Jib sheets

[Rockinar]

I noticed most people tie two separate jib sheets tied to the clew of the headsail with a bowline knot. I've always just had one continuous line and used a "gooseneck" connecting it to the clew. My thought is nothing to come undone and nothing flapping around or loose bits to snag on anything. Is there a particular reason to used two sheets instead of one long one?

[Cwens]

Originally Posted by Rockinar

I noticed most people tie two separate jib sheets tied to the clew of the headsail with a bowline knot. I've always just had one continuous line and used a "gooseneck" connecting it to the clew. My thought is nothing to come undone and nothing flapping around or loose bits to snag on anything. Is there a particular reason to used two sheets instead of one long one?

One possible explanation: at some point, long before the entire line is ready to retire, you may get a worn spot or a chafe point right near the clew, at which point you cut out about a foot or two of line and your beautiful one-piece jib sheet which had been luggage-tagged to the clew becomes two slightly-less-beautiful jib sheets each tied separately to the clew.

[JPA Cate]

We use two, and they are soft shackled to the clew. The soft shackle through the eye splice is a little softer than a bowline knot to get hit on the head with. When the sail is rolled up on its furler, they are too high to reach. We have found it convenient at times, to just have one sheet on, but for sailing, we always have two, and usually they are perhaps 6 ft. longer than they have to be. We usually wind up end for ending them, after a certain time, due to chafe, and one cuts a bit away at that time get rid of the ratty bit.

Ann

[mlydon]

That ‘gooseneck’ - I presume you mean doubling the line in the center, putting a loop through the clew, and passing the ends through the loop?

Reason one - once you’ve stressed that knot, it can be next to impossible to remove - your lines are going to travel with your jib, for life.

Reason two - people have more than one jib, and change sails to suit the weather (club racers, anyone without roller furling, storm jib, etc.) even if you could get your ‘gooseneck’ loose, you’d need to re-run it with every sail change.

Personally, I have separate jib sheets, with very small eyesplices on the clew end, and use a single soft shackle through both eyes to attach them to the sail. This minimizes the lump of line you would have with two bowlines. Some folks use regular snap shackles, but I’m running a 140% jib, don’t want the metal banging around my mast on each tack.

Matt

Just like this:

[CAELESTIS]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

We use two, and they are soft shackled to the clew. The soft shackle through the eye splice is a little softer than a bowline knot to get hit on the head with. When the sail is rolled up on its furler, they are too high to reach. We have found it convenient at times, to just have one sheet on, but for sailing, we always have two, and usually they are perhaps 6 ft. longer than they have to be. We usually wind up end for ending them, after a certain time, due to chafe, and one cuts a bit away at that time get rid of the ratty bit.

Ann

This!

[George_SD]

I have two different colors for the sheets - red and green, which also correspond with green and red stickers by harken that say port and starboard

It makes it easier for novices on the vessel to learn which is which or not confuse them in an urgent situation

[mlydon]

I can see that for halyards, or control lines that run to rope clutches in one location; I’ve got 4 line exiting my boom - Labels are a must, even for me, but the jib sheets are separated by the width of the cockpit - seems kind of hard to get something like that mixed up…..just saying…..
Matt

[AKA-None]

I’m with Ann on this
Two sheets with soft shackles
I don’t wrap the shackles as it’s easier to do a head sail change and if a shackle gives way it’s easier to recover the head sail
End for end as needed

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by George_SD

I have two different colors for the sheets - red and green, which also correspond with green and red stickers by harken that say port and starboard

It makes it easier for novices on the vessel to learn which is which or not confuse them in an urgent situation

I’ve also got 2 separate sheets with eye splices in both ends so I can reverse them, and use a single soft shackle to attach them to the clew. Since I have a inner forestay, the attachment by soft shackle makes tacking much easier than when I had 2 bulky bowlines. I think the option of using one single sheet is ok too. If it gets chafed near the middle you can always cut out the knot that’s attached to the clew and now you’ve got 2 sheets and can reverse one to move the chafed area to where it’s less of a problem.


But even though both of my jib sheets are the same color, and I’ve had numerous novice sailors “helping” me sail my boat, nobody has ever got confused about which jib sheet is the one to pull on or put on the winch. After all, they’re on opposite sides of the boat so if you’re facing the winch that one of them is wrapped around, you can’t even see the other one because it’s behind you. and if you just remember to focus on the sheet that’s on the same side of the boat that the jib is on, you can’t go wrong even if you don’t know red from green or port from starboard or left from right.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

I’ve also got 2 separate sheets with eye splices in both ends

Do you have any issues with running the eye splices on the working ends through blocks etc?

[grantmc]

Six of one and half dozen of the other, isn't it.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by StuM

Do you have any issues with running the eye splices on the working ends through blocks etc?

Good question. Yes, I did have a problem initially, but by putting a string through the eye and then using it to pull the spliced eye through the block, I was able to get my jib sheets routed.

[two-rocks]

Been using a single line with a -luggage tie- at the clew. It takes some working to get it off after a season of sailing, but it’s simple and tacks well.

Bought the correct length - until we added a whisker pole. Using the luggage tie I can offset the sheet to one side and swap as needed when using the pole (double foot blocks with clutches). The sheet is dyneema core ($) Couldn’t do that with individual sheets ��

[Don C L]

I'm one of the few with hank-on headsails, so I have 2, and they go on whatever headsail is in use. But if I had roller furling I'd probably just go with the one continuous like you have. I'd probably retire the whole thing if chafe has gotten so bad somewhere and buy a new one and use the old one elsewhere.

[PippaB]

The old boat had three jibs and a staysail, they all had dedicated sheets luggage-tagged to their sail. We wanted different weight/length for the #1 anyway. Probably the #2 and Yankee could have shared sheets. All hank-on sails, sheets went in the bag with the sail. Sailed that way for decades.

The current boat has one set of sheets soft-shackled to the clew of the roller furler, and yet they almost never get changed/moved.

Both work, both have a few pluses/minuses, really probably just a question of personal preference.