MESSY MAINSHEETs

blacklionboy

New Member
I was out sailing today in a couple of local races practicing fo ra regional event coming up soon. however once or twice messy main sheets cost me a place. firstly it got caught on my hand forcing me to stop and fix it. secondlymy feet got tangles when hicking. what do i do??



Ps. i hear the pros just let them trail in the water and untangle themselves. true or false
 
true

they do it before a race and then bring it back in, not many, but some

most just deal it with

some tie it to the back of their hiking strap

I just deal with it
 
I have thrown spinnaker halyards in the water before a take down, but never my mainsheet. I have the end tied down to the back of the hiking strap and then make sure my feet are always clear after pulling in around the leeward mark. I have also heard that the rooster mainsheets do not tangle as much but mine does sometimes.
 
yea I have the Rooster mainsheets, and they make a world of difference

but your always going to get tangles, its inevitable
 
I've always just made sure I get the tangles out before the top mark.
Hike on one leg, steer with no hands, do it in a lull, or whatever it takes to make sure I can bear away when I reach the mark. I reckon the few seconds I may lose while untangling myself is a lot less than the time I would lose by not being able to bear away.
I've never tried the Rooster mainsheet, but from what I've heard, if you practice sailing with it, its great, but if you only sail occasionally, its a nightmare! Thats also basically what Steve Cockerill said when he released it onto the market. Liros does an almost identical rope too, but I cant remember what its labelled as!
 
I took the advice of someone on the forum a couple years ago and now tie the end of my mainsheet to the front of the cockpit around the hiking strap and base of the mainsheet block. Their argument was that if you do get tangles, at least they are slip knots and you can get them undone.

Since then, I've had pretty decent luck with this way but it's not perfect or a "set and forget" kind of system. As has already been suggested I try to tidy up on the final beat and I also always try to keep the pile of mainsheet in the forward, starboard corner of the cockpit. Also, in between every race I clean up and work out any tangles.

Every so often, usually when it's blowing and choppy and I'm hitting the waves badly and filling the cockpit I'll get a gnarly tangle but because it's only slip knots I can usually get things sorted out on the run without wiping out. Basically, I think the more water in the cockpit the more tangles you're likely to have so it's kind on an incentive program to sail better upwind. ;-)
 
I use the new black rooster mainsheet, and it works really well. I also do what soroz does and tie the end of the mainsheet to the back of my hiking strap. Before you start hiking after a tack or something, just kick the line over the other side of the hiking strap and away from under your feet. It's effective, just kick all the tangled sheet one foot at a time. Trailing the mainsheet in the water is not something you should do in a race. It's a pain to get back in while trying to hike and steer and sheet.
 
thats why you do it before a race

and then hope for the best
 
One way to keep kinks out of the main sheet is to store it in big loose loops. Don't wrap them in wet, tight wads. I always store mine by hanging in loops as long as I can stretch my arms. That way they don't dry in a clump.
 
I tend to use any "spare" moment to sort out the mainsheet as much as possible.
I sometimes throw it in the water during races if there are no other options, never had any problems getting it back in. I figure it might slow you down abit in lighter winds though (but then you can just fix it with your hands so =P).
 
After racing this weekend I noticed that I pretty much manage the mess without even thinking about it. I am so use to it I dont even know that I am doing it. Second nature.
 
I was out sailing today in a couple of local races practicing fo ra regional event coming up soon. however once or twice messy main sheets cost me a place. firstly it got caught on my hand forcing me to stop and fix it. secondlymy feet got tangles when hicking. what do i do??



Ps. i hear the pros just let them trail in the water and untangle themselves. true or false


In 2002 I was given a sample of the yet to be offered BZZZ line from New England Lines.
At the time I was using a Rooster mainsheet. IN fact I have three Rooser ,mainsheets in my laser box and two are still unused..
because.

I reallly like teh BZZZ line. It handles well. It is soft on the hands. It sinks in water and therefore does not tangle much by swishing around in a cockpit with some water in it.

Note I said I got one in 2002. I am still using it. For years on one mainsheet is a record for me. I don't know that I ever got two years from any other main sheet.

In fact, I bought a spool of the BZZZ line so everybody in my local Laser and Sunfish fleets could chip in and have a BZZZ mainsheet of his / her own.

Barry Bowden got his last Wednesday.

I am still using my original which has not yet been end for ended. I want to see how long it lasts.
 
I'm new to Lasers and was out yesterday with my main sheet line all lumped up in the cockpit around my feet thinking "what the heck am I doing wrong?". I'm relieved to see I wasn't totally off the mark. I didn't have any tangles, just kind of a messy boat. I figured you folks that knew what you were doing probably coiled your line on the deck or something else that I just couldn't seem to manage while fending of twenty mile an hour gusts lasting for fifteen to twenty seconds.:D
 
The Rooser mainsheets seem to respond well to 'stretch' storage during the week. I have a couple of old mainsheet blocks tied up in the garage and stretch the sheet under moderate pressure to let it dry out etc. Seems to restore the no-kink properties a bit provided you don't tightly coil and twist it before re-using.
 
Intensity has the Buzz for a little over 20 bucks. I bought one recently, though not having a rooster to compare it to, thought it worked great. It looks to me like it is a small fraction larger diameter than the rooster.
 
forgive me for sounding stupid (not the first time) but how do rooster or buzzz mainsails help against tangles ? how are they made so as to give them these properties ?
 
forgive me for sounding stupid (not the first time) but how do rooster or buzzz mainsails help against tangles ? how are they made so as to give them these properties ?


History:
We all started with heavy Dacron mainsheets. They worked great in heavy winds but they pulled the booms back in light wind.

Marlow came out with Marstrand. It was a light (usually) orange mainsheet that felt easy to hold and was thick enough to be ok on the hands in heavy wind and it didn't soak up water.

Then Marstrand came in a skinnier version and it was even better,

except in heavy wind it hurt to hold the skinny line and it would actually let your boow go foreweord a foot when a puff hit..way too stretchy.

Yale Light and Samson Lite came along and had a polypropylene cover and a Spectra core.

The lightweight Spectra core mainsheets were great for sailing except they tended to tangle in a cockpit full of water. AND they sometimes wore out in a hard weekend of sailing.

Some of the increased tangling was caused by the center load and cover stretching around it and some was caused by the washing machine that is in most Laser cockpits in heavy winds and choppy waves.

Rooster came out with a slightly heavier line with the load bearing cover and a "just for some thickness" core. it works OK at first but it acts almost as bad as the Yale Light and Samson Lite after it has been used for a few months.

New England decided to enter the game in 2002. They passed out some samples of a line they knew would not kink easily and which was heavy enough to sit on the bottom of a wet copckpit.
I got a sample. I am still using that sample. I really like it. In fact I have two brand new never used Rooster mainsheets sitting in my laser box. I also have the almost new Rooster line I was using when my sample line arrived.
The wet weight is not a light air concern...The only time I win big races anymore is in zero to five knots and the last race I won in that condition at the recent Masters North Americans was with my five year old BZZ line.

It is also so gentle on the hands I hardly ever get blisters and I never wear gloves on a Laser ..except in very very cold weatrher when I should go bowling anyway.

A few weeks ago I bought a spool of the BZZ line


The Rooster line will remain in the box forever. I don't give things to people I don't like and I would not give the Rooster line to a friend when I have something better.
 
I just deal with it but if you are able too my coach says he semi coils it up and places it at the leeward back end of the cock pit.

Crazy Sailor
 
Hey guys,
Where do you buy the buzz mainsheet. I will give it a try. I can't find it.
It has to be South California or on-line.
Thanks.
 

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