ING Brunel's Mainsheet

[SuperPiper]

It is not clear from the photos on the Volvo Ocean Race site; but, it may be that ING Brunel does not use a traveller. Instead they may have 2 mainsheets rigged: one to starboard and one to port.

If this is the case there may be a few advantages:
- the leeward sheet would act as a vang; and,
- it would also act as a gybe-preventer.

Is this true?

[usa2]

Do you have any pictures you could post of this?

[SuperPiper]

Look carefully: no traveller and a split 4:1 mainsheet? But one part is on the centreline? It looks like there may be 2 attachment points for blocks near the windward steering pedestal. What am I looking at?

[tamkvaitis]

What do you think, is it operated simultaniously, or separetly? It looks quite strange it reminds me old schooners and clipers, but it is nice, I have sailed an ex-whitbread racer (traveler car broke) with this systemit worked quite well, only it was imposible to trim the sail acurately.

[SuperPiper]

Here is another photo of ING's mainsheet. This time, the leeward sheet is hard on and the midship sheet is eased. As Tamkvaitis commented, this must be a hard arrangement to tweak. Each adjustment is 3-dimensional.

This fostered another thought. On cruisers with the traveller mounted on an arch over the cockpit (Hunters and catamarans), does the crew adjust the mainsheet or the traveller? I would assume that the traveller has more effect than the mainsheet. What do low-boom racers tend? The mainsheet? The traveller?

[tamkvaitis]

Actualy diferent sailors use diferent tactics. You can tension the vang and use te sheet, i Think it gives you more freedom specealy if it maintained by a helmsman or by another person (in a big boat like VO 70). Then using this tactics you can change the Angle of atack and not to change the sail shape (the wang keeps the shape the same) other tactics is to sheet in an use the traveler you get the same the same rezult, but only as the traveler goes. On the ex whitbread racer which I am sailingthe had fixed boom wang. I have raced an elvstrom 1/4 toner, it has quite long traveler and low boom. Personaly I have it quite tricky to control the mainsail. I tried to use the traveler, but in the gust the sail wass too closed, so had ease the sheet as well. so I decided to use the combined tactics. I trimed the boom wang so it would work then the sheet is eased. then the sheet is tensioned the wang were slightly loose. Then the gust came, I eased the sheet, then wind direction schanged I used a traweler.

I cant Image why Brunel uses this kind of system. Maybe they wanted to use this system prety much as the traver system. Winvard sheet works as a traveler and leevard works as a sheet.

[mattotoole]

Originally Posted by SuperPiper

Here is another photo of ING's mainsheet. This time, the leeward sheet is hard on and the midship sheet is eased. As Tamkvaitis commented, this must be a hard arrangement to tweak. Each adjustment is 3-dimensional.

This fostered another thought. On cruisers with the traveller mounted on an arch over the cockpit (Hunters and catamarans), does the crew adjust the mainsheet or the traveller? I would assume that the traveller has more effect than the mainsheet. What do low-boom racers tend? The mainsheet? The traveller?

Usually both! It's rare that one doesn't affect the other. Boats with the traveller on an arch over the cabin usually have an arched traveller. This prevents the traveller moving at all unless the mainsheet is eased too. Similar problems afflict most setups -- whether it's incomplete mechanical decoupling of one from the other, or just friction, etc.