Main Sheet Control

R

ross ellena

Member
I have a stop knot at maximum boom extension and tie the tail to aft end of the hiking strap. After a few tacks I still have a lot fouled/tangled main sheet tail in the cockpit. Sometimes it wraps my feet and/or the base of the ratchet block! What is the best way to keep the tail semi orderly?
RRE
 
when you tie the main to the back of the hiking strap it seems like it gets tangled more than leaving it free and you also have an extra length of line

usually I try to keep the excess sheet forward and on one side and out of the way of my feet, its important to make sure your feet are clear before you tack

on a gybe I don't have that much sheet in the cockpit so its not a problem for me, its extremely rare for me to get tangled up on a gybe, it helps having your lines trimmed to the right length, excess line will get tangled easily
 
The reason for tying the loose tail off is that even though the sheet will get tangled you will never get a knot that you cannot pull out easily.

If you have a loose end you can get some very big knots that you might have to stop to sort out.

The other trick which works quite well is to undo the end of the ropethat is tied to the toe strap, take the mainsheet from the mainsheet block with the dail fully sheeted in and walk it out sliding your hand along it.

Repaeat this tiwce then carefully tie is back.

The sliding your hand along and walking it out help remove and twists and you get much lett knotting and tangling.
 
I've tried both tying and not tying. Seems to me that not tying and just kicking it forward works best and I don't get knots. I've tried tying it forward and back, but neither worked that well and it ended up twisted through itself a lot more. I just leave it untied and kick it all forward occasionally, keeping it on one side (port for me, dunno why).
 
Funny, I try and shove the excess towards the back. Constant housekeeping, but it's easy to loose focus on winning the race, or at least not finishing last....
 
ross ellena said:
I have a stop knot at maximum boom extension and tie the tail to aft end of the hiking strap. After a few tacks I still have a lot fouled/tangled main sheet tail in the cockpit. Sometimes it wraps my feet and/or the base of the ratchet block! What is the best way to keep the tail semi orderly?
RRE
Click to expand...

Thanx for all the help. I'm sorry I failed to use a proper search before posting. I Now see that this issue has been asked and answered a number of times on the Forum. Thanx again, RRE
 
jeffers said:
The reason for tying the loose tail off is that even though the sheet will get tangled you will never get a knot that you cannot pull out easily.

If you have a loose end you can get some very big knots that you might have to stop to sort out.

The other trick which works quite well is to undo the end of the ropethat is tied to the toe strap, take the mainsheet from the mainsheet block with the dail fully sheeted in and walk it out sliding your hand along it.

Repaeat this tiwce then carefully tie is back.

The sliding your hand along and walking it out help remove and twists and you get much lett knotting and tangling.
Click to expand...

I always do this in the parking lot when rigging. Walk out the kinks, put a figure 8 knot at the 110 degree mark, (I have a mark on the 90 degree point) of the boom angle and then tie the tail end to the back of the hiking strap. Keep the extra sheet in the BACK of the cockpit. If you're sailing your boat right your feet will most often be in the front part of your hiking strap near the mainsheet block. If you keep the extra sheet there it will always be under your feet and you won't have any advance notice of a knot like you get when pulling from the back of the boat.
 
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