Jibing Completely Sheeted Out

[AE28]

I agree with the consensus:
In light air, grab a handful of mainsheet and move the boom over;
Heavier air, sheet the main to center, gybe the boat and let the main out;
Heaviest air, chicken gybe.

But, I'd like to add (maybe it's already been presumed by everyone), make sure you're wearing gloves!!!

[sailboy21]

I have a variation that works for me (using 4:1 end boom sheeting) in winds up to around 15 knots. Instead of sheeting in fully I grab one of the lines coming from the fiddle block on the boom and sheet in with that. That gives a 2:1 purchase on the boom cutting the amount of sheet I need to handle in half and doesn't require cleating off again and the 2:1 is better than just grabbing the whole mess-o-sheet and hoping I can hold it.
BTW: I had an accidental uncontrolled jibe in 25 knots double reefed at night once.. that was scary, the D-ring at the end of the sheet now looks like an italicized O-ring.

[Stillraining]

Meg:

Moral to your story...Pick your friends/crew carefully

And secondly..Its your boat..have it ran the way you want it ran..Be assertive not bossy

[chucklesR]

The moral is to report those two idiots to the club; damaging club boats has got to be frowned on. They are obviously not qualified to take a boat out.

[anthony11]

Originally Posted by Faster

Sheeting in to the centerline, and easing as the main flips across is the correct procedure. This can get tricky, though. Since you're sheeting in you are most likely "in the cleat" while doing so. When the main flips over, it's easy to still be in the cleat, and the sudden arrest of the main can cause or exaggerate a round up. It takes practice to pop the sheet out of the cleat at the appropriate moment to avoid that sudden load.

I'm not sure I follow what you're saying here. Are you saying that as the boom flips to the other side one should uncleat the sheet and hang onto it to stop it manually at the desired position, to ostensibly lessen the jolt as it stops on the new leeward side?

. An engaged ratchet block in the mainsheet system can make a world of difference here.

I did a bit of googling and don't quite understand how these racket blocks work.

Practice, practice is what it takes. Your "experienced" crewmates were at least inconsiderate to the elderly, apprehensive persons on board, at worst potentially dangerous.

Agreed. In addition to the idea that they weren't as experienced as they'd like to pretend, I'd suspect that they did actually know the right way to handle things but were trying to show off, or thought that doing things the right way was for wimps or something. These are the same sorts who come blasting into a marina then slam the engine into reverse to try to keep from bumping the bow into the dock, rather than taking it slow and steady (but with steerage).

[Faster]

Originally Posted by anthony11

I'm not sure I follow what you're saying here. Are you saying that as the boom flips to the other side one should uncleat the sheet and hang onto it to stop it manually at the desired position, to ostensibly lessen the jolt as it stops on the new leeward side?

That's pretty much it. I try to release the mainsheet cleat as the main flips through, and then try to ease the sheet back out in a controlled manner to the new jibe trim. On a windy day the load can be considerable, esp, as I said, with marginal mainsheet tackle, and if you try to let the rope run through your hands things can heat up in a hurry. In extreme cases, even if you try to grab the sheet it will run through your hands. Sailing gloves don't always fully protect the hand from rope burn. The advantage of, say, a 6 part sheet is that the sheet moves through more slowly however there's a lot more line to have to handle.

Having the sheet "jolt", as you say,and bring the main up short in a good breeze can really kick the boat around when you need it least, and the still-cleated main is now under serious load and may be difficult to release. All of this really speaks to spending money on good quality, adequate gear on such an important control.

Originally Posted by anthony11

I did a bit of googling and don't quite understand how these racket blocks work.

A ratchet block sheave has flats on it (basically a hex or octagon) and a ratchet mechanisim that rolls freely on one direction and stops in the other. As you sheet in the block offers no resistance, but as you ease the sheet out the ratchet (if engaged) comes into play, freezes the sheave and the line must "drag" its way past the flats on it. This resists the load (much like having a wrap or two around a winch) and makes it much easier to handle the load by hand. Generally there is a switch on the block so you can free the ratchet up if you don't need it in light air. They "click" audibly in the free running direction when engaged.

Ratchets are available on stand-alone blocks, and/or as part of the main block/cleat assembly typical on traveller mounted mainsheets.

[anthony11]

Any suggestions for decent non-leather sailing gloves? I've not been able to find any.

[T34C]

Good Lord, how has this thread progressed this far without SD- repeatedly shouting the merits of a boom brake????

[sailortjk1]

Originally Posted by T34C

Good Lord, how has this thread progressed this far without SD- repeatedly shouting the merits of a boom brake????

Ha HA HA, you are so right T. I didn't even think of that.

[Stillraining]

Least you feel disapointed....Boom Break..Boom Break...