Re: [bolger] Cartopper Sheet Arrangement

>
> Tacking the boat was a bit unpleasant, however, with much flapping of
> the sail and difficulty getting the mainsheet from one hook to the
> other. Does anyone have an alternative sheeting arrangement that makes
> this a bit less dramatic?
>
> Paul Thober
>
>

Paul,

As others have said, timing is of the essence when shifting the sheet
from one side to the other. And as someone else mentioned, one solution
is to have two sheets, one for each side. It has been done before, I've
seen pictures of boats rigged this way in the British magazine
Watercraft.

As a less conventional solution, one that was described by Roger Taylor
in one of his _Good Boat_ books, you could put a small bullseye
(deadeye, fairlead, thimble, whatever term you prefer) or even a small
block at the clew of the sail where the sheet is attached now. Run a
line from gunwale to gunwale through this bullseye or block. The line
is fixed to each gunwale at a point just forward of your existing
hooks. The line is a bit more than twice as long as your existing
sheet, plus the beam of the boat. The way it works is you grab the off
side of the line and use it as a two part sheet, going from the fixed
point on the gunwale to the clew block and back to the hook on the same
side, to your hand, with the other end being fixed to the opposite
gunwale. When you tack, just throw it off the hook, you can let go if
you want because both ends are fixed and they can't get away. At your
leisure, grab the new running side of the two part sheet, which was the
fixed side on the first tack, and sheet it in over the hook. Thus you
get a two part sheet which can never get away from you even if you let
go completely. I hope this makes sense.

Bob