When saling alone it seems handy to be able to cleat the spinnaker sheet. But when looking around I do not see any boat in our club that has this possibility. How do other solo sailers solve this or do you just hold the line regardless of the wind conditions or the length of down-wind leg?
No cleat just double autoratchet on each side. Works like a charm. Allows singlehanded spi sailing in 20 knots.
Wouter
that is a recipe for capsize. However, in some of the distance races, we have put big cam cleats on the bottom of the boom that you can slip the spin sheet into for a short break or while you get something.
I have cleats on the 17 to allow me to do
Other things
without having to stand on the Spi sheet to keep it drawing.
I set the cleats way forward so it is very much an
Active decision
to cleat the sheet and so I don't get caught out by accidental cleat-ups.
I use them when (usually in light wind) mucking around with mainsheet tension, traveller position or Plate position. I Always keep the Spi sheet as much to hand as possible to allow a quick sheet in if need be in emergancies along with a rapid bear off.
I've toying with the idea of putting a couple of footstaps on the tiller bar / extension to allow me to steer with my feet as well so I have both hands free for longer (always scary letting go of the tiller extension).
A friend of mine Tom Turlington from Pensacola had some cam cleats without the eye straps on his Inter 17. I liked them so I put some on my Tiger. I installed them aft of the shrouds on the outside edge of the hull. Works well when my crew needs a break or if the wind is light. I'm sitting right next to the cleat so it's easily ready for a quick release.
I have cleats at my shroud bases and a two to one system set up for the spin. sheet. Since I distance race mostly it works fine.
In the distance race here last weekend I had the chute up for 3/4's of the race. Since I was racing with my 13 year old daughter having the cleat and two to one system was very helpful.
I have seen shroud bases that have a spot for the cleats to be screwed on mine are attached to the standard shroud adjuster.
I put the cleats on the back of each dagger board. The boards are cut away at the rear. They are only available when the board is raised and disappear when the board is down, keeping them out of the way when working/beating.
I don't have a pic of the cleats but the attachment shows the board cutaway. The cleat is out of sight behind the boom but you get the message.
No cleat just double autoratchet on each side. Works like a charm. Allows singlehanded spi sailing in 20 knots.
Wouter
What he said...
No need for cleats. Hand off to the skipper if you need a break. If crew is manouvering around the boat then strap the spin to depower.
He said he was sailing alone in his first post. Handing off to the skipper isn't an option.
Folks,
I have double ratchets and the loading from the kite on the F16 with this setuo is quite light yet I am trialling cleats on the gunwale each side just behind the side stay.
Sailing one up I use them as my temporary crew when I need another hand.
I don't sail the boat with the spinnaker cleated.
I'm not quite that crazy.
But if I need to adjust my mainsheet setting I just pop the kite into the cleat, make the change and pull it out.
Another thing which I'm working on is making much quicker jibes one up.
The big advantage between two up and one up sailing apart from raising and dropping the kite is jibes. I worked on this and found it was causing me to capsize so I decided to
add another pair of hands in the cleats to help me out. You see these two up guys can jibe with almost no loss.
They do this by taking all the slack out of the lazy spi sheets so when they jibe the spi is already trimmed when it pops.
So if I cleat the spi just before the jibe I can pull in the slack on the lazy sheet. As I cross to the other side the spi sheet is pulled out of the cleat and the spi is sheeted on.
It is just
pop
and the jibe is done.
I would not have bothered with the cleats except up against the side stay chainplate they are out of the way.
I don't like boats that bite- so I won't put anything on my boat that is in the way and can take skin.
Just the way I see it.
Regards,
Phill
Thanks for the tips and tricks.
You like swimming??? IMHO cleats on the spi sheets are inviting disaster.
Tiger Mike
I have a cleat at the bottom of the shroud. works great when you need a little break.
Both boats in the pic are for sale, by the way,,,,
Tell me you have another cat in mind?
Of all the ways I've gone over having it happen because the spin is cleated has not been one of them.
Of course I've just jinxed that. <img src=
alt=
/>
I added a cleat prior to the Tybee. I stuck it on the deck. In light air I ended up sitting on it a bunch and I didn't like it there. I've seen it on the boards. I like how arbo has his. If I single handed I'd definitely add a cleat. But for bouy racing I with crew I see no need for a cleat.
ditto - that's why having two in opposing directions on the bottom of the boom works well.
This is off topic, but did anybody else see the ghostly figure near the bow in catmans photo of the cutaway boards? Maybe the ghost of one who died cleating the sheet?... But seriously, most poeple I'm guessing have enough sense to not cleat in high winds, and I would have loved a cleat during the last distance race we were in, 5 hours of light air with the spin up 95% of the race.
I know that he hates it when I tell this story, but last years Tybee we cleated the spinnaker sheet in about 15 knots of breeze for the last 25 miles or so on the way into cocoa. It allowed Trey some much needed sleep. I just had fun surfing the following seas. Great time, one of the most memorable sailing experiences I ever had.