Forums, Mast, Rigging and Sails, Shroud Rollers

moongirl at 18/11/2015 22:53:49
Does anyone have any thoughts about fitting rolling sleeving, in particular to the for’d lowers, to aid the passage of the f’sail when tacking?

Is there a danger of moisture being trapped & corroding Dyaform wire?

George Isted at 19/11/2015 15:04:53
The thing that I find catches when tacking is the knot on the sheet rather than the sail. Using the smallest diameter sheet you can live with helps, or you can purchase and splice on some expensive Tylaska J clips.
Sleeving the front lowers may help, it’s often seen on boats for this reason and shouldn’t cause a problem with the wire.

Brigitte at 19/11/2015 16:31:37
I agree with George’s comments about the knots. We inherited a genoa sheet that is a single length of line. The line is folded in half and the centre pushed through the eyelet on the genoa clew and the two ends fed through the loop and back to the winches – it’s effectively a larks head knot. However, this small loop is permenantly stitched into the line, presumably to prevent any slippage.

I’m sure there are lots of reasons why this must be a terrible idea, but it works jolly well to stop all that annoying snagging and we’ve not been inclined to change it yet.

George Isted at 19/11/2015 16:41:11
Sounds like a nice simple solution Brigitte, if it works for you why change.

The only down side I can imagine is the inability of quickly removing and remaking one of the sheets. I occasionally need to do this if I forget to put the sheet over the spinny pole when jibing although I guess the aft (cockpit) end could be pulled through and re-threaded.

Brigitte at 19/11/2015 20:13:12
We’ve yet to encounter a situation where we needed to remove a sheet, although rethreading has taken place once or twice; No doubt the day it does happen, we’ll be cursing it roundly.

Keny at 20/11/2015 16:04:45
Hello S&S
The best way I have found is to keep the single line and make a butterfly knot in the middle. All this does is make a loop in the middle. You then attach the sail with a soft shackle which you can make yourself or purchase ready made. The knot passes the shrouds much easier being smaller. The clew and shackle don’t touch the shroud at all.
keny

moongirl at 20/11/2015 18:46:34
Already got ‘J’ clips & even those catch on the shrouds!

doug at 20/11/2015 18:51:40
I used to have the clip on type on each shroud but if they are loose enough to roll easily they can set up an annoying noise in strong winds at anchor.
I have cut things back to just the forward lowers and use tape on the wire to cut down the clearance/rattle a little. Not noticed any problem with trapped moisture

Keny at 21/11/2015 13:01:03
Forgot to say I also have the shroud rollers. They definitely help the sail to pass easily and the ‘knot’ never catches. They will rattle when tacking but that just proves they’re doing their job.
keny

moongirl at 22/11/2015 09:23:58
Thanks for the input everybody. On the basis of feedback I think the rollers are worth a try.

waratah912 at 25/11/2015 18:40:07
The only problem with shroud rollers is that they result in accumulation of organic detritus in the lay of the shroud, if you never raise them, not a problem, but difficult to remove and very messy when you do.

On the subject of single line with an eye in it, on our previous boat we used a soft shackle and it worked well, for example :
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=jib+sheet+soft+shackle&espv=2&biw=1422&bih=750&tbm=isch&imgil=GFmcmI56X6tUEM%253A%253B5QgwFzJROQDfTM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fherreshoffh28.com%25252F2012%25252F09%25252F12%25252Fhow-to-attach-jib-sheets-with-a-soft-shackle%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=GFmcmI56X6tUEM%253A%252C5QgwFzJROQDfTM%252C_&dpr=0.9&usg=Av6yJLrASmB0Mw3lHHkqtLS5MdU%3D&ved=0ahUKEwiF6qaTnKzJAhUJbRQKHYgjAWUQyjcIKQ&ei=DwBWVsWmE4naUYjHhKgG#imgrc=GFmcmI56X6tUEM%3A&usg=Av6yJLrASmB0Mw3lHHkqtLS5MdU%3D

however, never felt the need to use it on Waratah.

Keny at 25/11/2015 20:08:40
Of Waratah’s images, the one I described is the Stingy Sailor one – not a reflection on me I hope.
I will now lift my rollers to see what lies underneath.
keny