I too am looking at this upgrade. However: I am expecting that even with the line and some good mechanical advantage from the pulley system, I don't think I will be able to move the car while the genoa sheet is under load - I just expect that it will be a lot easier to let it off a little, make a quick move and haul the sheet back in. On my not so speedy cruiser I am not really expecting a big performance advantage, just a bit of satisfaction. I am expecting it to make it easier to keep a good shape when I need to reef the genoa a little... though not of course when I have to reef a bit more, that would be too much to ask.
Don't worry about it, beer
is just as effective on guilt as stationary genoa cars, keep drinking until the guilt moves
[A power boater in disguise?]Or leave them to sit quietly and contentedly where they are while you crack open another beer.
You can usefully use a Barber Hauler type set up to pull the jib clew outwards and downwards when reaching or even running. It can give a jib that is sheeted outwards (like main sail) but still pulled down to keep jib full and well shaped. When running before the wind it can be a poor mans whisker poll. ie tames the jib when goose winged. It of course can only pull the sheet out to the width of the gunwhale. Jib sheet passes through the ring which has Barber Hauler attached but when not in use does not impede normal jib sheet when tacking etc. Quick and easy to deploy but does add extra ropes on side deck. I can set up so before a race but don't simply because the crew usually insist on flying spinnaker. ol'will
On a Dragonfly they are outhaul only, the jib track defines the ‘hard in’ position. Towable cars plus the barbers give you the shaping options you need. We have double ended blocks on the barbers, jib sheet one end and triangular barber lines, mounted at the outboard end of the fwd ama, through the double ended, then back to a block at the outboard end of the rear ama. Along with the asym. sheets and the code 0 sheets. We have inhaulers for the code 0.This photo shows the red/white loop control line that controls outhauling (combing) and down hauling (cabin top). Very compact in the cockpit.
But yes, every tweak seems to add a tripping hazard. I did not rig an outhauler on my cruising cat (avitar image) because it was a tripping hazard on the side decks. Instead, I ran a separate sheet to a rail-mounted track for reaching. I had to use a separate sheet anyway, because the genoa overlapped the cap shrouds, and the shroud base on a cat is way too wide for beating. Awkward, and you did have to plan which sheet to use. But with soft shackles it was pretty easy to switch.
Yup, I too use inhaulers for the reacher, located farther aft. It pulls the sheet in and slightly up. Just as the outhaul on the jib pulls the sheet out and slightly down.
That’s my reasoning as well, just fitted the Barton sliding cars today, took longer to do the eye splicing on the lines to fit the cars, 2:1 lines and have not yet decided if line to pull back is needed. kept the old cars on pins near the cockpit to lead the lines to the sheet winches.