Preventers--The Traveller Taken to its Logical Conclusion?

Catamarans, with their full-beam travelers, present a different case from monohulls.

• Through much (not all) of the range of motion, they provide positive control over the boom-end position.
• Assuming the controls work from both ends, they function as a preventer if the sheet is tight (the traveller is locked down). Many catamaran feel they do not need one for this reason; a full jibe is impossible. But if running very deep it is still required to hold the boom down and prevent little mini-jibes, where the traveller does not move but the boom still slams a good distance when the wind gets behind it.
• Av vang is not desired because it reduces the speed with which the sail can be unloaded in a gust (both the main sheet and the vang must be let go--not acceptable).
• A catamaran can be capsized, not just knocked down, if the main is pinned on the wrong side in enough wind. I've never hear of this happening on a cruising cat, but I've experienced it on beach cats with the traveler jammed.

Yet often we see preventers that require crew to go forward to release.

The ideal preventer, then, does the following

• Holds the boom down and forward when the sail is well eased going deep. In this function it acts as an extended traveler, providing height control, since most cats do not have vangs. Thus it must be no further forward than the main beam and it must be tensioned by a cockpit winch, in order to be adjustable.
• It must be quickly releasable in a controlled manner. If the main is caught aback in a squall, the crew must be able to let it across and then dump the main in seconds.

This is quite simple. I run a line from the boom-end to the mid-ships cleat and back to a winch. Farther forward will not hold the boom down. This does mean that one of the sails must be in a jammer (either the main sheet or preventer), but I can through a turn over a winch and ease it quickly if I need to.

Sorry, no pictures yet.

Jacklines--A Centerline Aproach for Monohulls

Where to run the lines is always controversial. Along the side deck is traditional, but that leads the sailor right along the precipice, troublesome on the windward side and scary on the leeward side.  I run mine over the hard top and on the edge of the cabin. These sailors take it further, running the lines near the center. Yup, you are forced to re-clip near the mast, but the result is good protection on a narrow bow.

I'm not sure it's for me, though. I don't think people actually fall off to windward.

Jackline "Frost", an Amel Maramu

Laura Would Hit Me

Looks pretty stable, though.

Remember this Guy....?

A few weeks after I spotted that beauty, the boat came loose. Big surprise. Some one re-tide the boat with a proper hitch.

I spoke with him today, as he was winterizing his boat. He had learned his lesson and changed to a more secure knot. I'm not joking, I swear.

I what can you say?

On the other hand, I saw these 2 beauties just 3 boats down. Somehow, he started both hitches from the wrong end of the line.

Glad I'm at the other end of the dock.

Window Garden...

... or What Happens if You Ignore the Pantry for Long Enough

Actually, my daughter made me promise to leave this just as it was, after a summer trip, to see what would happen. In a few more weeks I'll have a nice winter crop of spring onions.

Black Diamond Torque Mixed Climbing Gloves--Disposable World Cup Stuff?

According to the Black Diamond web site:

Torque Gloves
A durable, slim-fitting glove with a super-sticky palm ideal for drytooling and mixed cragging, the Torque’s lightweight construction provides incredible sensitivity without palm rolling.

Description
Built for high-end mixed climbing and drytooling, the Black Diamond Torque Glove features a super-sticky palm and low-profile construction for unmatched grip and dexterity. The softshell fabric protects your hands from the elements while remaining highly breathable, and the soft tricot lining adds just enough warmth for the WI5 hanger above the business.

• Abrasion-resistant woven softshell
• Slip-Stop palm for unparalleled grip
• Laminated, brushed tricot lining
• Articulated neoprene cuff with hook-and-loop closure and carabiner clip loop
• Compression-molded EVA padding for impact protection

 I can agree with the sensitivity, fit, and sticky palm comments. They are a pleasure to slip in and out of leashes. But the durable adjective is provably misplaced.

After two 30-foot M6 climbs and one 30 lower, the rubber was gone from the right pinky and holidays were evident on the ring finger. Just one short lower.

I called Mountain Tools and they sand "but you've used them." Black Diamond said "they aren't for rappelling, just climbing." However, the company literature does not SAY they are too delicate for any of the realities of climbing.

The next day I went to the same places, climbed 3 times as much and lowered 3 times as much, wearing a pair of 10-for-$3.99 disposable work gloves ($0.39 each, or about 140 times cheaper) and had less wear. Pretty comfortable, too. Perhaps the Torques climbed a little better, but only a little. I may have to start keeping a stack of the discount gloves in my pack. I can loose a lot of them for 39 cents.

Jack Lines

To sailors, jacklines (one word) are safety lines running down either side of the deck. We clip to these with tether lines to prevent falling overboard. However, to the lubber--fact the broader meaning of the term--"jack" describes something of utility value, odd jobs, or regular. In old English it could refer to one of the peasantry, a common seaman, or anything common; jack stays, jack of all trades, regular jack, lazy jacks, jack s__t.... 

Jack line (two words), from Websters Dictionary:

jack line, noun.

1:  a small rope or line

2:  a rod or steel cable connecting a central pumping engine with each of two or more oil wells which it powers 

 I keep 2 of these utility (Websters definition 1) jack lines in the cockpit pockets at all times. They are about 30' x 3/8" with a wire gate climbing carabiner on the end, and serve many purposes, both routine and contingency.

 
• Jibe Preventer. Clipped to the boom-end mainsheet bail, led forward under the midships cleat, and back to a winch, it creates an adjustable preventer that can be instantly released. 
• Boom Downhaul. Because of the beam of catamaran, the mid-ships cleat is sufficiently far forward for a preventer. From this location it also pulls the boom down, making for a useful vang substitute when the traveler is all the way out and the mainsheet is eased.
• Twing line. When broad reaching it is often advantageous to haul the spinnaker or genoa sheet down.
• Clearing overrides. Place an accender (also kept in a cockpit pocket) to the sheet, clip the jackline to the ascender, and lead to a spare winch. faster than a gripping hitch and good up to about 1500 pounds.
• Recovering fouled anchor. If the anchor is fouled on drift wood or trash, often getting it clear is as simple as hanging the anchor upside down. Raise the anchor as far as possible with the windlass, clip the roll bar and secure to a bow cleat, and slack the chain. the junk should slide off. 
• Jury rigs. Not to long ago one of the sling hold the dingy parted while under spinnaker (had been lazy and had not triced up the dingy, a mistake I will not make again). To get the dingy out of the water fast I simply clipped the lifting eye on the dingy, pass the jackline through the eyes on the davits, and took the jackline to a winch. The dingy was up in less than a minute. I immediately triced it up!

Spinnaker sheets can also be used this way in many cases, having the advantage of being pre-rigged through a turning block to a winch. Of course, if the chute is up that's not much of an option. But there are applications:

• MOB (man overboard) recovery. Throw the Lifesling to the swimmer and pull him near the boat. Clip the spinnaker sheet to the Lifesling, up to a snatch block on the boom bail (we keep rescue blocks in the cockpit pockets), and winch away.
• Anchor recovery. Unlike the jack lines, these are long enough to reach the bottom and back to a winch. Lead the line over the roller, clip either the roll bar or the tripping eye and winch.

Hiding Cleats

In the process of renovating the docks at a local marina (Herrington Harbor North, Deale, MD), someone had the briliant idea of moving the cleats to the underside of the dock. Not all of the residents (none of those I spoke with) think this was a good idea.

While I'm sure this de-clutters the dock, it also makes them hard to reach and more difficult to use properly. I don't get it. Style over function.

Euro Fender

As I began researching fender usage in difficult conditions for an up-coming article, I came across this unusual fender selection.

Hard to store, but it is keeping them off the bulkhead.

Mooring Knots: Update

Remember this?

Two weeks of light winds and a few direction changes transformed it to this...

 

 And this. I couldn't help but notice that the 3-strand line has been slightly re-tied, though not much better. There appears to be a unilateral lack of knowledge and cooperation.