Jib sheet cleat

[Dr. Peter]

Here is the picture promised. The winch on the right is for the halyards.

[neilmac]

Hi Peter

Thanks, that setup makes sense. I think the angled cleats is a good idea. I was down at the Marina on the weekend and had a look over several other boats from the MTYC. Everybody had a different setup, even on similar boats.

[petewild]

Hi all,

I'm curious about this. When I acquired my Investigator, the jib sheets ran to a fairlead on a track next to the toerail, back to a cheekblock, then a winch on the cockpit coaming and a clam cleat (see pictures). This is OK for my genoa, but no good for sailing upwind with a smaller jib. I added fairleads to the track on the cabin top and have been running the sheets through the existing system. But it's not ideal. There's a lot of friction on the side of the cabin and they occasionally foul on the base of the winch. I'm looking a reinstalling something close to the original system. I'm not convinced a winch is necessary. I wonder what other set-ups are out there, and if anyone would be willing to share pictures.
I note that the GPS receiver that I have on my boat might be in the way! Probably archaic tech now, but it works and I still use it...

I note that the image above from Dr Peter appears not to be an Investigator.

Cheers,
Pete

[Geoff]

G'day Pete,

I will get some pics soon, but here's a bit of explanation as I understand it.

You are right, that pic is not from an Investigator. But it is beaut for helping understand alternate cleating options. Was for me anyway.

The original boats didn't have winches. I don't know if any had genoa tracks on the outer deck, like yours has. The common set up was as per your top track. But in front of the swivel eye, on the same car, was a small bracket. The sheet was anchored to the bracket, then ran forward to the clew. At the clew was a pair of blocks. Each sheet ran through one of the blocks then back to the swivel eye. This gave a 2:1 mechanical advantage.

Many have done away with the blocks and attach the sheet directly to the clew then back through the swivel eye. This is what I have done too. A soft shackle is much kinder to everything around it than two metal blocks flogging around.

But either way, and this is the bit that you are interested in, from the swivel eye the sheet runs straight back over the coachroof between the grabrail and the poptop. Most commonly it cleated in a clam cleat placed close to the end of the coachroof. In your pics that would be straightforward on the starboard side but a challenge on the port.

Also, that setup was mostly designed for a crew person to take care of jib control. You can't (or at least I couldn't) uncleat and cleat effectively from the windward side of the boat.

I replaced the clam cleats with a dead eye mounted at the extreme aft edge of the coachroof and mounted the clam cleats on the bulkhead at an angle. This lets me work the jib sheet with my bum still on the high seat. Your bulkheads look very busy though.

Also, my boat didn't have any genoa-specific rigging, so I have set up some blocks on my toe rail to mimic your setup, without winches.

I will get some pics as soon as I can, but I hope the explanation gives some insight.

[Ozzie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nngun5Y867U

I have the same original setup that Geoff mentioned, I’ve bunged a quick sketch here. I did away with the blocks for a while but found my wife had some difficulty with getting good purchase when Genoa was under hard sail so went back to the blocks. I lost the original blocks overboard in a blue but found downsized ones did the job and while they would still hurt if they clocked you they aren’t as heavy as the originals . The link to Utub at the top has good explanation on trimming the jib cars on the track. Or not, if you are a lazy sod and not ever in a hurry, like me. I doubt many have telltale’s on the jib but the way of telling good jib trim by observing the sail itself is discussed.

Ps welcome to the forum.

Edit. The above system is not ideal for the Genoa and that’s why many people add side tracks and maybe winches . I’ve just decided to keep it simple as I don’t race….I sail to lower my pulse rather than the opposite.lol. Whisker poles help to get the jib further out from the centre. If I were going to make a change I think I’d use Dr Peter’s barber hauler set up which you can find on here using the search function. The barber hauler bits came with my boat and are part of the original setup for the spinnaker… which is also for going faster apparently

[Raya]

Pete, I was about to welcome you to forum but see that you are a long term member. I will, instead, congratulate you on your first post.

Attached is a photo of the jib sheet layout on my Investigator. This was the original setup for the boat. I did away with the 2:1 block some years ago and haven't missed it since. I find that setting the headsail is quicker without the reduction and also there is less "tail" lying about on the cockpit floor. I don't believe that headsail winches are necessary for the Investigator, but each to their own.

All the best with "Restless" and we hope to hear of some of her adventures.

original head sheet layout.