Tricing up the mainsail

[Poignard]

From Small Boat Sailing by E.F.Knight

'The tack tricing line serves to trice up or draw up the tack of the mainsail and so considerably reduce its size in a squall. It is convenient also to be able to trice up the tack so as to see ahead better while sailing into a crowded harbour. Where the sail is small, the tack tricing line is fastened on to the tack of the sail, passes through a single block on the gaff close to the jaws, and thence leads to the deck. Where the sail is large, a gun-tackle purchase is used. '

Watching 'Coast' last night I noticed that the gaff-rigged smacks triced up the tack of the mainsail when trawling. You also often see this in old pictures, as well.

This seems to me to be a handy thing to be able to do when you need to quickly reduce sail area for some reason, but can it be done with a Bermudan mainsail?

I can't see any reason why not but I have never heard of anyone doing it.

Second question: on gaff-rigged boats with a tricing line rigged, is the tack normally secured to the boom or down to the deck?

 

[Lakesailor]

Not something I've heard of before. I imagine unless you have a loose-footed main it would not work as the clew outhaul and bolt rope would conspire to prevent you raising the tack. Unless you raised the gooseneck as well.
Even with a loose-footed main it would have to use luff sliders rather than a bolt-rope and I can only imagine the mainsheet would need slackening as the outboard end of the boom would rise, following the foot tension up the mast, as it were.

I think.........

 

[Poignard]

Not something I've heard of before. I imagine unless you have a loose-footed main it would not work as the clew outhaul and bolt rope would conspire to prevent you raising the tack. Unless you raised the gooseneck as well.
Even with a loose-footed main it would have to use luff sliders rather than a bolt-rope and I can only imagine the mainsheet would need slackening as the outboard end of the boom would rise, following the foot tension up the mast, as it were.

I think.........

All good points - I should have said my mainsail is loose-footed and has luff sliders.

Re - slackening the mainsheet - I suppose the same applies to gaff-rigged boats.

 

[prv]

Re - slackening the mainsheet - I suppose the same applies to gaff-rigged boats.

I suppose it would, but I don't think you'd trice up the tack with the boom pinned in in the first place. When I scandalise my gaff main (has a laced foot so I can't trice the tack) I give it plenty of slack mainsheet as well.

I think tricing the tack on a bermudan sail, while possible, won't have as much of an effect because the sail is so much taller and narrower. But by all means try it - what have you got to lose?

Pete

 

[westernman]

I think tricing is only done on boomless gaff mains.

I have a loose footed gaff main, and I cannot imagine tricing it up. You would either have to:-

1) Detach the clew from the outhaul, top up the boom.

The problem here is that it would not be easy to haul back in the outhaul on a full sail.

2) Or haul up the boom as well.

The boom is very heavy so this will need some significant block and tackle to do it, and lots and lots of line.
Also it does seem to be a good idea to have a heavy boom/tree trunk flapping around high up.

The usual way to depower the main for a boomed gaff main is to top up the boom and lower the peak of the gaff.

 

[Woodlouse]

Michealchapman has got the wrong end of the stick with this (literally).

Tricing the main involves the tack, not the clew so it's the inboard end of the sail and boom, so no topping lift adjustment is necessary.

The best way to do this is have the luff free standing for the bottom half of the main, that is to say, have no mast hoops or lacing to hold the sail to the mast, use luff tension instead. This means that when you trice the main up it doesn't try to lift the boom with it.

We have the mainsail tack secured with a hook on a block and tackle for ease of release and recovery.

Very few boats these days bother with a tricing line. It's a form of sail handling that's slowly being forgotten to history. Yet it's very useful when trying to depower the main, and is very good for taking the sting out of gybing in strong winds.

 

[Seagreen]

I think tricing is only done on boomless gaff mains.

I have a loose footed gaff main, and I cannot imagine tricing it up. You would either have to:-

1) Detach the clew from the outhaul, top up the boom.

The problem here is that it would not be easy to haul back in the outhaul on a full sail.

2) Or haul up the boom as well.

The boom is very heavy so this will need some significant block and tackle to do it, and lots and lots of line.
Also it does seem to be a good idea to have a heavy boom/tree trunk flapping around high up.

The usual way to depower the main for a boomed gaff main is to top up the boom and lower the peak of the gaff.

It would seem that the prime requirement to trice up the tack is to have both a loosefooted main, secure and hardened up topping lifts to the end of the boom AND the clew on a long enough outhaul system that will allow for significant and easy slackening when required.

In practice, I think this needs a boom with two lifts, an older sheave-and-cleat style of clew outhaul and maybe slack sliders. It goes without saying you need a tricing line at the mast going at least to the shrouds and back down again- some form of continuous loop to a block on deck, attaching to the clew. Doubtful if this is worth the effort on a tall bermudan main. On a gaff, the weather lift is hardened first, the clew outhaul slackened and the tricing line hardened up, both being adjusted as necessary. Maybe on an original bermudan rig with mast hoops, this may be easy to do, but not on a modern rig without perhaps some serious adaptation.

 

[TamarMike]

I think tricing is only done on boomless gaff mains.

I have a loose footed gaff main, and I cannot imagine tricing it up. You would either have to:-

1) Detach the clew from the outhaul, top up the boom.

The problem here is that it would not be easy to haul back in the outhaul on a full sail.

2) Or haul up the boom as well.

The boom is very heavy so this will need some significant block and tackle to do it, and lots and lots of line.
Also it does seem to be a good idea to have a heavy boom/tree trunk flapping around high up.

The usual way to depower the main for a boomed gaff main is to top up the boom and lower the peak of the gaff.

There's plenty of pictorial evidence that tricing the tack must have been common on gaff rigged vessels with loose footed sails on a boom. Also it appears that the mast hoops were carried right down the the tack. As suggested elsewhere I would think this procedure would require mast hoops not sliders or continuous lacings.

Most traditional working rigs were capable of depowering easily, a lugger by slackening the halyard and by using brailing lines on spritsails.

 

[Woodlouse]

We never generally take up the topping lifts when tricing. The boom is still held aloft by the leech. The only time you may need to use the topping lifts is when scandalising the peak. But even with the tack triced up, and the peak scandalised the boom will still be held up by the throat halyard. It might be a bit low though. Still, a fantastic way of totally depowering the rig.

 

[cliffordpope]

Mine has the peak and throat halyards led back to the cockpit, and also the downhall from the double-sided topping lift.

A very quick alternative way of losing power and/or getting more vision is simply to heave the topping lift up so the boom lifts.
Also the peak can be dropped, or alternatively the entire sail just let go and it collapses onto the boom, contained by the double topping lift on each side.

 

[prv]

A very quick alternative way of losing power and/or getting more vision is simply to heave the topping lift up so the boom lifts. Also the peak can be dropped

This is exactly what I do when pulling up the anchor singlehanded. The main just swings around like a barn door generating no power, but when I get the anchor on deck and go back to the cockpit I can cast off the topping lifts and have control instantly. A couple of seconds to haul up the peak and I have power too.

Was dead pleased with myself the first time I did it

Pete

 

[Hyperborean]

TamarMike mentions brailing lines on spritsails. Another effective way of scandalising a small spritsail is simply to drop the sprit altogether (can't be done on a barge with a standing sprit obviously). This effectively leaves you with a tri sail of perhaps half the full sail area and it is surprisingly well behaved, it doesn't flog as much as you might imagine. You can see examples of this technique in some of the works of the victorian marine painters.