Cross sheeting

[davidpm]

All the old timers know this one but some new folks may not have thought of it.
Especially when sailing alone it can be handy to run a jib sheet across the cockpit from the leeward side to the weather side to cleat it off.

This way you can release the sheet from the windward side of the boat.
You can tighten the sheet by just yanking the center of the line directly towards the back of the boat then tightening up the slack. It's called sweating the line and is faster than getting out the winch handle.

Dinghy sailors do this all the time but it is working well here on a 25' Catalina.

[djodenda]

That's a bit confusing to me.. If you take the turns around the windward winch, then you can use the winch handle and stay on the windward side....

[davidpm]

Originally Posted by djodenda

That's a bit confusing to me.. If you take the turns around the windward winch, then you can use the winch handle and stay on the windward side....

Of course you are right. but if you are in hurry or the handle is on the other side or you just don't feel like it it, or you lost the handle it is good to know that sweating a line like they did on the old ships before winches were common still works.

Just another simple old time trick that might come in handy.

[deniseO30]

Cross sheeting is a very handy trick. I've done "just to see" how it works. Then it had me thinking.... If there was a single winch in the middle.... LOL

[captflood]

Greetings Earthlings The Sail Training vessel 68 ft only had one sheet winch in the cockpit centre and as with all sail training vessels if it is too heavey get more people on it the anchor was also lifted by hand other vessels in the fleet are the Sir Samual Withbreat, Falmath Packet, Francis Drake, Sir Thomas Sopwith,Tiakoo, and Grania all part of the Ocean Youth Club ( now the Ocean Youth Trust UK.) GO SAFE.

[nolatom]

Cross sheeting is very useful on lightweight boats upwind in a strong breeze, where the last thing you want to have to do is send someone from the weather rail down to the leeward winch to trim.

[AdamLein]

I've tried it when singlehanding but so far I'm not convinced.

1) Trip hazard in the cockpit, right in front of the companionway? When singlehanding? Seriously?

2) I don't like sitting in one place for more than a couple of minutes at a time. Crossing the boat to trim the jib is a good excuse to move around and point my head the other direction. I need to peek under the jib to look for traffic more often than I need to trim the jib anyway.

3) I think on dinghies you really don't want to move around if you don't have to, because you are the ballast. But on bigger boats, moving around isn't as much of a big deal.

[saildork]

Good thread, David. I use cross sheeting frequently on my Catalina 22 when singlehanding. It just depends on the winds and how much moving around I care to do.

[jimgo]

Thanks for the picture; I was having trouble envisioning what everyone was describing.

[Boasun]

It also depends on the size of the boat... Some smaller ones do depend on your weight as ballast and cross sheeting may be necessary.