I am looking at replacing my mainsheet system which is a 4:1 72mm lewmar.
I would like to insease the ratio to make it easier for crew to handle.
Boat is 40ft 9tonne monohull.
I am looking at 3 brands at the moment being, garhauer
Lewmar, selden.
I am interested to hear peoples opinions and experiences so any feedback would be appreciated

Have you looked at the Easy-Matic 8:1/4:1 system?

I raced on an S97 over there for a fair while (Mr Walker) and we used this system and it was great.
You can pull both ropes to get 4:1 and sheet in/out fast but still pull one to get 8:1 for fine tune/last bit.

Go and see Chris @ Boating Hardware in O'Connor and he should have on the shelf. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the price too!!!

I have the same mainsheet system on my Lotus based on Riley blocks.

The way it reads to me is that it is only 2:1 when hauling both ends i.e. two 2:1 pulleys side by side which still only results in a 2:1 advantage. A bit like batteries, when they are connected in parallel the voltage stays the same, when connected in series the voltage is multiplied.

When you haul on one side you have three 2:1 blocks in a progressive line which doubles the advantage with each block giving an 8:1 advantage.

I like the look of the easy matic but do the 2 lines become tangled I know I have enough issues some times with one

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rumblefish said..
Have you looked at the Easy-Matic 8:1/4:1 system?

I raced on an S97 over there for a fair while (Mr Walker) and we used this system and it was great.
You can pull both ropes to get 4:1 and sheet in/out fast but still pull one to get 8:1 for fine tune/last bit.

Go and see Chris @ Boating Hardware in O'Connor and he should have on the shelf. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the price too!!!

This is only a 3.1 or 6.1 system. Uses a lot of rope for not much purchase. Better to use a 4.1 system with a fine tune at the bitter end at say 4.1 again giving total 16.1 on the fine tune without much rope.

Sorry, it is too.

They do a 8:1/4:1 system, here is the pic of the bottom block

And Riff Raff, you don't end up with much more rope in the cockpit and the other nice thing for short handed sailing is you can have one tail per side so you aren't trying to find a tail which is on the leeward side.

We run the above system on the Adams 10.6 l am racing on and it is brilliant! Brilliant!

The snake pit in the cockpit is usually caused by incorrectly collected sheets with lots of kinks in them. One has to be using the correct way to collect and store sheets. Without exceptions, religiously, all the time. If one does not control the snake pit it is always a problem coming.
Single handers are usually 'rope nazis' and they should be! Their life depends on it.

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RiffRaff said..
I am looking at replacing my mainsheet system which is a 4:1 72mm lewmar.
I would like to insease the ratio to make it easier for crew to handle.
Boat is 40ft 9tonne monohull.
I am looking at 3 brands at the moment being, garhauer
Lewmar, selden.
I am interested to hear peoples opinions and experiences so any feedback would be appreciated

4:1, you're lucky, ours is only 3:1 Or is it 3.5:1 depending on how far back the first block on the boom is?

Let me know if you want to sell your old blocks!







Also been thinking of upping to 5:1 like this:




2:1 traveller is the worst thing at the moment, it's a real pain.

Well I looked into the easymatic with boating hardware and they advised they are not available for approx 6 week and cost for the 40ft boat version 2 is around 600.
I am also loking at the Garhauer 2 speed vangs which is the same block setup. They are a higher rated load and stainless steel with a 10 year guarantee. They are also a little cheaper around the 480 mark.
Free Radical I have a 4:1 end boom system infront of the helm. I prefer it to having it in front of the dodger but it is definately a toe catcher.
It is 2 single blocks on the boom and a fiddle with cam cleat on the traveller.

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RiffRaff said..
Well I looked into the easymatic with boating hardware and they advised they are not available for approx 6 week and cost for the 40ft boat version 2 is around 600.
I am also loking at the Garhauer 2 speed vangs which is the same block setup. They are a higher rated load and stainless steel with a 10 year guarantee. They are also a little cheaper around the 480 mark.
Free Radical I have a 4:1 end boom system infront of the helm. I prefer it to having it in front of the dodger but it is definately a toe catcher.
It is 2 single blocks on the boom and a fiddle with cam cleat on the traveller.

Got any photos Phil? Interested to see your set up. Are you about over the Mandurah boat show? We are thinking about sailing down the Thursday night for Friday at the show and sail back Saturday, depends on the weather, else drive down. It would be good to catch up if you're about. Darren.

Hi Darren, photos attached.
As you can imagine with the large wheel and limited space to get past the traveller track is a toe magnet. I always ask people wear shoes when we are doing any serious sailing, I have kicked it a couple of times myself.
Unfortunately wont be around for the Mandurah Boat show as I am working in Darwin. Heading back for the long weekend, TCYC opening day so I will take the boat around to Rockingham and pick up a club mooring for the weekend. Boat is currently in the MOFSC marina.