Mainsheet rigging questions

[gregorygraham]

Ladies / Gents,

I have a 29' sailboat.  My friend has the identical make and model boat.  I noticed his boat has retained the original mainsheet rigging arrangement, which is 5:1 mechanical advantage block system above the traveller that is then led forward toward the gooseneck, then down to the deck, then back along the starboard side of the cabin top via a cheek block, through a conduit in the traveller support, to a cabintop winch dedicated for use with the mainsheet that is easily reachable from the cockpit.  (Sorry for the run on sentence).  Below are a few photos of my friend's mainsheet arrangement:








By contrast, my mainsheet is also a 5:1 mechanical advantage block system but it is then fed back to the block above the traveller to a camcleat.  My boat has the same cabintop winch, but it is unused.  I don't like my set up because the mainsheet often falls into the companionway and trips people up as they use the companionway stairs.  Below are a few shots of my mainsheet arrangement:





My gut feeling is to restore the original mainsheet arrangement and make use of the winch, as on my friend's boat.

Question 1:  would the cabintop winch be superior to just using the camcleat in my block?

If the decision is made to restore the original mainsheet arrangement, I will have to replace the cabintop cheek block, which is now missing on my boat.  I am showing below the spot on the cabintop where the cheek block presumably used to be:



There are four holes into the deck top, in a square arrangement.  Each hole is just under 1.5" from the next.  However, inside the cabin, I can access only two of the holes.  See photo below:



Question 2:  does anyone have any suggestions about where and how to acquire a cheek block that has this sort of four hole arrangement in that measurement?  I've done a little looking around and am starting to be concerned I won't find a cheek block with these dimensions.  Does anyone have any thoughts about how I would replace the cheekblock given only two bolt holes are accessible.

Hope those of you on the hard for the winter are coping well.

Cheers,

[Tim]

Gregory, you would have to call for the specs I guess, but one of these might fit the pattern. Otherwise filling and redrilling may be an option.

http://garhauermarine.com/catalog_process.cfm?cid=30

[s/v Faith]

I suspect your main sheet was changed for a reason.  There is a fair amount of resistance in the original set up, I suspect that the prior owner of your boat got tired of having to manually push the boom to sheet out in light wind. 

If you do change it, you might try a smaller diameter line and try to find block with very low resistance.

[gregorygraham]

Tim,  yes, I reckon I will have to be very careful about size specifications.  Thanks for the link though.  An alternative is to install a pad eye or U bolt to secure a swivel block to the deck.

s/v Faith,  You are likely right.  I'm wondering though whether I am giving up a significant advantage by not making use of the winch.  I suspect not, but . . . .

[CapnK]

Hi Greg -

I would think that whoever made the mod did it for performance reasons, perhaps to do club racing or something. It would be quicker & easier to trim the main with that setup, and I would think that finer adjustments to the sail trim could be made with the cam cleat as opposed to the winch setup. WRT any kind of mechanical advantage the winch would give, a little luff up when sheeting in hard will even that up. :)

As it is, it kind of prohibits you from adding a dodger - if that is at all part of the plans. If that isn't, I think I'd leave it as is, and do the following:

• Make a fabric 'platform' to fit just inside the companionway hatch space where the sheet falls, a square/rectangle sewn with loops of bungee or small line at the corners.
• Put 4 corresponding attachment points in the hatch hole so that the platform will cover it when attached.
• When sailing, the sheet would fall onto the 'platform', and likely stay there due to sag.
• When someone needs to go below, they detach the aft loops, and re-attach them to the same points as the front loops, creating a folded 'bag' which holds the sheet.
• Or make the platform so that there are 2 lines running fore and aft on either side, attached to platform through grommets. Then either end could simply slide toward the other to allow access below while holding the sheet.

Something like that should be pretty quick, easy, and painless to make, and solve your 'problem' with the sheet. :)

[Wade]

Lol, my sloop was apparently rigged the same way and was changed by the PO. Until I saw this post I was never sure what the extra deck hardware was about. I use a canvas dodger the accomidates lines running aft. the pic shows the current rigging which I have no problem with using. Though I doubt the other rig would have bothered me any.  Wade

[gregorygraham]

Wade,  Your photos is a bit fuzzy, but your rig appears to be sort of a compromise between mine and my friend's.  Interesting.  Tell me, do you have the winch on the starboard side of the cabintop?  From the photo I think I see the residual block at the base of the mast.  Do you still have the cheek block on the starboard side of the deck?

CpnK,  I think you are right.  A previous owner likely did the modification.  And that owner's thinking was likely sound.  Having thought about it, the winch on the cabintop could be used for a spinnaker halyard led aft.

I don't think I will ever add a dodger.  One of my joys from sailing is being outside.  But I'm a fairweather sailor.  If the weather is bad enough to require a dodger, I'm likely not out sailing anyway.

I do like your idea about the platform and I appreciate your suggestion.  Thanks gents.

[Wade]

Sorry, cheap phone cam and very grey here today, my old rig is pretty much exactly like the original posters' set up except no winch on the cabin top, just those locking cams or whatever they are called. The old set up is on the starboard side and I did not take a photo of it.  On my 31 it would take some kind of wind to not be able to handle the sheet without a winch. I am going to try the old rig next time I go out, but I agree it was prob the difficulty paying out the sheet in light winds that caused the change to the alternate configuration..