Sheet Solution ?

[Rich Stidger]

I use shroud rollers

Bob,I had the same problem as you on my 40.5. I purchased the plastic shroud rollers from West Marine and my sheet knot hang-up problems were gone.I found it best to use a spray lubricant on the shrouds so that the rollers spin easily. If a sheet is pressing on the roller any friction at all will tend to keep the rollers from rotating.As far as additional drag - I am a cruiser, not a racer. While I will not dispute claims made about additional drag, I can't imagine that the drag would be perceptible when combined with all of the other variables in sailing.I do agree with many of the other posters that the sheet knot using a continueous line has many disadvantages in terms of versitility and safety. I remember a time when I was crew on a 41' Sweden racing to Bermuda and we shredded a jib sheet against a stay in 45 kt winds. We were able to replace that sheet by simply tying a new one on. If we had been using a sheet knot and the sheet parted, the entire jib could have been lost since there is not real knot to secure the sheet to the sail.Just my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions.....Rich

 

[Rick]

Plastic

On my boat the sheets have gotten caught by the side stay turnbuckles, between them, and under them. I had some heavy plastic sheeting, about 1/8 of an inch which I cutito a T shaped pattern and taped around the grouping of the three turnbuckles. This basically removed the areas where a knot could get caught and I have not had any problems since doing that. You can but the sheeting at most places that sell plexiglas and resins.Good luck and to the rest of the board please don't get too knotted up over this isue.

 

[Sam Kurtz]

Can You Quantify the Drag David?

I am no engineer and if not for the cute blonde sitting next to me in my college physics class (Who I have been married to now for a couple of decades) I may not have graduated having lost interest and flunked the class. I am however an old airplane driver so I do have some limited understanding of Lift, Weight, Thrust, and Drag. I cannot figure out how at six knots increasing the diameter of one line from an eighth to a quarter of an inch for about four feet of it's length is going to make that big a difference. If it does I am going to go right out and buy beer in airfoil shaped cans because there are usually about four sitting in the drink holders around the boat and must be slowing me down. In fact my ample girth standing in the cockpit may do the same thing I better go on a diet and never stand facing fore or aft. By now you realize I am just kidding with you. Don't take it the wrong way egghead.

 

[david lewis]

6 knots or 30

The drag I refer to is being created by the wind blowing across the wire. Thus the drag is related to the speed of the wind, the speed of the boat only comes into play as it applies to the apparent wind. Go outside, get in your car, drive down the street at 35 miles per hour. Take a round piece of wood the size of the shroud rollers and the same length. Hold an additional length in your hand and hold the board out the window. The force you feel will be about the same as applied to your deck under similar conditions. Now assume you have these rollers on 6 shrouds so multiply the load by 6. You decide if it is too high or insignificant. Let me know how your experiment works out. I bet you'll be surprised.Research we had worked on included elevator cars passing the floor sills of a building causing turbulence and making the car rock a little bit, an uncomfortable feeling for the passengers. I doubt a elevator car is going much faster than a sailboat and yet this effect was enough to worry about.Another suggestion is to get one of those helmets bicycle riders wear to reduce drag (the ones that are airfoil shaped) and you should wear it while you are standing at the helm. dave

 

[david lewis]

Drinking and driving

Sam,I assume those beer cans are all empty and you are collecting them to get the deposits and helping to clean up the environment. Drinking and driving a boat is a completely unacceptable practice, and you can get in a lot of trouble if you engage in this practice. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt but you'd be wise to read the laws on this one so you understand the risk you are taking and the risk you are putting other boaters under.dave

 

[R.W.Landau]

Tacking

Bob, I have found that when tacking in light air, to come into and through the wind, when the sail starts to luff, release the jib sheet. Make sure there is nothing stopping the passage of that sheet forward. Allow the sail to pass the obstruction before you start to trim the opposite sheet. If you try this you may find that all those knots work. My boat had a 3' track for the 100% that was inboard of the shrouds and a 3' track that was set aft and outboard for the 150%. I had to have seperate sheets for each sail. If I did not, I would probably use a locking "D" ring. If I had a furler, I would use the bitter ends poked through the loop trick. When the sheets wear , cut the line, turn it end for end and use a bowline.The worst connection I have found was on my Dad's 32 Allied Seawind with furling. The sheet was one piece passedthrough the gromet sewn to each other on the other side of the gromet and then lashed. Since I don't sail his boat but once a year, I never noticed it. Last April in a 30 knot wind the headed north from Marathon, the lashing parted as did the stitching leaving the sheet gliding to the windward bitter end. At that point the grommet is very hard to catch and control. The sheets was connected with a Bowlines for the rest of the trip. r.w.landau

 

[Rob Rich]

Great Exchange

This is why I love this site - so much valuable input. I still like the sheet knot (even when allowing the jib to cross well forward) - but the safety aspect makes me think twice. I think I will make a note to replace the sheets earlier than I used to, and/or inspect for wear more closely in the future. A runaway jib would not be fun.In any event, this is why I come here. Well said gents...

 

[Sam Kurtz]

Forgot To Cast My Vote

I use two sheets also but I use a stop knot in the end rather than a bowline. Just stick the line through and tie it off. This way you do not get all that extra line floping around at the end of the jib.