15 December 2013

Jib furling line cleat

Another small job, but one to help single handed sailing. The clam cleat for the jib furling line is on the side deck, just outside the coaming of the cockpit. I have always found that I prefer to haul in the line from in front of the cleat, and then have to pull it through to fix it. I realised this was partly due to it being too far back. I need to be forward tending the sheet as I furl the jib, so the cleat was too far back to use at the same time. The other problem was that the line came out of the cleat at an angle into my hand, if I just yanked it in. This caused it to rub against the cheek of he cleat, which I didn't like and is probably why the roller in the original cleat had a groove worn in it. I have now moved the cleat forward, only by about a foot or so, and I have fitted a plywood wedge under it, so that it tilts inwards, allowing the line to come straight out from the cleat roller to my hand. It seems to work well in the shed, so I hope it works as well on the sea. I have also replaced the furling line with a slightly thicker one. I hope that this will stop it jamming when the line jumps off the drum, which it did rather too often last season.

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