I have an 8:1 Harken mainsheet setup on my A Cat, which seems to be fairly standard, a few still have 6:1 systems. I have a cleat, but have it set high so that it cannot cleat without a deliberate effort on my part. That all works fine, until you have to sail 4 races in 15 to 20+ knots, by which time the hands are complaining of abuse. I see Lewmar has an interesting looking 40mm 10:1 system, does anyone use it and is the cleat angle adjustable? What do you fellows see as the pros and cons of the different setups. Speed and effort is obviously one trade off, what else? I have attached the Lewmar catalog page.

Regards

Daniel

Hi Daniel

I tried it on my 18HT. We were not very happy with it and changed it back to the traditional 8:1 Lewmar system. One of the problems we had with it, was that sometimes after sheeting out allot and sheeting in again, one of the little blocks was canted. I also think the little blocks are to small, even with our tappered mainsheet (9mm to 6mm) I felt some considerable friction.

On my next boat, Eagle 18HT, I will try the 10:1 harken setup.

I've been trying out a 8:1 system where the sheet goes around a ronstan 40mm ratchamatic on a becket for the first top block giving a 180 degree wrap. The normal ratchet block on the bottom is turned off.

So far it has been great. I can keep a P-19 mainsheet sheeted in with the slightest amount of pressure, and it runs freely when you let go. Before this setup I used the cleat a lot, now I rarely need to. There are some slight sheet routing issues with my particular blocks, but overall much better than before.

Gang:

I put a Spinlock cleat on my 7 to 1 purchase on the Hobie 17. It works great now.

Doug

I'd consider sticking with the 57mm Harken bottom block (I assume you are using the 57mm carbo ratchematic) and use a 40mm quad carbo top block.

I came up with a nice roving pattern for a 9:1 a couple of weeks ago - I'll post it this evening. That was based on the 75mm carbo ratchematic base with a 57mm quad top block and is for an F18, but should translate nicely to the smaller top and bottom blocks.

I have already put a 57mm base on the A-Cat to replace the Marstrom center sheeting (which I found high friction and impossible to cleat even for tacking). This is coupled with a 57mm triple carbo block with a small block hanging off the becket in an 8:1 arrangement that works OK. I intend to replace it with a 40mm quad and use the 9:1 roving pattern I mentioned already. I don't really need 9:1 but my wife will appreciate (the A is her boat).

10:1 on an A-Cat seems to be overkill - a good 8:1 or 9:1 with less friction will save the hands while reducing the amount of sheet used for adjustments

Chris.

The problem I see with going to 10:1 or more using these upper/lower quad/quint blocks is that the friction goes up and you don't get good load tranfer to all the sheaves....even with 3mm spectra.

The better way to go for more purchase is with a cascade.

Do you have a picture of that setup ? I've been thinking about this for a while myself but now I really want to try it.

Actually I need it for the upcoming worlds I'm sailing in. My right arm is playing up and I need to survice 5 days of racing singlehandedly.

Wouter

I use one of these new 8mm (they seem to be thinner than the spec) soft braided sheets which are also fairly slippery, so that it possibly does not have enough friction at the ratchet and makes me work harder than neccesary, I also feel that 10:1 on an A is overkill and I might try a second ratchet on top. I would also be keen to a sketch of the cascaded system. Thank you for the replies

Regards from Zurich

Daniel

Here are some shots I took of a popular Tornado cascade setup from a few years back:

Cascade1 Cascade3
Cascade2

The internals are depicted in this diagram from Macca:

Cascade Diagram

I've been wanting to do this on my boat for some time...main issue is the Marstrom boom width will not handle the recommended internal double blocks. Either need to swap out the boom with a wider section like used on Tigers or start experimenting with homemade blocks that can fit the width dimension.

What's wrong with your arm Wouter?

I'm not interested in the cascaded system (if have sufficient photo's and diagrams for that)

I am however very interested in any setups that have an additional smart ratchet included in the (rear sheeting) mainsheet system.

I know of several mid tramp and boom sheeting systems with an additional smart ratchet but these may not work for me on the spinnaker boat. I already have alot of line in the front halve of the tramp.

Best would be to find a setup where the normal (lower block ratchet) is still used as well.

I have a few idea's myself but I would love to see how other sailors have solved it, plus hear their evaluations of it.

Wouter

Basically, late in 1990's I got a rather serious issue with RSI on my right arm. Since then I control my mouse with my left hand, despite the fact that I'm right handed. This is now fully under control but my nerves and muscles in my lower right arm will never be the same.

Last year in september I did a distance race and I learned the hard way that I was ignoring serious warning signal from my lower right arm. It cramped up really badly after an hour of sheeting on a beam reach. We all know this story and seen the pics of me swimming. I felt no pain when it cramped but it took hours for some normal control to come back and even then it would just cramp up again when I tried to hold something as light as a cup. Over the winter it got better, but it is definately a weak spot.

While sailing my F16, I'm clutching the mainsheet upwind and the spi sheet downwind. I have enough control and strength to do that again now. But as soon as I maintain a grip for a little while my muscles quickly go back to the cramped state. In short I can not hold on to the sheet with force for a prolonged period. Everything is fine if I can relax the muscle between actions, but I can not maintain the hold.

Currently I have no issues with the spi sheet as I have double auto ratchets there that allow me to relax the muscles after each pull. The problem now is found on the upwind leg. In order to stay competitive I need to work the mainsheet more and more. If I don't the other F16's (and F18's) at my club are walking away from me upwind. I used to use the cleat to relax my muscles but this is now becoming to much of a handicap, so I'm looking for a system that acts just like my spi sheeting.

And of course; I want to do the best I can at the upcoming Worlds, although it will be more important to just see my arm survive 5 days of continious racing !

That is it.

Wouter

I made a mistake - the system is 8:1, not 9:1. The line is 3/8" polyester trophy braid with the core replaced with 1/4"
spectra donated from a friend who bought a whole reel in a close out sale. This transitions to the 1/4" spectra with a core to cover splice. The end of the sheet is skinny D12 eye spliced round a small carbo block and buried into the spectra. That may prove to be a weak point, but I did not want the increase in stack height of a block with a becket, and tieing off to the front of the lower block requires a different roving that does not run as twist free.