Moving genoa sheets

[Craig Illman]

Ok, finally a sailing question....  How do people transition from the inner to outer tracks and back? We can have the wind shift ninety degrees or more around the islands, so setting up before a tack isn't always available. Secondarily, at what point of sail do you shift? I have a 135 genoa, moveable cars on the inside and my old fixed cars on the outside.

Craig

[Jack Hutteball]

Craig,

I just read a hands on tip in the September Cruising World about that, it says:

"Run the lazy, or windward sheet through the block on the outboard rail and to a secondary winch.  Then make the old sheet the new windward sheet.  Another way is to use a third sheet and run it from the secondary winch through the block to the clew of the jib.  Make sure the outboard lead is forward of the normal, closehauled lead to prevent the top of the sail twisting off too much and luffing as its eased."

It seems to me this is used mainly if you are going to be on one tack for some time.  Can't imagine doing this if you were making a lot of tacks as we are known to have to do in our area.  Actually it could keep your crew busy and not just laying around

Jack

[Stu Jackson]

Some have double sheets always reeved and ready.

[Craig Illman]

Stu - additional winches?

Jack - you know that I'm usually the "crew just laying around"


- C

[Stu Jackson]

Craig, you don't need additional winches, only one sheet is ever used at one time.

[Craig Illman]

Stu - So, where and how do you "stow" the extra sheet?

[Stu Jackson]

Just do a quick coil and stow the end aft in the cockpit or even hang it on the lifelines or pulpit like spinnaker sheets, in a big cow hitch.

[rirvine]

I use two jib sheets when racing. The inner sheet is permanently attached to the jib.  The outer sheet is attached to the jib via a snap shackle (only when needed), runs through a block at the very forward end of the outer track, through a rope clutch mount of the outer track (located about 2 feet from the back of the track), and finally to the primary winch.

The rope clutch is used to hold the outer sheet during changes from one sheet to the other – allows the primary winch to be freed up during the change over – for example during the preparation for a mark rounding.

As for storage, when things are neat and the outer sheets are not being used, they are stored in the line bags.  At other times they are on the floor of the cockpit with the other lines.

Ray

[Craig Illman]

Ray - Thanks, that gives me some good ideas. I think I'll take one of my old jib sheets and put on a snap shackle. I was leaning that way, but was deterred from an old memory from racing with a friend about ten years back. I asked why they used bowlines instead of shackles at the clew. He said that bowlines were more reliable. In this situation, one would still have the primary jib sheet still attached with the bowline as backup (as long as it was secured).

btw, I started thinking about this when I saw some of the pictures of your Fleet 1 races on the link you recently posted.

Craig

[BillG]

While we are on the subject, could some of the racers out there enlighten me as the wind conditions where one might change from the inner track to the outer track.

[Stu Jackson]

Up wind inner, downwind outer.

[rirvine]

When the clew of the jib is inside the life line use the inner sheet when it is outside use the outer sheet.

For those interested in C34 racing photos - check out:

http://lyonsimaging.smugmug.com/gallery/6045839_59Hi5#378752486_yTPbH

These were taken during the third race of the annual San Francisco Cup.