[MHml] Winch vs Tackle

[Paul Nudd]

From: martin.schoon at gmail.com
1) On a 40' cat you don't really have any alternatives to winch+tackle.
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Correct but you do have a choice of how much tackle.
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2) I don't like self tailing winches. 17 years ago I ended up under a flipped 40' cat due to a main sheet left on the self tailing mechanism.
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Hardly the fault of the winch. I have seen lines from a non self tailing winch cleated off on a horn cleat but I don't hate horn cleats, I love them. It is important to use any piece of equipment appropriately. That means taking the sheet out of the self tailer and in certain conditions hand holding.
26 years ago I very nearly ended up under a 24' cat because I couldn't uncleat a mainsheet that I should have been hand holding. Fortunately someone else released the jib sheet. I had pulled the main on by hand (8:1 tackle and no winch) and cleated. When a gust caused the hull to lift the load was so great that I couldn't uncleat (the cleat was on the tackle). Since then I always use a 'remote' cleat, fixed to something that doesn't move.
After that 'incident' I changed to a lesser ratio tackle and a winch (not self tailing on that boat) which I could hand hold without cleating in hull flying conditions.
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3) The conditions around here have me adjusting the leech tension *very* frequently. This leaves me with the option of not using the self tailing mechanism at all or having to put the tail on/off the self tailing mechanism all the time.
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Only to increase tension, not to decrease. I find that in conditions where I need to do a lot of adjusting I can do it all by hand anyway. When the wind is up such that I need to use the power of the winch I don't do much adjusting of the leech tension. Perhaps that might change if I reduced to a 2:1 tackle.
I guess my ideal system would be a 2:1 double ended with a 2 speed self tailer in each cockpit and with such a system I would tend to leave the tail in the tailer most of the time, except in hull flying conditions where I would hand hold. I don't think I could be comfortable flying a hull with a mainsheet cleated.
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The next sailing season is 6 months away so there is plenty of time for convincing me that I am wrong regarding winches. My report is definitely food for
though regarding this.
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My guess is that you will convince yourself but it doesn't really matter as your existing system obviously works very well and you have done a lot of sailing in various conditions without having a problem with it.
Have a good winter. We enjoy our winter sailing. I expect you have compensatory activities in your winter.
Paul Nudd


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