Wouter & Jennifer, You seem to have missed the point of the purpose of the tiller extension on beach catamarans : It is actually made that long so that the skipper can beat the crew with it when they are not doing what they are told. I`ve cut mine a bit shorter, as I`ve found it was a bit too long to poke my crew in the eye when she`s not trapezing properly. It makes it a bit difficult to get my weight forward, but it`s worth it. If you look at the attached picture, you can see that my crew has reached the stage where she is too afraid to come out on trapeze. At this point it may become necessary to beat her with the mainsheet, which is, after all, the main purpose for having a few feet of extra mainsheet on the boat. Thinner line is better for this, never mind that it runs better through the cleats (this is just an excuse most skippers use to fit thinner line, they all know the real reason !) We all know that the only reason we allow crew on the boat is to pull ropes, act as ballast and obey orders, as well as to pass drinks out between races. When I have enough money to buy a keelboat I`ll get my crew to clean the bottom in winter, I find that they clean it better when they are shaking from hypothermia.
The above commentery accurately describes my apprenticeship into sailing 18 years ago, so I have no sympathy for crew. I`ve done my time, now it`s their turn. The problem these days is that crew are too soft, we need to toughen them up a bit. Now mine doesn`t even want to sail in winter ! I can`t see that the fact that our lake is filled from snow off the mountains has anything to do with that.
David Elliot put things in perspective when it comes to crew :
"Dear Taipan sailors, The problem with crews getting tangled in the jib sheets has nothing to do with the cleat position, the block or which way the crew faces in the tack. The problem is the crew. Crew are by their very nature useless individuals (that is why they are crew). They all should be drowned at birth! Let them get tangled like a stunned mullet in a net, smack in the middle of the tramp and leave them there. It makes no difference to the boat's performance. Every skipper knows all the boat's performance comes from the blunt end of the boat. Yours always in assistance, Slimy."
