Headsail sheets: what colour tradition do you follow?

[SimonNZ]

Hi all

Replacing our genoa sheets, we've settled on solid dark blue (rather than white/blue, or white/green + white/red, or solid green + red) but the assortment of approaches at our marina and reading up got us thinking.

What would you choose and for what reasons?

cheers!

 

[Refueler]

Being a 'budgetary person' .... my wife says 'scrooge' ... I tend to buy a single roll of rope and do all from that ...... so my sheets / halyards etc are all same ..... white with blue flecks .....

In keeping with my budgetary style - I buy Kingfisher Cordage ..... as good as usual cruising rope - but less cost.

 

[Birdseye]

Simple. I am moving over to a single double length sheet. Its colour was decided by the availability of a suitable length of suitable diameter rope in my sailbag of ropes.

Do you ever wonder where your stock of rope has come from? I have bags of the stuff and I cant remember where and when it came.

 

[Praxinoscope]

Mine vary according to what deals I can find. Headsail sheets at present white with yellow flecks, main sheet white with blue flecks.

 

[Laysula]

Our headsail sheets are blue to match the blue lettering and stripe on the hull. The rest are all various colours to make it easier to identify them as they come through the clutches on the coachroof.

 

[Refueler]

My Race boat - because all ropes were plain white - we had to label the clutches. If I had kept the boat - I intended to colour code ...

Present boat is a mast based halyard system - so as long as I remember that main halyard is same side as the halyard winch - I'm fine. Plus of course with furling headsail rigged - that halyard is large coils at mast cleat.

I do have colour coded spinny sheets red and green .... but so far never used. They are not rigged - they stay on reels stowed.

 

[lustyd]

Solids for halyards and flecks for sheets on mine, all matching so mainsail has blue and blue/white headsail is red and red/white and spinnaker is green and green/white. Mainsail reefing lines are different shades of solid blue. Makes it easier for newer sailors to see which ropes control which sails

 

[Andrew_Trayfoot]

I try to use as my different sold colours as possible. My main sheet is yellow and head sail sheets are red and green.
makes it much easer to say to inexperienced crew to pull the yellow rope...

My main halyard is pink!

 

[cagey]

I use different diameter lines easier in the dark.
K

 

[The Q]

On my old boat, the mainsheet was red,
the jib sheets were red and green as appropriate
The halyards were white + black marker thread.
I could shout at the crew which sheet to pull.


The current boat ,
The jib club pull in sheets are 6mm white +black
The jib club hold out sheets are 4mm blue dyneema.
The halyards are blue 4mm dyneema. As are the outhaul, downhaul, and kicker.
The mainsheet is 8mm blue.
It's a 16ft mini keelboat single hander, all the ropes go to fixed positions / jammer's cleats. No one else needs to know what rope is what..

 

[Roberto]

Genoa sheets are of two different colours, whatever is available at the chandler, it easier to distinguish them when the lazy ends are all mixed in the cockpit floor.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

Like others, I purchase what is low cost, so currently both genoa sheets are white with a red stripe and staysail is all red. Staysail will be same as genoa as I have enough left over to replace them. I have never had an issue identifying sheets as they are identified from where they exit the turning block or winch.

 

[Fimacca]

Black lines for ma Jenny. I am sure they sell white ropes as they will sell more replacement’s in the Solent.
Kevlar non stretch.
Ebay has some nice off cuts!

 

[Kwik Decision]

On my old boat,
the jib sheets were red and green as appropriate

This is what I've done on ours, with a blue main sheet. It is much more likely to get the correct response when I ask a non sailor guest to "please pull in the red one" than to ask for the port hand genoa sheet to be brought in...

 

[jwfrary]

Whatever I can buy of the correct length from one of the following.

1. Rope end bin at the local chandlry (have my eye on some blue dyneema that's been there a while!)

2. What I find in the shed.... From my assortment of stuff acquired along the years from boat jumbles or friends that have has a sort out.

3. EBay for rope ends

I find that for sheets that quite often you can buy the end of a bigger boats halyard for a fraction of its by the meter cost. My mainsheet cost 25 quid it's 20 meters or 10mm dyneema retails somthing like 7 or 8 pound a meter so worth while!

Halyards being a bit long can be tricky, but then being a small ish boat it's usually just a matter of waiting for the right rope end to come up (and being a little prepared shopping before you actually need it!)

 

[lustyd]

Rope end bin at the local chandlry

I always wonder why people buy from these bins, it's always the same price as cut rope, but at a length not of your choosing.

 

[Buck Turgidson]

Mine are classic lines, light brown or I guess hemp coloured. I have no problem distinguishing port from starboard as I keep the tails tidy. Main sheet is navy blue but will be classic next time. Halyards and reefing lines are at the mast and colour coded but I don't remember all the colours to be honest. Just the ones I use most.

 

[Lightwave395]

Headsail sheets are yellow / black fleck Dyneema, got a good deal on them, didn't really care what colour

 

[Daydream believer]

Before covid I saw online a company selling sheets of sticky labels for the clutches, that helped novice crews to select the right control when instructed by the owner/helm/skipper. They included labels such as :-
Up fu..ker
Down f..ker
That f..ker
This f..ker
The other f..ker
etc etc
Do not seem to be available any more. Seems naval slang has moderated a little.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Before covid I saw online a company selling sheets of sticky labels for the clutches, that helped novice crews to select the right control when instructed by the owner/helm/skipper. They included labels such as :-
Up fu..ker
Down f..ker
That f..ker
This f..ker
The other f..ker
etc etc
Do not seem to be available any more. Seems naval slang has moderated a little.

I have a label maker. The labels on Chiara are non offensive, several on the race boat conform to older rules