Main Sheet Problem

Fresh Fish

New Member
Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! I'm a new Sunfish sailor and have been having a problem with the main sheet being caught on the corner of the transom after I tack. I suspect I've had too much slack out on main sheet. Today while tacking I pulled in on the sheet as I was heading into the wind on the tack. This seemed to work with some success but I still was getting the main sheet caught on occasion. Can anyone please give me some advice to avoid this from happening. Thanks!
 
I’ve never gotten it caught on a tack but I also haven’t sailed a lot of sunfish. For me it gets caught on gybes like when I’m in a laser. When your heading up into your tack I would trim in your sail all the way and then let it out a little to flatten and then trim in again. This will help the boat turn up into the wind a little easier as well.
If it keeps happening then it might be the way your sheet is attached to your bridle. How is it attached?
 
Thanks for your suggestion while tacking. My bridle is plastic coated stainless steel cable and the main sheet is attached with a snap hook.
 
This was a fairly common problem for me. I seem to have fixed it with duct-tape!

To keep a slack mainsheet from catching on the top of your life jacket (or PFD), the mainsheet is helped by guides attached to the lower spar ("boom").

I take eight inches of duct tape, lay the adhesive side of a four-inch piece down, and in the middle, making a band-aid appearance. :rolleyes: Attach the "band-aid" to the boom, and run the mainsheet through them. (I make two of 'em).

Because the two of them are not perfectly made, and are somewhat misaligned, the "band-aids" tend to put friction at a good spot! The only time they don't work is when I'm launching from shore, and re-discover the corners of the transom! :confused:
 
Use Gorilla Tape for these band aid sheet hangers as it is more water resistant than conventional silver duct tape. Mine last for several seasons.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
Of my many pictures, this is the only one :confused: showing the duck tape "mainsheet keepers" in place—two directly above the x's. (Greatly enlarged):
 

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Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! I'm a new Sunfish sailor and have been having a problem with the main sheet being caught on the corner of the transom after I tack. I suspect I've had too much slack out on main sheet. Today while tacking I pulled in on the sheet as I was heading into the wind on the tack. This seemed to work with some success but I still was getting the main sheet caught on occasion. Can anyone please give me some advice to avoid this from happening. Thanks!
Hii fresh fish. Congrats. - Getting caught in the transom is most likely due to slack in the Mainsheet. When tacking. Try to be close hailed and not on a reach. Going from reach to teach slacks the Mainsheet. Also don’t let the sheet out too far after the tack. This also slacks the main sheet. Hope this helps.
Lee montes
 
Just a thought and may not be class legal but try a short length of plastic tubing over the sheet to keep it from wrapping.
 
I'm wondering if the original three-loop bridle is a less likely factor (or more likely factor) in mainsheet snagging at the transom corners.
 
Mine never ever ever snags and it is two loop. Don’t recall snagging with three loop either, but that was a long time ago.
 
You're probably coming out of the tack with some slack that gets snagged. It happens to me once in awhile. Just flick the tiller up and it will clear it. It's no big deal.
 
Just a thought and may not be class legal but try a short length of plastic tubing over the sheet to keep it from wrapping.
How about a 3-inch length of half-inch PVC?

Grind a notch, so it smoothly fits the aluminum trim, and glue it vertically to the corner (and the trim) using Goop.

(Goop is strong but doesn't require any special tools to remove).

With some creative grinding, the PVC could provide its own spring-pressure, and not require any Goop.
 

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