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Wirralsaint
Starting Member
United Kingdom
29 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2008 : 04:36:21
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There is an article on the use of a centre main on page 12 of the Autumn 2007 Diary with a photo of Peter gybing at the Nationals. Here is the article:-
Centre main, is it for you?
A number of Enterprise sailors have experimented with a centre main sheet arrangement on their boats. The most successful system so far has been the one adopted by Peter Lawson at the Nationals. Peter merely uses the Laser approach of having a block with a becket at the end of the boom and feeding the main sheet directly to the hand via a block mounted halfway along the boom (a piece of Mylar attached to the boom prevents the rope sagging).
Phil Kirk has tried a similar system, except he goes one step further, with the sheet fed to a block above the centreboard case, and then to the helm’s hand. The block is positioned on the centreline at deck level with a bridle. The ends of the bridle are fixed to the centreboard case knee. Phil says that the bridle should not be made so long that it will slip over the back of the centreboard case nor too short that you can't fully raise the centreboard.
When Phil tried this arrangement he found that the mainsheet worked well upwind, and indeed was more comfortable to sail with. Off wind he found the main sheet between the middle of the boom and the new block wanted to throttle his crew! Taking the sheet straight from the boom for off wind sailing solved the problem.
Phil’s personal view is that “the centre main system is better when sailing upwind, however the aft main system is best for the Enterprise when sailing off wind.”
Tim |
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Centermain / Boom to hand
Posted - 11/24/2008 : 14:50:33