Gybe n' Easy

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Mister Rhino

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When rigging the boom brake, is it acceptable / effective to make one end off at the spreaders take the line to the block, back to a block at the other spreader and then back to a jammer (where the line can be tensioned by a winch)?

Also any tips for set up and use?

Many thanks

:confused:
 
No?

I've always found boom brakes a pain as the line across the deck is another trip hazard when moving about the boat.

If you're worried about accidental gybes, rig a gybe preventor? Or broad reach down wind making positive and controlled gybes?

However I know a few people like boom preventors so each to their own...
 
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Mister Rhino said:
When rigging the boom brake, is it acceptable / effective to make one end off at the spreaders take the line to the block, back to a block at the other spreader and then back to a jammer (where the line can be tensioned by a winch)?

Also any tips for set up and use?

Many thanks

:confused:
Click to expand...

Spreaders ???? shroud chain plates !

I see no reason why both ends need to be taken back to the cockpit. You only need one end available to control the tension unless I misunderstand how the thing is supposed to work
 
Personally, I wouldn't add any load to any part of the standing rigging, especially in a direction different to the designed direction of stress. A gybing boom is quite a sideways load on a rigging screw. I'm assuming you meant shrouds or chain plates rather than spreaders, which are the things high up the mast that spread the wires out.
 
Me, I really like them :rolleyes: ....but they must be correctly setup with adequate strong points and attention to the geometry, line choice, etc. Much easier to deploy than a preventer, swifter to gybe and miles less line than a twin-tack preventer installation. Also worth remembering that a preventer system really requires one to get back on the original tack before a proper controlled gybe is initiated, which can pose problems in itself.

That said, most of the time I'd be perfectly happy with either system.
 
Whilst each boat is different I find that I can rig a simple preventer from the cockpit by flipping a line round the spring cleat then clipping it to the mainsheet attachment & taking the free end to the winch. However, this does not help with the actual gybe & on a number of times in high winds I have just spun the boat round through the wind & back on the other tack with very little adjustment on the mainsheet. But then my boat, being fin keel is highly manouverable & directionally unstable anyway. Running dead down wind is hard work in a breeze due to the work on the tiller to keep it on line so I tend not to do that if possible. Still use the preventer though as it also helps the kicker & spreads the load along the boom
 
My current boat came with a Scott Boomlock but I couldn't get on with it and took it off. The problems included a tendency to foul the dorade vent cowls on the cabin top, lines crossing the jackstays making it difficult to move forward if clipped on, and a control line cleat located next to the companionway meaning that anybody operating it during a gybe was in the path of the mainsheet traveller. Possibly the installation was to blame rather than the device itself but I haven't missed it so far - if sailing dead downwind I have to go on deck to rig the pole so I can rig a preventer while I'm there.
 
Daydream believer said:
. However, this does not help with the actual gybe & on a number of times in high winds I have just spun the boat round through the wind & back on the other tack with very little adjustment on the mainsheet.
Click to expand...

Slight drift: I always thought this was called wearing but Wikipedia calls it a chicken gybe, with wearing being a square rigger manoeuvre. Anyone care to comment?
 
Quiddle said:
Slight drift: I always thought this was called wearing but Wikipedia calls it a chicken gybe, with wearing being a square rigger manoeuvre. Anyone care to comment?
Click to expand...

Wearing actually is a gybe. Square riggers were very bad at tacking, but gybing was relatively easy, so they would often not tack which carried the risks of getting stuck in irons and then with the big square sails pushing backwards sometimes resulted in the ship going backwards and also being dismasted, but gybe round.

Chicken gybe is a well known term in the racing fraternity certainly.
 
I have just fitted a Walder BB and very pleased with it. If you look at their videos on Utube you can see exactly how it is setup in the way you describe with one line attached to the chain plate on one side, and the other via a block on the chain plate taken back to the cockpit.

It was explained to me that the location on the boom is important so that the attachment point is subscribing a even arc along the length of the rope to the chain plate. For me this meant setting the Walder a little further back that I had intended but it works very well. Strangely Walder make no mention of this in their literature, but I think it makes sense.

Walder do recommend using very low stretch rope, and, having not had any to hand when I first fitted it, I can confirm this does make a difference especially in setting the tension consistently. The size of the rope I also found is very important.

It works a treat. Very, very easy and always available to use instantly. I agree the ropes crossing the side deck are a disadvantage but at least in my case they arent easy to miss.
 
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