8mm or 10mm main sheet?

Sea Girl

New Member
I was just gifted my father’s sunfish, took it out and while the boat is fabulous, the main sheet, while “like new” seemed to hold water and did not flow through the block as smoothly as I remembered. Also, was tough on my hands and I have never had to wear sailing gloves in the past. I don’t know the thickness of the sheet but saw that on SunfishDirect that theirs is 10mm, and on Ebay there is a Sunfish “racing upgrade” sheet that is 8mm. Suggestions?
 
Hello Sea Girl,

I use 8mm Bzzz mainsheet that I bought from Intensity Sails. Mainsheet drag in light air is minimal. It’s soft, but if it blows, I wear gloves. The cost is fairly low, but it’s not the most durable line either.

Hope that is helpful.
 
I was just gifted my father’s sunfish, took it out and while the boat is fabulous, the main sheet, while “like new” seemed to hold water and did not flow through the block as smoothly as I remembered. Also, was tough on my hands and I have never had to wear sailing gloves in the past. I don’t know the thickness of the sheet but saw that on SunfishDirect that theirs is 10mm, and on Ebay there is a Sunfish “racing upgrade” sheet that is 8mm. Suggestions?
You can have it all...;)

Length of main sheet with ratchet block

.
 
You can have it all.

With all due respect to L and V, I think there is a simpler answer. Back in the day, Sunfish sheets were almost always 3/8”, which is 9.5 mm. They were comfortable, but I have always sailed with gloves. Nnowadays there is more focus, for racing, on thinner sheets. If you are recreationally sailing 9 mm would be good. If you live near a well equipped sailing shop you can check out a few lines - otherwise you’ll have to pick. I race a lot and I think I’m at 8 mm but I’m not sure.

I’m not sure about the water holding of various sheets. I don’t think any modern sheet material holds much water.
 
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Hello Sea Girl,

I use 8mm Bzzz mainsheet that I bought from Intensity Sails. Mainsheet drag in light air is minimal. It’s soft, but if it blows, I wear gloves. The cost is fairly low, but it’s not the most durable line either.

Hope that is helpful.
Thank you! Very helpful.
 
It's personal, like the others wrote.
I really like my 1/4" (Rooster Polilite; very durable) sheet for general use. If it blows (more than 15 mph), I switch to 5/16" Buzz which is a bit softer, but picks up some water.
Generally speaking, I don't use gloves, except when sailing in a breeze in salt water.
 
It's personal, like the others wrote.
I really like my 1/4" (Rooster Polilite; very durable) sheet for general use. If it blows (more than 15 mph), I switch to 5/16" Buzz which is a bit softer, but picks up some water.
Generally speaking, I don't use gloves, except when sailing in a breeze in salt water.
 
So you go even thinner—and it sounds like the polyester is the way to go. Most of my sailing with be in salty or brackish water—live on the Gulf Coast. Thank you!
 
Yes, it is a personal thing. I have an 11mm sheet that came with the boat. It is soft with a nice fuzz and easy to hold in blow without gloves. I get mocked for it's large size but it is as comfortable as an old shoe. I have a similar one for my Boat-That-Shall-Remain-Nameless that also came with the boat. Sorry, can't tell you what it is.
I also have a Rooster - the thinnest one - for light air days for both boats. It doesn't weigh down the boom and drag in the water as much on days when gravity is stronger than the wind.

If possible, take BB's suggestion to go to a chandlery and see which one has the correct feel in your hand. Just an FYI - Rooster Politite is really greasy, i.e., slippery, when fresh off the roll. It needs to be laundered before using.
 
Yes, it is a personal thing. I have an 11mm sheet that came with the boat. It is soft with a nice fuzz and easy to hold in blow without gloves. I get mocked for it's large size but it is as comfortable as an old shoe. I have a similar one for my Boat-That-Shall-Remain-Nameless that also came with the boat. Sorry, can't tell you what it is.
I also have a Rooster - the thinnest one - for light air days for both boats. It doesn't weigh down the boom and drag in the water as much on days when gravity is stronger than the wind.

If possible, take BB's suggestion to go to a chandlery and see which one has the correct feel in your hand. Just an FYI - Rooster Politite is really greasy, i.e., slippery, when fresh off the roll. It needs to be laundered before using.
This is really helpful—thank you! Yes, it looks like a couple I have seen need to be soaked first. I do not want to go with even thicker than I currently have as it just doesn’t pull through the “pulley” (block?) easy enough for me. I did not know if it was because of the width or that it absorbs the water and becomes faster. Sounds like I might need a glove regardless, though I don’t recall needing one in my younger days.
 
Congrats on your new boat! We use New England Ropes StaSet double braid on all of our boats, or we also buy vintage Sunfish mainsheets off of ebay, the ones that have the snap hook braided onto the end.

Yankee Boating Center (sunfishsailboats.com) sells nice sets of Sunfish rigging or we buy at West Marine.

25 feet of 3/16 inch sta-set line for a halyard, red and blue fleck. Also 25 feet of 5/16 inch sta-set line for the mainsheet, we like ours just a little smaller for hand grip and also goes through boom blocks and cleat better when new.

mainsheet halyard.jpg
 
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