Re: Playing the mainsheet with the stock block
Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 2:29 pm
I was just thinking about the fact that I mostly single-handed this summer and often that is how I sail. I realize that I had planned to replace my jib ratchet blocks with auto ratchets. Of course that would be ideal but I realize that when single-handed I usually cleat one sail while playing the other sail. There are times when I need to play both sails and steer at the same time and that gets to be quite a handful.
I tend to play the sail that has the most power. So with the standard suit of sails I would be playing the main and cleating the jib. This seems to work out fine for me until it gets really hairy and then I turn on the ratchet blocks for the jib and hold it so that I can dump it quickly if need be. When I use the UPS, it has more power than the main so I tend to cleat the main and play the UPS, again until it gets too hairy then I hand hold both.
I tend to play the sail that has the most power. So with the standard suit of sails I would be playing the main and cleating the jib. This seems to work out fine for me until it gets really hairy and then I turn on the ratchet blocks for the jib and hold it so that I can dump it quickly if need be. When I use the UPS, it has more power than the main so I tend to cleat the main and play the UPS, again until it gets too hairy then I hand hold both.