Posted by Mike Field on July 15, 2015 at 01:38:39 user mikefield.
In Reply to: Re: Mainsheets on Swallow and Amazon posted by Martin Honor on July 10, 2015 at 05:52:26:
I'm sure anyone sailing a boat rigged like this would have changed the sheet lead to the opposite side on each tack. Taking it round a pin on the quarter-knee would add a little friction to the purchase, but I imagine the sail was at most only about 70 sq ft or so in area and John wouldn't have had much trouble on that account.
The advantage of rigging the sheet under the pin would be to get it to act partly as a downhaul (vang) on the boom, stopping the sail from rising as much as without it and hence spilling wind unnecessarily.
Rigged this way there was no need for the sheet to run through any blocks at all.
An easy way to add purchase while keeping the vanging effect is to double-end the sheet, running it from a cleat on one gunwale through a block on that quarter-knee, thence through a block on the boom, then through a third block on the opposite quarter-knee, and finally to another cleat on the gunwale. This allows the helmsman to use end either of the sheet to control the sail, shifting his/her weight from side to side as ballast as necessary.
The S&A boats were all small though, and such an arrangement would not have been necessary for them. (I happily used it on 15' Aileen Louisa's mainsail though, whose area was 100 sq ft, and where I also had to manage jib sheets as well.)
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