extra foot of keel makes a big difference (but I digress from the point of this thread)As always, what Stu said about Don Guillette's book.
First reef went into my C-30 at 15-18, because by that point all I was doing was heeling more or letting the sail luff a bit. 25+ is pretty dang sporting for a C-30, I had a sail back from Catalina at 25+ with just a hanky of jib and doing 6.5 ddw.
I'll note that on both my C-30 and my C-387 the traveler was far easier to move up than pulling in the mainsheet. Both boats I could/can pull the traveler up all the way to the top (boom pretty centered). If I want to flatten the main more, winch on the sheet is needed on the 387, "pull real freakin hard" was the technique on the 30.
I agree this is good advice for managing sail trim versus heel in gusty conditions, I would just want to point out that, when ducking a starboard tack boat, you should not rely on the traveler to depower the main, but actually release the mainsheet itself, since the traveler alone can only depower the main so far, then stops. Just to cover the subject, as nothing quite spoils the day as not being able to avoid a stand on vessel.I’ve always preferred using the traveler to de-power the main anyway. Unless the mainsheet tackle is well designed, it’s likely not as fast as dumping the traveler, and/or not as fast to haul back in. De-powering with the traveler also has the advantage of avoiding adding any twist to the mainsail and changing its shape, which is generally what you want anyway because you dump the traveler in a gust and ease it back up with the same shape in the main.
I think it depends a lot on how the boat is set up. I used the mainsheet primarily on our Starwind because the vang controls were very good at limiting twist, the traveler controls were on the bridge deck and a little awkward to utilize for simply adjusting AOA, and the mainsheet was very easy to use for that purpose. Easing the sheet didn't cause the boom to lift as long as the vang was on.I see what you did there.
To each their own I guess. As a wise man once said, your boat your choice. My experience is:
Oday 28 with pin-stop traveler and cam mainsheet. Obviously faster to dump the sheet than mess with the pin stops. Pull the sheet back to the same place after the gust and you’re back to the original twist.
Beneteau 37 - Mid-boom sheeting, with cams for the traveler control lines and a clutch and winch for the mainsheet. Dumping is fast either way, but hard to do too precisely with the traveler, since it’s at mid boom so a small change in distance makes a big change in AoA. Trimming back in is a bit slow with the sheet on the winch, but takes a small gorilla to pull the traveler back up in big winds.
Soverel 27 with end boom sheeting and a proper in-cockpit shin cracking traveler. Yes, on this one we would use the traveler for the most part.
So yeah, on a boat where both are properly designed for sail trim the traveler can be faster/better. But pure existence of a traveler isn’t automatically faster.
Scott, you're right. While I only have a single sided mainsheet, the first thing I did when I bought our (used) boat in 1998 was to remove that dangerous relic of the 1960s. I replaced it with a sheet stopper which remains OPEN when sailing. Why? 1) The sheet stopper provides a perfect fairlead for the sheet to the bottom of the winch. No longer to you have to reach in and hold the sheet down to get it to hit the winch properly; no more two handed mainsheet tricks. 2) You don't need to hang the sheet on the winch when you're not sailing, just close the sheet stopper.On the stbd side, the mainsheet is leading to the winch from the clam cleat that I can't stand (it is really unreliable).