genoa sheets

[Birdseye]

As on my previous boats, I have two sheets fastened to the clew with two bowlines. However I get problems with the bowlines snagging on mast fixing when tacking. The obvious answer is a single double lengths sheet but then how do you fasten to the clew in a way that avoids any slippage under load or when loose?

 

[westhinder]

There is an alternative solution: keep the sheets separate, but with an eyesplice in the working end, attach to the clew with a soft shackle. After one season I find it eliminates the snagging. If you are worried that if the soft shackle fails you lose all control over the jib/genoa, you can always use two soft shackles.

 

[Poignard]

Changing the sheets

Lots of ideas in this thread

 

[PetiteFleur]

Easy, tie a bowline in the centre of a sheet which is twice as long BUT you must fit 3 short lengths of 10mm 3 strand in the knot - then you can easily untie the knot at the winter layup by cutting and pulling away the surplus rope. If you don't do this the bowline is difficult to undo! Works for me and I never snag the babysat.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I spliced my sheets directly onto the clew of the sail. Admittedly that’s a 1 off operation, with the length of the bury required, but if I needed to, I could cut the splice and switch them end for end to avoid buying new rope. Which is what I’d actually do.

 

[Porthandbuoy]

On my previous boat I had one continuous sheet cowhitched to the clew. It never slipped and passed over the shrouds easily enough.

 

[Neeves]

It’s in the thread linked above but:

We milked the sheets into either end of a hollow piece of braided dyneema webbing. We left the centre of the hollow tube empty, no sheet. We sewed the sheets into the webbing with dyneema braided fishing line.

if You follow this you have a one piece sheet, with a thin bit if dyneema webbing in the middle.

ypu now cow hitch the sheet, at the middle, to the clew. The middle is thin, no sheet in there - the cow hitch is low profile and the dyneema being slippery (and no knot) slips easily past any thing that might impede tackimg.

the cow hitch might slip, never has but it would stop where the sheets is inside the hollow webbing as the sheet is an obstruction to move,ent.

Cost 1m of webbing, hollow, dyneema, amd some braided fishing line.

Jonathan

 

[Beelzebub]

This is on another forum but lots of interesting suggestions here:-

Coolest way to attach J-shackle for Genoa/Jib sheets

 

[michael_w]

If you've ever been hit by a J-shackle you will never sail on any boat with them again. Something to be cast into the dustbin of history along with wire spinnaker guys, RDF, Decca, keel-hauling etc.

 

[flaming]

Soft shackles.

 

[Yealm]

Another vote for dyneema shackle

 

[Birdseye]

Thank you for the helpful replies