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Author Jib Sheet Attachment



Boat Name:

Model/Year:

Hull No.

Hailing Port:
07/14/2005 6:18 AM Pacific Time

Presently I attach my jib sheets to the jib with a snap shackle. It was working Ok until recently. It wants to come off the jib in higher winds. I really do not want to attach the sheets directly to the jib as I sail with two jibs. How do most people attach their jib sheets to the jib?

Thanks
Greg
Bob Conway
Huber Heights, Ohio

Boat Name: Spindrift

Model/Year: C22/1979

Hull No. #8717

Hailing Port: Buck Creek, Ohio
07/14/2005 7:37 AM Pacific Time

Greg,

A snap shackle is very dangerous, especially if you have it to change sails. That means someone goes forward to make the change and could get clobbered by the shackle.

I have separate lines and attach them with a bowline. Not as quick as a snap shakle, but softer when hit. I used to use a single line and just looped it through the eye at the clew, but that would be even more difficult to change.

Bob
John Flato
Houston

Boat Name:

Model/Year: 1984

Hull No. 12030

Hailing Port: Shoreacres, TX
07/14/2005 10:22 AM Pacific Time

Bob is right, the tradtional and safest method is to use a bowline. Though I have seen figure 8 knots work ok also. Snap shackles are really for situations where you need a quick release. They are most commonly used on spinnakers, though their weight works against you in light air. Some really large boats use snap shackes because they do numerous headsail changes and due to the high loads put on the sheets, the bowlines may be difficult to untie.

Now that many are leaving their sheets attached on the spinnaker take down (so they are ready for the relaunch), you may get away with bowlines there too. Any thoughts on this anybody?
Greg Phillips
Tennille,Ga

Boat Name:

Model/Year: 1981 C22

Hull No. 10161

Hailing Port: Lake Sinclair, Milledegville, Ga
07/14/2005 1:12 PM Pacific Time

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I guess I will be going to a bowline.

Greg
Paul David
Melbourne Australia

Boat Name: Reflections

Model/Year: 1986

Hull No. 13369

Hailing Port: Melbourne Australia
07/14/2005 11:13 PM Pacific Time

Don't know the name of knot, if it is one, but I have a single length of line with a loop seized in the middle - I take the loop through the clew and then pass the ends of the sheets through the loop and draw it up tight. Seems to hang up less on the shrouds. Makes it a little harder to swap headsails though because you have to pull the sheets out of the fairleads and then run them back again.

Paul
R. C. Luiken
Milford, DE

Boat Name: Ricochet

Model/Year: C-22 Swing Keel/1986

Hull No. 13560

Hailing Port: Milford, DE/St. Michaels, MD
07/15/2005 3:36 AM Pacific Time

A minor point when tieing your bowline. Make certain the bitter end of your bowline is pointed away from the shrouds. This reduces the possibility of the knot hanging on the shroud when coming about
Paul Brook
Fairfield, IA

Boat Name: Selkie

Model/Year: C22 Fin 1977

Hull No. 7817

Hailing Port: Lake Rathbun, IA
07/15/2005 4:29 AM Pacific Time

I have heard two names for the knot you're referring to Paul but I only remember one. It is called a Lark's Head knot. I use it myself on the Jib.

I have a couple of head sails and two jib sheets but sometimes I wind up having to change the sheets anyway and I think tieing two bowlines might be faster than finding the middle of the line and running it all the way through the tack cringle to tie the lark's head but I still prefer it. It presents almost no resistence to getting pulled across the the shrouds when tacking.
winn


Boat Name:

Model/Year: 1970

Hull No.

Hailing Port:
07/15/2005 5:27 AM Pacific Time

we use a method that will minimize the knots and also provide a good attachment for your whisker pole. place an eye splice in the end of each sheet. then place a eye splice in a short length of 1/4 inch line (about 15" of finished length), push the bitter end through both eye splices of the jib sheets and back through the eye of the 1/4 inch piece. this attaches both sheets together. then tie the 1/4 inch bitter end to the jib clew. you should end up with a 5-6" space between the clew and the sheets. the result is a very small knot that is less likely to hang up on the shrouds and provide an attachment point for the end of the pole that will not slip down the sheet.
Karl Mielenhausen
New Bern, NC

Boat Name: Impromptu

Model/Year: C22 1985

Hull No. 13021

Hailing Port: Northwest Creek Marina
07/15/2005 6:31 AM Pacific Time

I used to have 2 seperate lines as jib sheets attached with bowline's. When I replaced the sheet with a single length of line, I tried the cow hitch (Lark's Head) and it works well - does not slip at all. My sheets are dedicated to each headsail, so I don't have to worry about untying the knots.
Michael & Barbara Day
Selma, Oregon

Boat Name: Godspeed II

Model/Year: 1975

Hull No. 5316

Hailing Port: Howard Prairie Lake
07/15/2005 8:02 AM Pacific Time

If the expense of having a separate, single line for each headsail isn't a problem, you might use a cats paw knot, for attaching to the sail. Equally double the line, pass it thru the clew and pass the bitter ends thru the loop. Pull it tight and it won't slip.

Mike
Rico Weber
Meridian, ID

Boat Name: Jubilation

Model/Year: Catalina 22 SK, 1975

Hull No. 4982

Hailing Port: Rico's Bay
04/26/2006 11:34 AM Pacific Time

There was an article in a Catalina National Sailing Association "Main Brace" issue within the last year that addressed this issue. Unfortunately I do not remember the details but it was a very slick way of making a safe-quick change jib sheet connection using rope. Hope you find it.
Steven Keplinger
Severna Park MD 21146

Boat Name: Nifty

Model/Year: 1978

Hull No. CTYH7999M78B

Hailing Port: Round Bay
04/26/2006 1:31 PM Pacific Time

The article is in Bob and Trish Endicott's "On the Hook" pp 6, volume 33, No.5, September 2005: MainBrace.
 
 
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