Cockpit Mounted Main Sheet with no Traveler

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Sailor_Grant

Here is a better picture of the setup.

As you can see, most of the forces are pulling straight against the A-Frame / triangle setup which pulls against the fiberglass cockpit thru hull reenforced bolts. So don’t have to worry too much about leverage etc.

Anyone know what this setup is called?

It is called dangerous.

The loads pulling that triangle to the side, in a crash jib they could easily break it out of the cockpit floor, the mechanical advantage is all wrong.

Then there is the issue of a slack mainsheet getting tangled around the binnacle or the wheel or YOU!

This was a bad solution by someone who wanted to move around the cockpit easily. They put a small wheel for clearance and got rid of the traveler so they didn't have to step over it.

[GILow]

So I came back and read this thread again, and I noticed something interesting. Our responses seem to be very much aligned with the size of boat we sail. I can only do this with people who's profile tells us what sort of boat they sail, but looking at the following, and I hope I have summarised people's responses correctly:

Cal 20 - endorsed with caveat
Raven 26 - endorsed
Columbia 29 - endorsed with reservation
Catalina 34 - not endorsed
Heritage 35 - not endorsed
Roberts 38 - not endorsed
Swanson 42 - not endorsed
Serendipity 43 - not endorsed

What I take away from this, given most of us probably started out on smaller boats (but not always) is that we become a little more conservative in our thinking as our boats get bigger. I asked myself what I would have thought of that setup when I had my Austral 20 and, to be honest, I probably would have been perfectly happy with it.

And I don't think I am any more right now than I would have been then. I suspect that as we deal with bigger boats and the forces they generate, we start to develop a bit of a healthy respect for them (maybe too healthy). And looking at the report on the Platino I realised my own concept of forces was utterly trivial compared to what happened on that boat.

I honestly have no idea what sort of loads the Cal 30 could generate if things went south. So my concerns may be totally unwarranted. Perhaps, the only people who are really qualified to make that call are the sailors of other Cal 30's?

Food for thought, but one effect the Platino report did have was make me even more satisfied that my current boat is big enough, thank you very much. I do NOT want to ever have to deal with over half a ton of boom swinging around the deck. I know my main weighs in at around 65 kg, and the boom must be about 40 kg. That will do for me. Plenty there to remove my head if I stick it up at the wrong time.

[Derick Warne]

no need for a traveller just use the vang to control leech tension.

[skipper53]

Why not just search the Web for photos of a 1976 C30, or go on the Catalina website, or just call them and talk to them. As one of the few.surviving builders from the '70s, you likely don't have any questions they can't answer.

[Smokeys Kitchen]

Isn't there a pretty high end semi-production boat that uses just boom sheeting and the vang to control sail shape? Shannon perhaps? Maybe take a look at how one of those is rigged and see what the attachment point(s) is/are.

[leftbrainstuff]

Flimsy