Use an eyesplice to attach headsail clue?
- Thread starter JetLaggedChef
- Start date
That's not entirely true. Backwinding the jib helps for a quick tack in many conditions, just a little backwind, not filling fully. Many people release too early and loose drive through the tack. Wait until about 1/3 of the sail is backed before releasing in light to moderate conditions. The helm must be in tune with this and not overturn.
Oh yeah... a flogging head sail with a metal thumper attached is no friend of mine. The cow hitch is something I've used on a few boats and that is a good choice also.
on my hobie. In fact if the wind is modest to light I jibe instead of tack. It is much quicker that way.
Believe me, as a life-long multihull sailor I know ALL the tricks for getting stubborn boats through the eye. Backwinding is the worst of them. I have never found a boat that required backwinding (for more than a few seconds, as you mention), and I have sailed some real pigs. It is about understanding the things that move them through.
- Pull the traveler way above the centerline as the tack starts. Helps push the stern around and makes certain the main is not over trimmed for acceleration.
- Modulate the turn in rate so that the rudder does not stall. Steer through the turn. Each boat has a best rate for each condition.
- Sail full and by just before tacking, to insure best speed. Don't pinch.
- Prep the jib sheets for fast handling. You should be able to get the new working sheet in without grinding, even on fairly large boats, if the timing is sharp. The sheet should be in just as the wind hits it.
As for the Hobie, try the above, and then try roll tacking (get the weight way back, to get the bows out of the water, and heel to windward--there is less boat in the water this way). If you need to back the jib, something is wrong. I've sailed Hobies lots and you won't see a racer backwind the jib for more than an 1-2 seconds--it's slow.
Don't release the sheets till the boom comes across.... allow the wind to assist the sail across the foredeck... don't try to pull it across, that's what's causing the jamming. You can cheat in the slack as the sail comes across so that most of the trimming is done manually...but trying to pull it is not effective. On light air days... if you have crew... you can station one at the mast and have them help the sail around the rigging.
A cow hitch is fine on small dinghy jib, or if you never change or rotate your sheets. If you want them to last longer, the proper bowline tied with tail inside the loop, will allow you to routinely swap the sheets for better wear. If you remove your sails and stow them away in their bag.... NEVER leave the sheets attached.... this is basic sail care at the least... and in this case the bowline.. or clip on method... is preferred. Over time, the cow hitch will get chafed, swollen, and difficult to untie because most roller furling boat owners leave the sheets rigged almost permanently. One reason is that the singular super long sheet with a compacted knot is hard to remove without a fid or marlinspike. The sheets are exposed to the weather year round and become swollen and worn before their time.
Some of the alternatives mentioned are excellent.
A cow hitch is fine on small dinghy jib, or if you never change or rotate your sheets. If you want them to last longer, the proper bowline tied with tail inside the loop, will allow you to routinely swap the sheets for better wear. If you remove your sails and stow them away in their bag.... NEVER leave the sheets attached.... this is basic sail care at the least... and in this case the bowline.. or clip on method... is preferred. Over time, the cow hitch will get chafed, swollen, and difficult to untie because most roller furling boat owners leave the sheets rigged almost permanently. One reason is that the singular super long sheet with a compacted knot is hard to remove without a fid or marlinspike. The sheets are exposed to the weather year round and become swollen and worn before their time.
Some of the alternatives mentioned are excellent.
It's definitely not a tacking issue, but I understand why one would think that. In this case, the knot just gets caught going across, which causes it to be backwinded. Even 17 knotts doesn't blow it across, I have to wiggle both jib sheets back and forth gently to get it to go past.
Hmmmm......
This is clearly a case of ask 3 sailors about an issue and you'll get at least 5 different answers.
This is clearly a case of ask 3 sailors about an issue and you'll get at least 5 different answers.
On the smooth part of the mast, or something specific? I've had them catch on inner stays, jumpers, downhauls, winches, and other bits of rigging, but not just on the mast. At least not like that.
I like the meb135 solution. Tight eye splice on the sheet and soft shackles. One boat I sailed on this summer did that and it was clean and did not hang on the shrouds in tacks. Bowlines are going the way of ski runaway straps.
As for technique, I think many crews release the windward sheet too early and when they do release they don't release it completely (I call it a cast off). If done properly the sheet clew is at or forward of the shroud when the so called backwind fills the jib and takes it too the lee side. The effect is that the clew travels almost a straight line across the foredeck. The new jib trimmer has to be patient and let the clew come over and then he/she should be able to nearly trim the jib in before the sail fills in earnest and starts to draw.
As for technique, I think many crews release the windward sheet too early and when they do release they don't release it completely (I call it a cast off). If done properly the sheet clew is at or forward of the shroud when the so called backwind fills the jib and takes it too the lee side. The effect is that the clew travels almost a straight line across the foredeck. The new jib trimmer has to be patient and let the clew come over and then he/she should be able to nearly trim the jib in before the sail fills in earnest and starts to draw.
This seems standard for many smaller boats. What do you think of tying the ends together?
Thus is from an RS Quest manual
I had a metal shackle on mine once, 1st year of sailing.
That old metal shackle is long gone but I have plenty of permanent brain case divits to remember it by....
I am not exactly what you mean by "shackle" but I tried something similar and had horrible results. Instead of tying a bowline every time we head to the lake, (remember I am still a newbie) I thought why not just tie a figure 8 on a bight in the end of a line and use a carabiner to connect it to the clew. Seemed like a great idea and we were allready having a difficult enough time learning to rig everything on our trailer sailor.
When the clew went across the shrouds of our boat, it just so happened that the gate on the carabiner hit one of the shrouds and clipped itself ONTO the shroud. So I had to climb out onto the fore deck and cut the line while being blown all over the place. I ended up tying a bowline on it anyway.
I dont know why I didnt think of a cow hitch (I learned the same knot but know it as the girth hitch). Probably because I had allready cut the line and made seperate port\starboard side lines for controlling the clew of my Genoa. I will have to look into that some more.
Got computer back and now have pics.Here's the clew attachment I use
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