Changing the sheets

[srm]

Let me ask a question :

Would you trust a Cow Hitch to hold your fenders ? or use with a mooring line ? So why trust it with your sails ?

The centre of a single sheet is the only use I have ever found for a cow hitch on a boat. It was initially done in a hurry as a temporary measure but having been found to work I have continue to use it for quite a few thousand miles including some heavy weather passages. As to why it is so secure and can be undone (with a bit of patience) by hand at the end of a season, I am not sure. Theory says it should not work, but "an ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory". Perhaps the proportions between rope and cringle are significant. My sheet on the high clew headsail is 16mm and the doubled rope to make the hitch is a snug fit in the clew cringle. I also use the cow hitch on the staysail with a 12mm dia sheet and lot lighter loads.

Certainly, had I been asked before using it I would have agreed with your point of view as I had always regarded a cow hitch as belonging to a farmer.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Your theory about clew cringle and rope size mght be correct. I use a cow hitch on the XOD, but not on the Dragonfly. Same size sheets, but hugely different cringle size and load. One works, the other does not. We tried it.

 

[thinwater]

... Perhaps the proportions between rope and cringle are significant. My sheet on the high clew headsail is 16mm and the doubled rope to make the hitch is a snug fit in the clew cringle. I also use the cow hitch on the staysail with a 12mm dia sheet and lot lighter loads...

I think you hit it on the head. A cow hitch was always, historically, tied on a ring (rope to ring on the cow's collar, or on the end of a chain). Ask your grandma that grew up on a farm. When tied on a ring, instead of a bar as all the demos show, the ring presses the strands together, providing critical friction. The hitch holds in smaller rings and might slip in a very large, smooth ring, explaining different expereinces.

A seizing makes it reliable in all cases. Another option might be a bull hitch (very similar, with an extra turn), but I have never needed it.

 

[dunedin]

The centre of a single sheet is the only use I have ever found for a cow hitch on a boat. It was initially done in a hurry as a temporary measure but having been found to work I have continue to use it for quite a few thousand miles including some heavy weather passages. As to why it is so secure and can be undone (with a bit of patience) by hand at the end of a season, I am not sure. Theory says it should not work, but "an ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory". Perhaps the proportions between rope and cringle are significant. My sheet on the high clew headsail is 16mm and the doubled rope to make the hitch is a snug fit in the clew cringle. I also use the cow hitch on the staysail with a 12mm dia sheet and lot lighter loads.

Certainly, had I been asked before using it I would have agreed with your point of view as I had always regarded a cow hitch as belonging to a farmer.

I wonder if the success or otherwise of the cow hitch depends on the tension put on the sheet?
My observation is that at least 50%, probably 2/3, of cruising boats I see are sailing with
(a) the mainsheet in far too far when going downwind, and conversely
(b) the jib/genoa sheet far too slack going upwind.
We grind the jib sheet in VERY tight going upwind in 15-25 knots true wind speed, with dyneema cored sheets. I am happy that the individual sheets with bowlines can take this, and are designed for the job. I personally would not be happy with a cow hitch with this degree of tension.

 

[srm]

I personally would not be happy with a cow hitch with this degree of tension.

Thirteen years ago I would not have been happy with a cow hitch anywhere on the boat. As to tension, I am not a racing sailor and have an overweight cruising boat, plus long winch handles on adequate sized two speed winches that I have been known to use my full body weight on, but may well be guilty of slack sheets in your eyes.

Fortunately, we are all free to use whatever methods we prefer. Way back with hank on headsails I worked with pairs of sheets and, having tried other methods, would only attach them to the headsails with bowlines. Initially, I took this way of thinking to roller reefing headsails.

 

[thinwater]

... We grind the jib sheet in VERY tight going upwind in 15-25 knots true wind speed, with dyneema cored sheets. I am happy that the individual sheets with bowlines can take this, and are designed for the job. I personally would not be happy with a cow hitch with this degree of tension.

This is another boat-specific concern. Conservatively sized polyester sheets a cow hitch works fine. Down-sized Dyneema (which does not like knots and can slip inside the cover) perhaps not so much. I had Tecnora core sheets that were cow hitched (not me-PO), and the core failed while the severely sunburned over still held due to bending fatigue. I caught it during a walk-around before it failed. Pretty weird. The core should have been 10 times stronger than the cover at that point.

Just curious. What is the size of the sheet and do you know the maximum working load upwind?

 

[Kelpie]

For simplicity I've gone with the cow hitch. It's 14mm braid on braid polyester, basic cruising spec stuff. I think it'll snug down quite nicely.

 

[Poignard]

I think you hit it on the head. A cow hitch was always, historically, tied on a ring (rope to ring on the cow's collar, or on the end of a chain). Ask your grandma that grew up on a farm. When tied on a ring, instead of a bar as all the demos show, the ring presses the strands together, providing critical friction. The hitch holds in smaller rings and might slip in a very large, smooth ring, explaining different expereinces.

A seizing makes it reliable in all cases. Another option might be a bull hitch (very similar, with an extra turn), but I have never needed it.

I thought it was called a cow hitch due to it supposedly looking something like a cow (some artistic licence needed!)., not because it was used to tether cows.

The French call it a Lark's Head, I believe, and I can't imagine it being used to tether larks.
Mind you, the French do some odd things. ?

 

[westernman]

For simplicity I've gone with the cow hitch. It's 14mm braid on braid polyester, basic cruising spec stuff. I think it'll snug down quite nicely.

Use cow hitch on my boat. It does snug down and never slips.
And is a right pain to undo again at the end of a season.

 

[jwfrary]

My rigger is talking to me about splicing a soft shackle in to the clew end of the genoa sheets. Seems like a neat solution though I confess I’ve not yet given it much thought and asked him to proceed. Anyone else done this?

Works well for me

 

[Kelpie]

I thought it was called a cow hitch due to it supposedly looking something like a cow (some artistic licence needed!)., not because it was used to tether cows.

The French call it a Lark's Head, I believe, and I can't imagine it being used to tether larks.
Mind you, the French do some odd things. ?

I've heard it called a lark's foot. There is a vague resemblance I suppose.

 

[Stemar]

If you suffer any chafe from poling out the genoa you can easily shorten one sheet at the genoa to remove the chafe spot onroute.

I get round that by having a soft shackle through the clew and the pole clips on to that.

 

[Daydream believer]

I cannot imagine a cow hitch being used on a bull or cow.
Threading the ends of the rope through the ring to form the knot would take too long & it would possibly slip on a smooth metal ring. By the time the knot had been applied the bull would have tossed the farmer over the fence & the cow would have jumped over the moon.
However, as the nearest that I have ever got to either, is to tread in to the waste product in the field, I cannot claim experience.
Shows that I can keep to the true PBO forumite tradition though ?

 

[roaringgirl]

My rigger is talking to me about splicing a soft shackle in to the clew end of the genoa sheets. Seems like a neat solution though I confess I’ve not yet given it much thought and asked him to proceed. Anyone else done this?

I have spliced 3m of 6mm dyneema to the clew end of each sheet. The very end terminates with a locking eye. I soft-shackle each eye to the clew. The thin dyneema ends slide much better through the jaws of the pole.

 

[geem]

I get round that by having a soft shackle through the clew and the pole clips on to that.

Chafe after a short coastal sail is not the same as a 2 or 3 week down wind passage across the pond. You need to do daily deck inspections for the rig and all running rigging. Chafe can occur where you would not expect it. The pole may be set for a week without adjustment. Chafe can occur on the spinnaker halyard where is passes over the mast top block. Mainsail halyards will do the same. Moving the position of the halyard every day of two helps to stop chafe

 

[boomerangben]

Clove hitch

 

[dunedin]

This is another boat-specific concern. Conservatively sized polyester sheets a cow hitch works fine. Down-sized Dyneema (which does not like knots and can slip inside the cover) perhaps not so much. I had Tecnora core sheets that were cow hitched (not me-PO), and the core failed while the severely sunburned over still held due to bending fatigue. I caught it during a walk-around before it failed. Pretty weird. The core should have been 10 times stronger than the cover at that point.

Just curious. What is the size of the sheet and do you know the maximum working load upwind?

Jib sheets are Liros Dynamic Plus, so dyneema core but not the outer. Like most boats, other than large race boats, sheets are sized more for handling than strength. Ours are I think 14mm. No idea the usual working load, but well within the quoted 6.5 ton “Liros Breaking Load”.

 

[Refueler]

Clove hitch

Bet you have a devils job getting that undone !!

 

[boomerangben]

Bet you have a devils job getting that undone !!

It’s a small sail so not really. Bit of patience

 

[LadyInBed]

Yes to the Alpine butterfly but I then use a double line of smaller stuff cow hitched to the clew and a double sheet bend into the butterfly knot.

Where you use 'a double line of smaller stuff cow hitched to the clew', I put that length into the loop of the butterfly then soft shackle to the clew.

Someone mentioned about attaching a whisker pole. For that, I've made a coyt of stiff rope which is held to the clew with a cow hitch in the soft shackle. Happily, cow hitches don't seem to jam up in dyneema.