Changing fromat mast reefing to cockpit

[AKA-None]

My little boat started with reefing lines at the mast. Then I put a single line system in. Now I have a two line system and it’s much better than the single line. But I have more shorter lines than the single line system.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

I have the same concerns as Cassidy. But let me add one more :-):

Why has the elegant, ever ready, easy to use, "never fail", zero maintenance horn cleat gone down to defeat to something as ill-conceived and misbegotten as the "clutch"???

If you MUST have all kinds of spaghetti leading to the cockpit bulkhead, then, for Heaven's sake, use horn cleats instead of clutches. A properly positioned and belayed horn cleat permits you to coil and hang the falls of the lines in a proper seaman-like fashion. And to shake them out again without generating friction.

Grumble :-)!!

TP

Why clutches? Because on larger boats with larger loads, clutches mean you can have multiple lines using a single winch. And you can adjust and lock off a line under load. With horn cleats you need one winch per line if the load is too high to handle by hand.

On lines that don’t need winches for their loads, horn cleats are great.

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

I have the same concerns as Cassidy. But let me add one more :-):

Why has the elegant, ever ready, easy to use, "never fail", zero maintenance horn cleat gone down to defeat to something as ill-conceived and misbegotten as the "clutch"???

If you MUST have all kinds of spaghetti leading to the cockpit bulkhead, then, for Heaven's sake, use horn cleats instead of clutches. A properly positioned and belayed horn cleat permits you to coil and hang the falls of the lines in a proper seaman-like fashion. And to shake them out again without generating friction.

Grumble :-)!!

TP

And save a bucket full of money too . . . I’ve never seen an inexpensive rope clutch.

But I agree with fxykty, I have no rope clutches on my mast and to transfer a halyard to a horn cleat without losing some tension is a work of art.

[RSB333]

I have given up trying to hoist the main from the cockpit, as the battens always run afoul of the lazy jacks, and I have to go up to the mast to lower, and re-hoist. I re-installed the mast cheek halyard winch and will be reefing at the mast, well in advance of the weather.
RSB333

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

I have the same concerns as Cassidy. But let me add one more :-):

Why has the elegant, ever ready, easy to use, "never fail", zero maintenance horn cleat gone down to defeat to something as ill-conceived and misbegotten as the "clutch"???

If you MUST have all kinds of spaghetti leading to the cockpit bulkhead, then, for Heaven's sake, use horn cleats instead of clutches. A properly positioned and belayed horn cleat permits you to coil and hang the falls of the lines in a proper seaman-like fashion. And to shake them out again without generating friction.

Grumble :-)!!

TP

Use of clutches allows one to use one winch for many lines. Kinda hard to get a line off the winch and onto your beloved horn cleat without loosing the hard won tension that you just winched in. With a clutch, it's easy. And then the winch is available for the next task.

Jim

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

I have the same concerns as Cassidy. But let me add one more :-):

Why has the elegant, ever ready, easy to use, "never fail", zero maintenance horn cleat gone down to defeat to something as ill-conceived and misbegotten as the "clutch"???

If you MUST have all kinds of spaghetti leading to the cockpit bulkhead, then, for Heaven's sake, use horn cleats instead of clutches. A properly positioned and belayed horn cleat permits you to coil and hang the falls of the lines in a proper seaman-like fashion. And to shake them out again without generating friction.

Grumble :-)!!.TP

Use of clutches allows one winch to service many lines, and that's hard to do with just horn cleats. How do you get the line off the winch and on to the cleat without loosing the tension you just wound on with the winch? With a clutch it's easy and safe.

And of course there are many other means of hanging up a neat coil besides horn cleats... and there is no reason not to back up a clutch with a cleat... we mostly do that at our clutches on the mast where two winches need to service four halyards and a topping lift.

And finally, for me it is comforting when being hoisted aloft to have the halyard going through a clutch. Should some distraction cause the wincher to loose their grip or w hatever, the clutch stops the fall in a couple of inches.

All that said, I prefer to have halyards and reef lines at the mast.

Jim

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by AKA-None

My little boat started with reefing lines at the mast. Then I put a single line system in. Now I have a two line system and it’s much better than the single line. But I have more shorter lines than the single line system.

Previous boat had two line system and the current one single line. Preferred the two line system as the single line appears to have to much friction.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by RSB333

I have given up trying to hoist the main from the cockpit, as the battens always run afoul of the lazy jacks, and I have to go up to the mast to lower, and re-hoist. I re-installed the mast cheek halyard winch and will be reefing at the mast, well in advance of the weather.
RSB333

Just bought a new main sail and had it made with luff loading of the battens, appears to help with the lazy jack fouling problem. Also fitted antlers which also appears to help.

[Captain Anthony]

Michael, I'm in the process of the same modification on my Tartan. I firmly believe that the first rule of sailing is watch the weather. Once you are out sailing, the most important rule is DON'T FALL OFF OF THE BOAT. Basically, nothing can be more important. With that being said, staying in the cockpit gives you a very good chance of staying on the boat. This is why I have spent about two thousand five hundred dollars on a North Sail Stack Pack with jack lines. I spent about about another Seven hundred and fifty dollars on the blocks, deck organizers and line clutches need to lead all of the lines back to the cockpit.
As with most things in life, Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. Measure 5 times and cut once. Research as stated above and truly think about what is the best solution for you and your boat. I hesitate to say this but what good is money in the bank if you have fallen overboard and you cannot be retrieved from the water. So, please don't do things the cheap way. You get what you pay for.
By all means, research the project and do it. Captain Aj