There is no problem with this setup getting snagged on the forestay. It's how Wildcats and C2s come stock... it's what all the top guys use.
Jake, that knot with the wrap around is exactly what we have, just wrapped around a couple times and then through the core of the spin sheet. That way your keeping the line together rather than pulling it apart.
Ours goes around the sheet, comes through it sideways and continues the loop around the sheet. I then bury a long tail about 3 inches into the dyneema, come out and make a button. The other end of the dyneema tail is spliced into an eye, which goes through the spinnaker, loops back and closes on the button - takes no time to attach the sheet, and is very secure. The halyard, dousing line and tack line are all attached using soft shackles, so attaching the kite is done without tying any knots.
Opher Nacra F20C ISR1 F18 Cirrus ISR2 Sdot Yam, ISRAEL
An eye hitch is pictured below (red line). The same basic knot form goes by several names. When tied in an eye, it's called an "eye hitch". At the end of a line, it's called a "cow hitch". When tied on a bight through a ring or grommet, it's called a "ring hitch". Among landlubbers, it's commonly known as a "luggage-tag hitch".
The downside of putting an eye hitch on the clew is that you have to pass your sheets through the eye before reeving. If you like to store your sheets attached to the boat, you could put a soft shackle at the end of the strop instead of an eye. See the blue line below. A well-tied bowline will serve just as well, but be aware that dyneema is very slick and doesn't hold knots well. I have seen even bowlines slip.
I thought incorporating a prusik knot into the connection of the tail to the sheet would relieve the tendency to spread the braid.
You would splice a somewhat sizeable eye into the tiny tail, poke the eye through the weave of the sheet, then make three wraps of the eye/tail around the sheet. ...
You can also probably step it down from a 1/8" line (the Amsteel runs large anyway) to a 7/64 or 1/16" line...
Jake, that's an interesting idea. A prusik knot might reduce strain on the braid, but it's important to note that one still needs to pierce the sheet (as you described). Prusik cord is much, much grippier than dyneema and prusik knots still tend to slip on wet rope.
And yes, one could easily step down to 7/64" Amsteel. I simply have lots of 1/8" in red, green, and blue, but not much 7/64" (and only in gray).
Better solution is to splice a "Y" out of two pieces of 4mm spectra, and bury two ends of the "Y" into the middle of the sheet going either direction. Lock stitch each side (non cored lines) and voila, you end up with a short 4mm pigtail coming directly out of the middle of the sheet, no hard spots or visible splices.
Hmmm, that does sound better. It would put all the strain longitudinally on the line and not tend to split the braid. Properly made, it would be very tidy. Although I dislike lock stiching, I'll have to give it a try.
Thanks, I'm always happy to learn and to improve my ropework.
Better solution is to splice a "Y" out of two pieces of 4mm spectra, and bury two ends of the "Y" into the middle of the sheet going either direction. Lock stitch each side (non cored lines) and voila, you end up with a short 4mm pigtail coming directly out of the middle of the sheet, no hard spots or visible splices.
Hmmm, that does sound better. It would put all the strain longitudinally on the line and not tend to split the braid. Properly made, it would be very tidy. Although I dislike lock stiching, I'll have to give it a try.
Thanks, I'm always happy to learn and to improve my ropework.
Regards, Eric
Very tidy and clean. With any cored line the pigtail can be spliced into the core and not require a lock stitch. A hollow braid I would lock stitch but probably it would still be unnecessary, just insurance for when it is not loaded. The other solutions depicted here will reduce the strength of the line by at least the amount of a knot, not that it matters on the little boats as you'll never even get close to the break strength of the line. But, its cleaner and definitely stronger.
This one is made with gray 7/64" Amsteel Blue. The clew end has a large sliding eye (because I think a large eye should resist chafe better than a small one). There's a locking brummel at the sheet and the two ends run down the center of the sheet. They are lockstitched in and go about a foot before tapering.
This version is definitely the tidiest one, and almost certainly the strongest as well. I'm not sure, however, that it's the most practical. I suspect that the strop will wear out sooner than the sheet, so a removable one might be the preferred way to go.
All in all, though, it's been an interesting exercise.
