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Old 10-03-2012, 08:03 PM   #1
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Default locating winches on the boat

hi out there,

at present installing / refurbishing my winches, as part of this process i intend to install a further pair of winches to deal with an additional head sail installation.

problem, how do i work out the best location to site the new pair of winches.

i would also like to ensure that the existing winches are located in the optimum position.

is there anything out there i could refer too.

fair winds.
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Old 10-03-2012, 10:59 PM   #2
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I have no constructive advice on solving your problem.

But if someone does have advice, more information about what you are trying to accomplish and how things are laid out now would help. Maybe pictures or a drawing.

What do you mean by "additional headsail?" Are you adding a staysail or something? Where else will you be routing the sheets?

Do you have a headsail routed through foot blocks to the winches? Can you double the foot blocks and lead fairly to a second set of winches? Are you concerned about a fair lead or about ease of reach for single handed or double handed sailing?

What problems are you concerned about solving and on what boat?
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Old 10-04-2012, 03:02 AM   #3
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The location of the winches is not so critical except to say they must be handy to the crew. The location of the tracks and sheeting blocks however, are critical to sail trim. The original sail plan should be a help, otherwise the tracks should be placed such that blocks and cars can be moved forward or aft depending on the sail, especially if you are installing a roller furling/reefing headsail. Blocks need generally to be placed on deck at a point where a line through the clew of the unfurled sail, and perpendicular to the headstay meets the deck. As long as the sheets from the blocks then lead back, unobstructed, to the winch it should all be okay. The following link to an article on shorthanded setup may be of assistance.
http://www.sailingmagazine.net/how-t...handed-sailing
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Old 10-06-2012, 02:18 AM   #4
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Default locatingwincheson the boat

guy's

my boat is gaff rigged low tech, system - designed for low maintance .

i am increasing the length of bowsprits and adding a further roller / headsail to my sailing plan.

i do not have tracks or blocks on sheets - is this something i should consider.

i will now have 3 pairs of winches on the coaming. should i just site them equal distances apart on the length of the coaming.

hope i am making this clear.

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Old 10-06-2012, 10:45 AM   #5
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If your headsails are to be set up for reefing, rather than just roller furling, it is important to have moveable blocks. As you shorten the headsail, the blocks must move forward otherwise you will have tension on the foot of the sail, but not on the leech. This may mean as little as having a very inefficient sail, or it may cause the leech to flog and tighten the roll unevenly around the headsail foil. Sails flogging in a heavy wind (the very time when you need to shorten and flatten the sail) can reduce a decent cruising sail to tatters in a relatively short time...not to mention the racket and extra wear on the rig; and the danger faced by any crew working under an untamed sail on the foredeck.

Conversely, if the blocks are too far forward and you let out more sail, the leech will be tensioned while the foot will be loose. Again this makes for inefficiency, wear on the rig and noise. Also the slot will not draw and the efficiency of the main will also be reduced. Back in the days before roller furling, blocks attached to the toe rail or similar did not need to be moved. Each sail, being a fixed size, would have a dedicated block through which sheets would be led.

Either way, the headsail sheets should be led through blocks between the clew and the winch. Even spinnaker sheets should be fed to the winch through a block near (even aft of) the winch, so you can maintain a nice feed to the winch drum when trimming.

I wonder why you are siting three pairs of winches by the cockpit. Are you adding an inner staysail behind the forestay?
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Old 10-06-2012, 08:24 PM   #6
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Default locating winches

Hi,

yes to your question. with the extention of my bowsprit i have been advised to add an additional furling sail which will add significant sail area to my sailing plan and also give me a bit more flexibility.
i was proposing to use a set of winches for the main sail and a pair each for the two furling head sails. hence my question about location, of winches on the coaming.

from your comments it looks like i will have to consider feeding the sheets through a system of blocks ????????.

would like to read your comments / advice.
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Old 10-07-2012, 04:44 AM   #7
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If your (sloop soon to be cutter?) boat is gaff rigged, then it may be more appropriate for you to consider using 4 or 5 part purchase on the main sheet(s) so you don' t have to have winches for the mainsail. On our schooner, we have over 600 SF of mainsail and two tails to manage--but no winch. We will eventually put a single winch in place for it since it's nice for hauling in the main when winds are high and we're preparing to gibe. We also don't have a winch for use with our (gaff) foresail which is over 400 sf and similar 4 part purchase (blocks). The foresail doesn't require winches for main or throat halyards (again, blocks are used instead) and our staysail doesn't require winches. Only the jib (on a bowsprit) has winches.

I'd hate to have 6 winches around my cockpit just for sheets.


PS--you can use a lizard line rather than a track in order to get the angle of the sail right. Easy and uncluttered deck hardware. You will likely want turning blocks, yes, at some place on the deck though.
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Old 05-29-2013, 03:14 PM   #8
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hi bikofour,
If you have a classic rig why do you want a roller furling out jib??

I tend to think roller furling gear is for modern sloops, to get a genoa out front and increase sail area without converting to a cutter rig... if you are going cutter why not just go for a yankee jib (high footed) which would give you more sail outfront but not so much as a genoa, which i can't imagine you would need if it wasn't part of the original design, and would eliminate the need for a track... granted you can't reef a hank-on yankee from the cockpit but you will probably only ever fly your outer jib in fair winds....

or are you a racer? in which case ignore everything I just said.
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Old 05-29-2013, 03:26 PM   #9
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... and to answer your original question...
i totally agree with Dave and Brenda if you do furling gear tracks are a must...

if you don't finding the sheet point is easy...
I was tought that you just extend an imaginary line from the foot and the leech out beyond the clew... split the difference on where these two lines hit your deck and you should be pretty close to haveing a point that if made a line crosses your center of effort... ... or close enough...
it's easier to do than to explain.

a better way to say it might be:
put your sail up on a dead calm day and put a line on the clew... take the line back to the deck to a place where the tension is even between the foot and leech... do it for the other tack... that's yor sheet points.... then just lead them to your winch or a jammer with fairleads as ergonomically as possible
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