Small block, big frustration...

[Greenheart]

So, after literally minutes of getting the boat ready to sail (not counting three years talking about it), I discovered that the ridiculously slender mainsheet is...actually entirely suitable for the application. Not saying I won't replace it with 18mm Marlowbraid, and get blocks to suit...

...but I can see that I don't need to. One serious irritation though, is the tiny final block, which is conveniently held upright (to feed the cleat) by a powerful spring...so rigidly in fact, that it doesn't rotate readily when the swivel turns, nor when the line (coming from the boom) is sideways to the block.

View attachment 30725

So, pulling the sheet, I have to fight all the friction of the line pulling round the insides of the block, and the sheave hardly helps at all.

Is the answer to shorten the height of the spring? It's impressively resistant to squashing flat - I tried to remove the block, but couldn't.

I've only seen two sizes of spring available, the other being much bigger. I'm wary of cutting one of the doubled flat ends off the spring, lest the block leans drunkenly sideways thereafter. Is it possible to source a much shorter or flatter spring?

 

[Rigger Mortice]

You could close the gap between a couple of spirals on the spring using three or four cable ties. Crude, but at least you can see if it makes any difference.

 

[lw395]

I would look for a bigger block.
Being a cynical old sod, I would suspect a previous owner has retained a ratchet block and put that tiny block in its place.
A bigger block will also change the cleating/uncleating angle.
The going rate for a nice Harken ratchet on eBay is about £25 upwards.
Other makes are cheaper.
You should not need more than 12mm mainsheet even if you dislike wearing gloves, like me.

 

[Lakesailor]

You don't actually need the spring. On my clinker dingy I used a block on a swivel and it just lined up with the tension in the sheet.

If you want, I have a mainsheet jammer which rotates and has a much larger sheave. The jamming mechanism is really effective. Pull down to jam, up to release. Much less fiddly than your system.
PM me if interested. V cheap.

 

[Greenheart]

Thanks for those thoughts. I know the little one isn't right, because it can't flex sideways from its base, even if both ends of the line were pulling that way.

I drool over big slick mainsheet ratchet blocks like a kid looking at supercars in a showroom. I'll keep looking...

...thanks for the offer Lakey, not sure at the moment, but that jammer looks like a clever bit of design. Cheers.

 

[michael_w]

Don't get rid of the Harken jammer. They work. Your mainsheet needs a larger block, or a shackle to help the articulation.

 

[nimbusgb]

Replace the spring with a piece of suitably sized silicon based tubing