Coachroof mounted mainsheet and Single handing

davidwf

davidwf

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 May 2001
Messages
1,259
Location
East Coast, Woolverstone
Visit site
Been looking a boat with a coachroof mounted mainsheet. I've always had a cockpit mounted main that was easy to get at should the boat start to broach. Boat has a wheel so I'll be stuck behind that as well.

I see plenty of single handers sailing with this mainsheet arrangement so I'm guessing it must be OK, but thought I'd ask how do others cope with this arrangement?
 
What's the question?
A forward-sheeted boom places more stress on the bits it's attached to, but the tail comes back to wherever you want it...= anywhere on the boat.
"Stuck behind the wheel" sounds like a lot of boats I've seen and wouldn't buy - it's a trade between 'sitting out in the elements and being in charge of all you see', and a more sheltered and comfortable place, but less aware of the 'wind on the back of your neck'.
So we're back to horses for courses -sailing 'in the groove' and pointing higher than the boat beside you, or just sailing reasonably well and getting a bit of pleasure.
 
Aft sheeted is probably easier

.
I like a boat where I can reach all the controls from the helm. On a wheel steered boat this means a small wheel you are not stuck behind, a main sheeted (usually) aft of the wheel and genoa winches that can be reached from the helming position.

Coachroof sheeted mains are often found on the type of boat that is more likely to broach anyway. It is usually a 'comfort over performance' design feature.

- W
 
Assumption: You have multi use halyard winches mounted behind jammers on the coach roof. If the halyard winch is on the mast ignore this suggestion.

Mount a cam cleat just behind the jammer. Once the correct halyard tension is set, empty the winch as normal. Place the halyard into the cam cleat and open up the main halyard jammer. Have the tail of the halyard near to your helm position. A quick flick up should allow the halyard to be dumped. You could do this with the kicker as well allowing the boom to sky in the case of a leeward broach.
 
I've had the four basic track arrangements:

1. Across the companionway ... easy to 'snap' the mainsheet off but potentially dangerous for crew accessing the cabin.

2. Across the cockpit ... best for sail control but always in the way.

3. Behind the tiller ... easy access but can take your head off in a gybe

4. Mounted on the coachroof. This is by far my favoured location as it keeps the cockpit clear and is the safest.

We have self-tailing winches behind the jammers. In my first season, if I though there was a risk of a broach I released the jammer and held the sheet tension on the self-tailer. It would have been easy to whip that off the winch had it been necessary, but it never was.

To be honest if you are single handed in possible broach conditions a reef woul be the answer ... if the wind is that strong you'll probably be going just as fast.

Standing by to be flamed as usual:(
 
Bav34 said:
I've had the four basic track arrangements:

1. Across the companionway ... easy to 'snap' the mainsheet off but potentially dangerous for crew accessing the cabin.

2. Across the cockpit ... best for sail control but always in the way.

3. Behind the tiller ... easy access but can take your head off in a gybe

4. Mounted on the coachroof. This is by far my favoured location as it keeps the cockpit clear and is the safest.

We have self-tailing winches behind the jammers. In my first season, if I though there was a risk of a broach I released the jammer and held the sheet tension on the self-tailer. It would have been easy to whip that off the winch had it been necessary, but it never was.

To be honest if you are single handed in possible broach conditions a reef woul be the answer ... if the wind is that strong you'll probably be going just as fast.

Standing by to be flamed as usual:(
Click to expand...
Er - snap!! Although I tend to leave the mainsheet on the self tailer all the time - I have singlehanded it - no great issues... it does make it trickier to sail up to buoys though - but for a clear cockpit I can't complain!!

Singlehanded - you'll be using the AP quite a bit - and the main will stay set - you just won't be playing it - upwind it isn't a great issue - feather to windward and the boat comes back up - no need to touch the mainsheet
Downwind needs a bit more care and understanding of the boat balance - I've still not got it right and we had a few rounding ups on the Cherbourg trip - should probably have put another reef in, but we were having too much fun!! Didn't touch the mainsheet hardly at all in the crossing ... The roundups were slow and easy enough to counter once the rudder de-stalled ....
 
davidwf said:
. . . should the boat start to broach.
I see plenty of single handers sailing with this main sheet arrangement
Click to expand...

If you are single handed then you WILL have reefed down well before you get into broaching conditions!

Equally as a single hander, your A/H is your helmsman so you will be forward of the wheel getting on with all the other things there is to be done.

My main sheet is mounted on the coach roof and in the nine years that I have had this boat, single handing often, it has never given me a problem.

The one time that I did semi broach, I deliberately went out when it was gusting 35 odd knots to test a high cut Yankee foresail, and in those conditions I didn't have the main up anyway, just Yankee and mizzen. I wasn't single handed or on the wheel. I held the Yankee in tight during a gust until we started to broach then spilt wind.
 
As Fireball and Lady in B have said,

I had this on a Bav, no problem. Downwind I used twin headsails and no main, upwind if over powered (first you reef) but with a good AH, you set steer to wind and angle and can sit in front of the weheel and play the main if you want to push the boat harder. Most of the time if you are anywhere near dumping any sails you've got too much up. You stop/heave to and re asses.

Often the boat is the more important choice than the rigging set up.
 
Many thanks for the replies from the single handers it's reassured me that ths arrangement will be OK, I have mostly sailed single handed for the past 20 years so yes I do know when to reef and yes I do use the AP a lot, although a Wheel AP is a lot easier to flick on than faffing about aligning the pin on my current tiller pilot.

Looking at the arrangement I reckon I can fit a spinlock cleat after the clutch or perhaps use it instead of the clutch and then if I need to winch I can winch through it and then release the sheet off the winch so I can flick the main up to release if I want to. However I doubt I will need to winch the main much if I have correct amount of sail set.

Current boat is great but whilst I can reach the main from helm I struggle to adjust the headsail whilst still being able to hang onto the tiller as the winch's for that are on the coach roof.

As usual life is full of compromises.

Sorry if I have opened up the debate on where its best to keep a main sheet that was not the purpose of the post.
 
I have been considering the same issue for my next boat.
At present my mainsheet is just forward of the wheel so I can reach round to it easily if SWMBO is below etc. and find this overall very good from all aspects except it gets in the way when dining anchor. Discussing this with some friends who have a Sweden yacht they showed me how their track is on the coach roof and sheet seems to come down on coachroof but actually the tails (yes tails) come down each side of the cockpit to a winch each side. So helmsman can easily adjust without moving and the cockpit is completely free of mainsheet.
Looking round at the Boatshow recently and discussing it with various yacht makers a few said this was an option on their boats (at some extra cost) and was called the German sheeting system. It also seems it could be retrofitted to many boats.
Looked very good to me!
 
I sail my quarter tonner singlehanded all the time. Tiller thats nice and long so I can steer with my butt tacking etc. Main sheet is on the cabin top. When I am standing its about shoulder height, very awkward angle to pull and inefficient. Its about half way along the boom so the whole unit is rigged to disadvantage. If you are pulling in the mainsheet by hand then you have to be pulling up, therefore the best position is either across rear of cockpit, across centre of cockpit or across bridge deck. I always like the mainsheet in front of me so the absolute best is across the centre of the cockpit, it certainly will be on my next boat.
 
davidwf said:
Been looking a boat with a coachroof mounted mainsheet. I've always had a cockpit mounted main that was easy to get at should the boat start to broach. Boat has a wheel so I'll be stuck behind that as well.

I see plenty of single handers sailing with this mainsheet arrangement so I'm guessing it must be OK, but thought I'd ask how do others cope with this arrangement?
Click to expand...

Was singlehanding yesterday in a fair bit of breeze with the modern AWB setup. The trick is not to ever actually be behind the wheel except when under power. Steer from one side or other sitting just forward of the wheel (in practice you dodge betwen the two sides to keep a lookout). To adjust mainsheet either turn on the autohelm for a few seconds, or lock the wheel. The setup is not ideal but it is common as it stops children getting their fingers in the mainsheet track.
 
davidwf said:
Been looking a boat with a coachroof mounted mainsheet. I've always had a cockpit mounted main that was easy to get at should the boat start to broach. Boat has a wheel so I'll be stuck behind that as well.

I see plenty of single handers sailing with this mainsheet arrangement so I'm guessing it must be OK, but thought I'd ask how do others cope with this arrangement?
Click to expand...

I have such an arrangement which is what can be found on 34+ft size cruiser yachts. Mine is 36ft and I sail single handed most of the time, even with family and friends I am often the only one competent on board. I hardly ever stay at the wheel, actually I find it quite tedious, unless conditions are challenging. Autopilot: that is the answer. I even let the autopilot to tack, and I take care of the sheets. It would be impossible otherwise. When it comes to gybing the autopilot does not do it (my Raymarine at least doesn't), but again that can be done, by sheeting in the main first, 5-6 clicks on the +/-10 degrees button and taking care of the genoa sheets.

Easy!
 
haydude said:
I have such an arrangement which is what can be found on 34+ft size cruiser yachts. Mine is 36ft and I sail single handed most of the time, even with family and friends I am often the only one competent on board. I hardly ever stay at the wheel, actually I find it quite tedious, unless conditions are challenging. Autopilot: that is the answer. I even let the autopilot to tack, and I take care of the sheets. It would be impossible otherwise. When it comes to gybing the autopilot does not do it (my Raymarine at least doesn't), but again that can be done, by sheeting in the main first, 5-6 clicks on the +/-10 degrees button and taking care of the genoa sheets.

Easy!
Click to expand...

That sums it up pretty well for me as well.
 
I sail my 43 footer AWB pretty much signlehanded with this coachroof arrangement for the mainsheet, halyards etc...., everything except jib sheets. No problems so far, including F7's etc...... This arrangement would be my preference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top