wide hiking strap twists when tacking

harpo

Member
So I recently upgraded from the oldschool thin hiking strap to the nice wide Zhik one -- huge improvement!

But I keep coming out of tacks with the strap twisted up (rolled over upside down, or worse). It's harder to get locked into, twists the mainsheet up, etc. etc. etc. ...

Anyone else have this problem? I'm a back-foot-on-top-of-the-strap-before-the-tack guy, so I'm wondering if that's involved.
 
how thick is your shock cord ? It sounds like it's a bit on the thin side, or worn out..
 
It's the stock shock cord supplied with the boat. Is stronger shock cord better for preventing this?

I should note also that I like to sail with the strap very tight most of the time, both upwind and downwind.
 
Thicker shock cord, tied fairly snug, will help.. I use either 1/4" or 5/16" in a loop behind the trav cleat
 
I had the same problem - I found keeping my strap quite tight kept it straight. I think decent shock cord would also help.
 
Sounds like you're in need of a new shockcord, what is probably happening is that your back foot is flipping the strap on the tack and there isn't enough shock tension to keep it rightside up, the fact that it is twisting will definitely tangle your mainsheet, also try making the strap adjustable, you'll want different tensions for different points of sail and different wind and wave conditions.
 

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