jimi
Well-known member
I’ve got a German main sheet and it’s excellent for singlehanded sailing in cruising mode. However it would be nice to make it more responsive and take some friction out the system. Anyone got any ideas?
Bastardize a German mainsheet
- Thread starter jimi
- Start date
TernVI
Well-known member
I suspect what you have is the bastardised version, as the original 'German AC' mainsheet was a highly responsive system for racing.
Low friction due to big expensive blocks and track.
Low friction due to big expensive blocks and track.
jimi
Well-known member
The sheet goes from the winch to a turning block along the side deck to another turning block, up to a block at the gooseneck,along the boom to a block, down to the traveler and up to another block and then via the same route to the other side. There is a lot of friction in the system. I put a thinner Kevlar 9mm on to help but need to winch to trim and in lighter winds manually push the boom
Mudisox
Well-known member
All very complicated to me
Lucky Duck
Well-known member
All the blocks on mine are of the ball bearing type.
In light winds the rope can be pulled in with one hand, more responsive than 'eating spaghetti' when hauling in a typical 6:1 arrangement.
stuartwineberg
Well-known member
+1 for the massive benefit of ball race blocks. Slightly different situation but my furling line finishes round a block and back to a cleat. In heavy weather I was needing 2 people to pull it in. Swapped the old Lewmar block for a holt ball race and it comes in with little effort.
jimi
Well-known member
Cheers, guys. I’ve rerouted the sheets slightly and it’s removed a lot of the friction.
LadyInBed
Well-known member
A couple of cans of Iron Brew should do a job ?
langstonelayabout
Well-known member
No problem with friction on my last boat’s German mainsheet system. I replaced the blocks with good quality ball bearing blocks and it changed to a lovely system to use.
xyachtdave
Well-known member
How big is the mainsail? I only ask because of been on an X-412 and Arcona 400 where the German main sheet has been ditched for twin speed tackle giving either 4:1 or 8:1 with 8 mm dyneema. You need gloves in some breeze but main sheet control perfect in light or heavy airs.
TernVI
Well-known member
Some people prefer this.
The thing with the GAC system is that it separates leach tension an boom angle onto the sheet and traveller respectively.
Which is brilliant if you've got two AC-level sheet trimming experts who work well together, and the kind of sails which respond well to such attention.
Most of us want to ease the sheet and get a little more twist from less leach tension and let the boom out a little at the same time, at least in everyday sailing.
So a conventional system with a fine tune can be ideal, once you get the traveller in the right place.
Good systems in either style require a fair old budget for hardware.
jimi
Well-known member
It’s 34 sqm, fractional moody s38
xyachtdave
Well-known member
Similar size to my mainsail, I’d think about swapping that for a tackle arrangement with thin dyneema sheet.
One of the best improvements I made to sail handling was ditching the thick main sheet.
jimi
Well-known member
Yes, I did that when I bought the boat! However it might be a good idea to wash it now! I’ll bring it back from the boat next time we visit and bung in the washing machine when the boss isn’t looking!
jimi
Well-known member
Actually I’ve a confession to make, when the boat was rerigged recently after getting copper coated I rigged the main sheet wrong by omitting the blocks at the gooseneck and going straight from the blocks on the side deck to the first set of blocks on the boom. I thought firstly I wouldn’t admit to it then I thought wtf you might as well have a laugh on me (again). 