Single-Handing - Jib sheets jamming

[Joe Kern]

I single-handed the Jenny Jewel for the first time this weekend.  Had done it a few times on my Catalina 270 but never got around to it on this boat.  Probably was mostlty intimidated about docking and about the trip out of my marina, down the barge canal and under the drawbridge.  Wife was out of town this weekend and 72 degrees and 15-20knts just begged for some sailing.  No problems and I really enjoyed the solitude.  Would have been a little tricky without the autohelm but with planning a trip to the head or the galley was not even a big deal.  I ended up racing (for fun) a Catalina 36 who was ahead of me and caught him after about 15 tacks.  Return trip and stern-to docking ended up being a non-event.  Still love my wife but an occasional solo sail is now part of the plan.

So, here is my question.  On tacking I was able to release the jib sheet and get to the other side to trim the other sheet fairly easy.  Although the autohelm has a tacking feature I found it easier and more control to simply do it without it as it was easy to keep helm control as I passed from one side to the other.  However, more than once my jib sheet from the point of sail I was leaving would get fouled in the turning block as it ran out.  Not a big mess of the sheet (I always make sure everything is flaked so it can run free) but just a very small loop that jams the turning block and I think comes from the twist in the line as a result of it coming off the winch.  I have always pulled the loops over the top of the winch free when tacking but wonder if that really is the right way to do it.  Obviously I have never raced and the last boat had cabin top winches without turning blocks so it was not a problem. 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Stu Jackson]

Joe,  I have the same exact problem, and I singlehand often.  Two thoughts;  one the lines are getting old and dirty and stiff; or I just have to clear them through the turning (foot) blocks.  Our Mk I has the blocks, many don't, and I know all the Mk IIs do have them.  We didn't have the problem when the lines were new and supple.  I tried leaving a half tail on the winch, but that doesn't always work.  I have to just remember to clear them.

[Joe Kern]

Glad it is not just me    But for the fact I was alone I am sure the people on the other boat had a laugh at a few of my tacks where I crisply came around only to have both jib sheets nice and tight.

[David Sanner]

Untwisting your sheets before you sail can help.

It sounds like using fabric softener can make a line
more flexible and less likely to give you trouble
going through a block (turning block or jib car).

Here's a good thread on reviving your lines:
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=3210.0

[Jon Schneider]

I pretty much always single-hand, and a couple of things come to mind here.  When you "flake" (as you say) the sheets at the end of the day or even while you're sailing, do you allow them to twist naturally (create a figure ?  If not, you should.  If you try to force a line to furl into a perfect loop, you're actually injecting unnatural twist into it (even though it looks the opposite), and then storing it that way so the line "remembers" the twist.  Sloppy as it sounds, when I tack, I let the sheet splay out into the cockpit.  I do this while making sure that the sheet stays outboard of the winch (even on the starboard side, which means completely unwinding it off the winch and then dumping it onto the gunwale), so that the line stays in as straight a path of the turning block as possible.  Hope this helps. 

[John Langford]

I had the same problem with hockling of the sheets at the turning block. I solved the problem by reducing the size of the sheets from 1/2" double braid to 3/8" single braid line which is much less likely to hockle. The single braid is also lighter so the sail stands up better in light airs. I really recommend this change. It transformed my single handed tacking drill.

[Joe Kern]

Thanks for all the good ideas.  I look forward to trying some differnt approaches next time I am out.

[Stu Jackson]

John, in making that change, did you have any problems as discussed here?

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=867.0

[John Langford]

Hi Stu,
None of those problems. But I do have the newer Lewmar 48s. I have even used 5/16" line in them without difficulty.