Change double ended mainsheet to single

[Roc]

Wanted to throw this out to see if anyone has any issues I may not be seeing......on my MkII, the mainsheet is double ended, you can trim the sail from either side.  Now I believe that is good if you're racing, but for everyday crusing, it really doesn't seem to be of any use.  Right now, I use the Starboard side winch to both raise the main, and trim the sheet.  When raising the main, I need to stick the mainsheet into the jam cleat to make the winch available (which I always fear will come out and cause the boom to be left with no control...never did like that jam cleat), winch up the halyard, release the halyard from the winch and apply the line stopper, then wrap the mainsheet back on the winch for sail triming.  Lowering the sail requires the opposite process....

My thought would be to take the mainsheet and tie it off at the starboard side block, before it turns aft.  Then use the port winch, solely for sheet triming, and I can leave the starboard side winch only for using the halyard.  This would delete having to switch lines and using the jam cleat during the switching process. 

Any thoughts??

Thanks!!

[Stu Jackson]

Roc

Replace the clam cleat with a sheet stopper.  We used a Spinlock XLA which I think they've discontinued.  We use this for our single ended mainsheet on our '86.  I've discussed this before, we just leave it open all the time.  You can do this on your boat and still maintain either side use whenever you like.  In fact, I encourage everyone to replace those clam cleats with sheetstoppers.  Some racers may still like 'em.

[rirvine]

I have MK II also with 3/8" sheets and halyards.  My port winch is always loaded with the jib halyard. This allows the jib halyard tension to be adjusted easily. The mainsheet is in the jam cleat on the port side and adjusted via the starboard winch.  Even in San Francisco Bay winds, I have never had a problem with the mainsheet coming out of the port side jam cleat.

I do not see why there is a need to make any main sheet changed to move to using your port winch your mainsheet.  Just put the starboard end of the mainsheet in the jam cleat, sheet to main in hard with the port winch thus pulling the starboard end hard into the jam cleat.  I think you will find that mainsheet will get pulled into the starboard jam cleat so tight that you will not be able to pull it out by hand.

Ray

[sail4dale]

I got rid of the double ender and my mainsheet just comes back on the starboard side.  I use the jamb cleat when I need the winch for the halyard otherwise I have it on the winch while sailing.

I used the other side for a cunningham to the jamb cleat on the port.

Works fine even when racing.

[Jim Price]

On my MK I , I changed from single ended / JAM cleat to a double ended system using a Harken Triple block with CAM cleat on the traveller.  This lets me adjust using a single end that is centered on the traveller car - line runs into cockpit - great for single handling.   The other end is routed to the starboard winch through Garhauer clutches.  This lets me "lock " one end (like a single ended system) but I can still use that end with the winch to take in the sheet when the wind is too strong for manually adjusting from the traveller end.

This goes without saying that one other advantage is that when I need to dump the main, I can do that from the wheel by popping the line loose from the triple block cam - don't have to go forward to the winch.  Also great for single handed gybes as I can take up and release the sheet manually to control the boom swing.

[Roc]

Looks like there are two schools, some that added a double ender, some that got rid of it.....I know I can always nix the jam cleat with a sheet stopper, that's really not my point.  My question stems from the fact that my port winch sits unused.  I really just use it when I raise the genoa. So I thought, why not use the starboard winch for the main halyard, and the port winch for the sheet.  This way I don't need to unwrap the sheet, wrap the halyard, hoist the main, unwrap the halyard, wrap the sheet, etc, etc......Just wondering if anyone tied the right side end of the sheet on the block that leads aft and just use the port winch.....

By the way, I hear that the jam cleat could hold the sheet very tightly, but I get concerned on deck, taking off the sail ties and hooking up the shackle to the sail, with the sheet held by the jam cleat.  If it lets go, I go....overboard 

[Wayne]

At first I really disliked the jam cleat; now I kind of like it.  If you leave the mainsheet cleated, but off the winch you have a shot at blowing the main quickly without going all the way forward.  Also, on American boats the main sail controls are usually on the stbd side; putting the mainsheet to port might be a little confusing to someone new to your boat.

[DarthOccam]

Roc,

An old post, but I'm thinking of doing the same and converting my double ended mainsheet to a single.  Did you follow through on the conversion?  And if so, where did you end up tying the fixed end, at the traveller or at the turning block by the mast?

Michael

[cmainprize]

I tied off the mainsheet at the block just in of the mast on the port side a couple of years ago.  I still use the starboard side winch for the mainsheet and main halyard, boom Vang and I leave one of the clutches empty for my spinnaker tack.  The port side clutches contain my four reefing lines.  I have a bank of four clutches on each side.  I rarely adjust my Genoa halyards, but I have clutches at the mast and a winch on the port side of the mast if I need too.

[Fred Koehlmann]

Hi Roc,

I agree, that there is no need for the double ender. We might have kept it if there was a purchase difference between the sides (i.e faster in on one side, and then more purchase on the other to bring in during stronger winds), but there wasn't and I guess with the winch (and because we mainly cruise) there was no real need. We dead ended our port side at the jamb cleat, wich had a extra lock bar across the top. We use the port winch primarily for the vang, and we do use it a fair bit for mainsail shape. We bring in the main on the starboard side and then set it in the cleat. A wrap or two goes around the wind in windy weather, but it always goes back onto the winch. Like Wayne says, you can then easily blow the main if you need to. We don't have a conflict with sheet and the halyards, since we would never be sheeting on the winch if we were raising or lowering.

Hope that helps.

Cheers, Fred.

[Roc]

Hi guys,
I never followed up on this, but funny this thread was opened up again, because I started to think about this again, since I got a spinnaker last season.  Based on what I hear, it seems MkII's are set up differently.  I have the stock Garhauer clutches (one upgrade that I've always wanted to do because they really are hard to use) and the boat came with three on each side. Some of you are talking about four clutches per side.   Now with the spinnaker, and the need to winch it up, I'm rethinking opening up that unused port winch, since that's the side my spinnaker halyard leadsto.  But now, I'll need to figure which winch I want to free up. Now, my situation is the port side will be used to crank up the spinnaker (formerly had no need to be used), and the starboard winch is used to hoist the main, AND trim the mainsheet.  I started reading the start of this thread to get aquainted with ideas others have posted that might help with a solution...... .

[Wayne]

I'm revisting my posting from 2006.  I had a new boat then, and I did get used to the jam cleat and liked it just fine.  However, as my mainsheet has aged, or the jam cleat has aged, it started not reliably staying 'stuck' actually it started popping out a little too often.  This past winter I had another stopper installed for my mainsheet.
My boat came with four Garhauer stoppers on each side. The outside two were for the Garhauer traveler, one to port for my mainsail in-mast furling line, and the other two for jib halyards.  I replaced my second jib halyard with a spinakker halyard, and that rope clutch became home for my spinakker halyard.
I would for sure keep with the convention of mainsail controls to starboard, foresail to port . . .

[Roc]

Wayne, thanks for the clarification.  I don't have a furling main, so that's why my boat only came with 3 Garhauer clutches per side.  After thinking about my situation, I feel the best would be to dead-end the mainsheet on the port side, which would use the starboard winch for adjustment (keeping it the way it is). Now that I have a spinnaker, that leaves the port winch open for use with the spinnaker halyard, AND it opens up a turning block at the traveler base to be used for a 2 line reef for the main (something I've bee thinking of doing for a while).

[DarthOccam]

Interesting feedback.  I'm leaning towards doing the conversion to a single ended mainsheet.  My specific question is about where to tie off the fixed end. 

[attach=#]

In the picture above, there are at least three options:

A:  tie off at the traveler car
B:  tie off at the base of the standing block used to turn the mainsheet at the mast back to the cabin
C:  tie off at the traveler track base

A simplifies things but presumably removes some of the mechanical advantage.  Any preferences?


Michael

[Stu Jackson]

Seems to me that if you have clam cleats on both sides, just replace one clam cleat with a horn cleat and tie it off there, unless you absolutely need the other side's traveler fairleads available for something else.  I wouldn't use the traveler fairleads since they're not made for that kind of load.  The OEM single mainsheet is deadended at the boom.