Would ball bearing jib blocks help

[Snowgoose-1]

Easier tacking and would doing away with 90 degree turning block and going straight? Thanks for any experiences .Looking for an easier life when sailing solo

 

[dunedin]

Difficult to say without knowing more about size of boat, size of sail, and current layout.

But one thing that makes tacking massively easier but few seem to do is to change the tacking system so that:
- start the tack at normal speed until boat just past head to wind
- importantly, then hold the boat 10-15 degrees high of the course so that jib/genoa doesn’t fill
- pull in new sheet - should mostly be by hand, then final tighten by winch
- bear off onto course
I can tack a 38 footer singlehanded up a narrow channel in this way - though benefit from a below deck autopilot, so can nip autopilot on briefly to hold to high course if necessary in stronger winds.

So many people seem to go fully round then try to winch genoa in when full of wind. Perhaps faster in a fully crewed race boat with lots of gorillas, but no place on a cruising boat.

PS. We ended up with one jib car with roller bearing and one without. No noticeable difference, but may be more on a turning block going round more than 90 degrees

 

[bignick]

Doing away with the turning blocks can often result in riding turns on your winch. The first thing I would try, if you want to make the system run more freely, is a new jib sheet of a slightly thinner diameter. It’s amazing how much difference this can make.

 

[Norman_E]

I tacked my 45 foot boat by using the same basic tactics Dunedin explains above. The important issue is to get the old sheet off as soon as the sail goes slack and pull in the new working sheet as soon as the bow goes through the wind. Single-handed I would let the autopilot steer through the tack and usually got the sheet in with little need to use the winch. My genoa sheets had no turning blocks as they ran through cars on the tracks straight to the winches, but I doubt a turning block system would have caused any problem and might well have had less friction. As for sheet sizes, I chose nice soft 16mm made by English Braids. I could have used 14mm but the bigger size was easier to handle. The important issue is to get the sheet in before the wind fills the sail. If you get that right you will have no problems.

 

[Daydream believer]

The straighter that the sheet runs from the car to the winch the better. Obviously one has to make sure that the sheet leads on to the winch such that one does not get overriding turns- As mentioned above. But the less deflection in the sheet the better.
Going round a 90 degree turn before going on to the winch must add to that friction.

 

[neil_s]

A smaller, high cut headsail did it for me. Less load in the sheets, you can see all around and easier to roll it up. The genoa has rested in it's bag for many years, now!

 

[William_H]

The straighter that the sheet runs from the car to the winch the better. Obviously one has to make sure that the sheet leads on to the winch such that one does not get overriding turns- As mentioned above. But the less deflection in the sheet the better.
Going round a 90 degree turn before going on to the winch must add to that friction.

Yes sheet must arrive at the winch from an angle lower than the winch. Not always easy if you have a stand up block for jib sheet. You might need to raise winch or lower sheet in the block. ol'will