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jib sheets 38-200

jimk

Member II
perhaps to much time on my hands but looking at replacing my 14 year old jib sheets on a 38-200. I've calculated total 150ft. and looking at 5/8 diameter I'm just curious what size other owners are using.
thanks
jim
 

gadangit

Member III
Hi Jim-
What kind of rope are you thinking? 75' per side seems a little excessive, how did you come to that?
Chris
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
If you have a whisker pole, one thing to keep in mind is the Dead Down Wind set of the largest genoa. I cut my sheets too short on the 32-3.

Now I measure by setting the pole to max clew extension DDW and measure through the turning block on the rail track. Note that It was the inactive sheet that came up short for me in the past --which is a real pain when it comes time to jibe the pole. (It came up short because I like to use the inactive sheet as a downhaul by tucking it under a bow cleat, which adds to the length required)

I'll be needing new sheets pretty soon, and am spooked enough to actually rig the lines, observe, and then measure the lines. Yeah, once burned....

I don't know my current length, but diameter is 1/2".

Now, what line do we recommend? My current double braid is nice and soft. I don't know the name, but anything like stiff halyard line would be a disaster flopping around up there and kinking.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I found several web links, and here is just one:

About 1.5 times the boat length, and I do recall that multiplier from my racing days in the 80's.
I suspect that something more like 70 or 75 feet would be plenty and have some extra for "just in case"... :)
Christian also makes a point about the amount taken up by extending a whisker pole. I raced for years on a Ranger 20, and do (dimly, now) recall that the lazy sheet was "all extended" when we pushed the extension all the way out

Added thought: I recall that the most length of sheet we ever needed was when circumstances caused us to let the 150 genoa fly free for a short time, down wind, and almost all of the sheet was out. It's been quite a long time but it might have involved a grounding (!), but sometime it's kinder when memory fades a bit.
 
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jimk

Member II
For line i'm thinking New England "regatta braid " from Fisheries Supply in Settle their description is below and is recommend for jib sheets

"Flexible and easy to handle, Regatta Braid utilizes both spun and filament polyester fibers in a 12-strand, single braid construction.
It runs freely and does not kink."

the largest size i can find is 5/8 my current line is 1/2" from what i can tell Also the double braided sta-set i can only find it in 3/4" not sure what ill do.

Christian makes a good point although i've had this boat 14 years with no whisker pole but always looking, perhaps one in the future. My current sheets measures close to 75 plus' but there is always excess, using 1.5X38 gives a length 57 and that seems a bit short.
Clearly I still have lots the figure out, thanks for all the input .
jim
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I happen to have a picture of Regatta Braid, which I really, really like for the line to the roller furling drum and for the 7/16ths mainsheet.

It has the unusual characteristic of being exceptionally limp. Droop it in a pile and it mounds like spaghetti. It is very pleasant in the hand, with fairly low stretch. It can be eye-spliced, but butt splices are impossible.

Be good for a dinghy sheet, but probably not quite right in the sheet sizes we need. I would not like to drag it over the shrouds every tack, which is hard even on the cover of double braid.

Single braid line (no core), when tension is relieved, puffs up as seen below. It is one of the reasons I replaced all the ring clips on the boat with cotter pins. Regatta braid catches them like a sweater, and pulled one of the lifeline ring clips right out. Still, I love the stuff.

NER Regatta braid2.JPG
 
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gadangit

Member III
I have the regatta braid for my mainsheet. It is quite nice on the hands and runs through all the blocks real nice, but, per all the reasons described above, probably not a great jib sheet.

We have regular ol sta set either 12 or 14mm, each 65' which is enough to make it to the end of our whisker pole.
 

jimk

Member II
Again thanks for all the information so helpful in narrow this decision down, right now I'm thinking line sta-set found some thats 14.5 mm which seems about right and thinking 65 to 70' should be enough.
 

jimk

Member II
I did see Samson web site and line recommendations, makes total sense to me however my concern is the size options 12mm the largest. My current sheets are 1/2" and work with my 30 year old Barient winch, my guess these winch's were designed when typical line was larger then the new sizes that are available these days, hence the reason I was looking for something just a little larger 14.5mm.
Perhaps I need to do more research on what line size is recommended for the winch I have, before I make the final decision.
 

Rocinante33

Contributing Partner
Jim,

yes it makes sense with the bigger line to fit the self tailer. If it was a halyard you could go small and then add a relatively short extra cover over small line to make it add diameter to fit the rope clutch, self tailer, etc., but not so practical on that sheet which has a long range of use over the winch.

BTW, you meant 65-70’ per side, right? When I replace my jib sheets, I will use a single length of line for the two sheets with a simple cow hitch knot at the clew, if you do that then you want about 130-140’, I think.
 

jimk

Member II
Keith your right ill get 1 line 130++ and use a cow hitch, I believe I have finally got enough information to put the order in.
thanks
 

Navman

Member III
Same as a Larks head. A double larks head make a prusik knot. A square knot is the same as a reef knot. Sounds like it could be good game to while away the hours.
 

David Grimm

E38-200
My jib sheets are 41 feet each. Appears to be 5/8th sta-set. One with green tracer for starboard and red for port. I could always use my wiskar pole with plenty of line to spare. They're worn pretty well now. Should I replace them with one 80-100 foot single line with a cow hitch? Which is better?
 

David Grimm

E38-200
Also, I was taught a tripple larks head makes a prusik hitch. I use it as a safty while climbing the mast. Not sure a double would hold.
 

Navman

Member III
Double holds perfectly. I am 63 and have been rock climbing since I was 14. The fact that I am writing this is in itself a testament to the holding strength and functionable dependability of the knot. I went up the mast two weeks ago using the prusik tied to a halyard as my safety line. I have gone up using two prusiks (one for each foot) and another tied to my climbing harness and ascended by sequentially moving each one up. Downclimbing is a little harder. I have found that if your prusik is made of flat or tubular webbing attaching to a round line that a triple is preferred as I also would doubt the holding power of a double.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Well, for genoa sheets I've always used the lark's head (new name: sounds better than cow hitch or luggage tag ), just because it eliminates those pesky bowlines. And I have learned, for an extending whisker pole, to make my half-inch sheets very long.

Last year I removed the sheets to take the genny home. That was about 15 minutes work on the knot with a marlinspike and vice-grip pliers. :)
 
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