Jib Sheet Clew Attachment Poll

[upstateny]

I am curious how folks here attach their foresail sheets to the clew.

Please state what you do on your boat

1. do you have a roller fuller or hanked on jib/genoa foresails?
2. jib sheet two lines or one?
3. use a shackle and if so is it soft shackle or metal shackle?
4. clew knot used bowline, alpine buttefly, .............

I have been using two lines with bowline knots for my hanked on foresails. When I switch foresails obviously I have to untie the bowlines and retie both bowlines on the next foresail. Trying to explore other options for next summer.

BTW if you have any suggestions for fender caribiners let me know. Trying to make my single handed work easier taking fenders on and off.



Thanks,

[psk125]

We have a R/F Genoa.
We use two separate jib sheets
We do not use a shackle. It would be dangerous to have it banging around in a tack, and could damage the deck and mast, besides adding to the noise factor.
We tie bowlines with reasonably long tails

When we change headsails it is easy to reeve a new leeward sheet on the new sail, get it set, and then re-reeve the old windward sheet and attach it to the new jib. If you don't have a spare sheet, you can use the old windward sheet on the new sail and use the old leeward sheet for the new windward one.

[StuM]

On various boats I sail on where I have any say in the matter:
Spliced loops (preferable) or
Bowlines or
Alpine butterfly in the centre of a single line.

In all cases, attached to clew with a soft shackle

[dfelsent]

Spliced loops with soft shackles or bowlines. On either roller Furler or racing sails hooted and dropped in a luff groove.
Especially for racing where you want to change headsails upwind without ever going bareheaded soft attachments, shackles or bowlines, work well.
Cruising something soft and small and easy to tack argues fir spliced loop and a soft shackle.
The dang heavy stainless clew fitting is dangerous enough without adding something hard.

[Calif.Ted]

Furler, one sheet, larkshead/cowhitch

[Dsanduril]

Originally Posted by Calif.Ted

Furler, one sheet, larkshead/cowhitch

+1 on the last boat, worked fine (different sheets for the two different jibs).

Spliced eyes and soft shackle on the current boat, but we only have one jib we use 95% of the time so cow hitch would work, just not what the PO had installed.

[chrisr]

roller furling
2 sheets
attached with bowlines

why complicate life ?

cheers,

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by StuM

On various boats I sail on where I have any say in the matter:
Spliced loops (preferable) or
Bowlines or
Alpine butterfly in the centre of a single line.

In all cases, attached to clew with a soft shackle

Same here

[roverhi]

Roller Furling
Dedicated double length dacron sheet. The half way point at the sail clew has a Brummell splice. Cured the problem with overlapping headsails hanging up on the shrouds. No more drama tacking even with the 155% genoa.

[wguinon]

We pass a single rope thru the clew cringle, middle it at the cringle and seize the two legs together.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by upstateny

I am curious how folks here attach their foresail sheets to the clew.

Please state what you do on your boat

1. do you have a roller fuller or hanked on jib/genoa foresails?
2. jib sheet two lines or one?
3. use a shackle and if so is it soft shackle or metal shackle?
4. clew knot used bowline, alpine buttefly, .............

I have been using two lines with bowline knots for my hanked on foresails. When I switch foresails obviously I have to untie the bowlines and retie both bowlines on the next foresail. Trying to explore other options for next summer.

BTW if you have any suggestions for fender caribiners let me know. Trying to make my single handed work easier taking fenders on and off.

Thanks,

1. do you have a roller fuller or hanked on jib/genoa foresails?Do not have roller furling, do not have hanks. We have a dual groove headfoil
2. jib sheet two lines or one?We have two jib sheets
3. use a shackle and if so is it soft shackle or metal shackle?We use Barient J-Locks (metal shackles with quick release poins)
4. clew knot used bowline, alpine buttefly, NA .............

Fenders: We tie them on with a special "Wings" knot. Never slips, can be tied with one hand, and released with a single pull to the bitter end

[Knotical]

One sheet with cow hitch directly on the clew.

Some posters use soft shackle with bowline etc., why wouldn’t you tie bowline directly to the clew?

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Knotical

Some posters use soft shackle with bowline etc., why wouldn’t you tie bowline directly to the clew?

1. Since the bowlines are permanently tied they will be correctly sized, well dressed and likely more secure than knots re-tied in the clew cringle by various crew at every sail change.

2. Attaching/detaching on sail changes is much quicker and easier, especially when using a double track foil where you can attach to the new sail before detaching the old sail.

[waterman46]

When I have a continuous line long enough for both port and starboard sheets, I use a "Cow hitch" and move it a little now and then to spread the wear. Bowlines if I don't have a continuous length long enough. I don't trust or need soft shackles between the clew and an eye splice. Why add a failure point?
On a smaller boat where we had no roller furling and had to often change headsails, we always used bowlines. Got used to tying them from every direction, in the dark, on the bow in rough seas. A soft shackle could easily be lost in those conditions where it would be a third item (plus clew and sheet) to keep track of.

[Cheechako]

One line for both sides, cow hitch .