SKETCHBOOK

How to keep your sheets from getting snagged

Keep your jib sheets from snagging with Dick Everitt’s useful tips and illustrations

Dick Everitt has sailed thousands of miles in various parts of the world. He has been an illustrator, journalist and engineer for more than 40 years

My daysailer came with a one-piece jib sheet. There was an eye in the middle and a metal shackle attached it to the sail. This shackle was dangerous when it flapped about, and the back of the eye sometimes snagged on the standing rigging.

I reworked the eye like this, so that it passed more easily across the wire rigging. I then made a soft shackle to attach the sail. There are also many premade modern high-tech soft shackles with some form of stopper or crown knot that you can use.

C Some skippers reckon two-part sheets are less likely to snag if you attach them by passing the sheets through the clew cringle. Tie your favorite stopper knot in each end, at that same time taking it over the other sheet.

D Others claim they don’t get any snags if they slow the tack and back the jib momentarily. This also helps bring the bow around and gives the crew to time to get the sheet Bowlines are the most popular knots for short ones, together with the clew cringle fitting, often snag.

Some people whip, or seize, the sheets together abaft the bowlines with light line or a couple of cable ties.

G Others lash them parallel to each other to make a longer, stiffer joint that slips past the shrouds more easily.

H Some old boats had bridging lines spliced across the sheets to create a smoother surface to slip past wire rigging. The modern equivalent is tape, sewn or seized on. Cable ties are a quick fix, but rot in UV light and have snaggy edges.