by GreenLake » Sun Feb 07, 2021 3:44 am
Very nice.
There are two philosophies about the "keeps" or wire loops on the cleats. (I'll mention them here, but will state that this is one of those matters of taste.)
Some like the keeps, because they keep the sheets next to the cleat when uncleated (they may also help some with cleating from the rail, but they can lead to a jib sheet recleating itself after you've cast it off). But if you ever pull on the part between fairlead and cleat, you have to hand it off, so you can pull on the correct side. And I find it's a bit challenging to work the sheet sitting on the wrong side of the boat
Others, like myself, like the freedom of being able to grab any part of the sheet and then "dropping it into" the cleat from above, without changing hands. (I even tie together the ends of my sheets so I can grab any part of the jib sheet - others find that very confusing). I like the freedom of working the sheets from any position, even if I have some passenger blocking the crew position.
Finally, without a keep, one tug and the sheet is free and guaranteed to not recleat itself.
A trick worth knowing is the "foot": placed on top of the sheet it will apply downward pressure to help it cleat. From some positions, if you sit high enough, you may need this trick even with the keeps.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~