Posted by Jonathan Engdahl on September 05, 1997 at 23:24:29:
In Reply to: How to rig a lugsail posted by Stuart Wier on September 05, 1997 at 15:56:49:
Regarding mainsheets -- for my original sail (the Gunter rig) I have a rope traveller running across the top of the transom, tied to an eye on each side, and with enough slack to allow it to be pulled up maybe 6-8 inches above the transom in the middle. A Harken widget consisting of two small blocks linked together at right angles runs along this traveller. The mainsheet of the Gunter sail goes from the end ot the boom, to the top block of the traveller, back up to a block on the end of the boom, along the boom to another block about the middle, then down to my hand.
With the lugsail I simplified this: I left the traveller in place. There is a single block on the end of the boom. The sheet is tied to the upper block on the traveller with a bowline. This still allows this end of the sheet to run side to side. From there the sheet goes to the block on the end of the boom, then to my hand. This is not optimal when I'm sitting on the floor farther forward and I'm closehauled, because the angle the sheet makes as it runs through the block on the end of the boom is very obtuse. This setup needs more work.
I am just learning to sail, and I often get all tangled up with the sheet going about, especially on the corners of the life vest. I tried another arrangement once where the sheet was tied to the middle of the boom, down to a block fastened to the aft end of the centerboard trunk, up to a block mid-boom, aft to the block on the end of the boom, then to the hand. More convenient for me, but nasty for the passenger.
In the "Swallows and Amazon" movie they have the sheet fastened somehow to the transom, because I remember seeing a very old fashioned block there somewhere, and noticed John ducking under the sheet and getting a little snarled up in it just like I am so apt to do. I loaned the movie to my Mom, and won't get it back for a couple weeks, but I'll take a closer look next time I see it.