What's the best/easiest way to put a split tail on a mainsheet? I have an 8mm sheet and would ideally like to have this end in two 3 or 4mm lines. I've tried knotting a line through the mainsheet, and this works OK, but the knot doesn't last very long as it gets pulled through the traveller.

Any suggestions? I have absolutely no idea when it comes to splicing/sewing ropes.

Paul

You have several options :

-1- Make a small hole in the mantle of your mainsheet line and pull the core out thrrough this opening. You now have two tales.

-2- Pull the mantle back and cut of the exposed core and pull and line a 3mm back in in the mantle by its midsection. Stitch the line in place once the mantle is fully extended again, same for original core. (this is the setup I have and it is still holding well)

-3- Variation on -2- : extend mantle back after cutting away core. Open up the mantle next to were the core begins again. Run a small (3 mm) line through this opening and through the hollow mantle toewards the end of the mainsheet. Stitch the line into place as well as the core end. This approach is often simpler then -2- and rather easy to do at home. The mantle must be strong hower.

-4- Open up de mainsheet lijn and run a small diameter line through the mainsheet several times (from split point to other ending tale). Tie a figure 8 knot at the end of the small diameter line that comes out at the other tale. When it goes back and forth enough times then it will hold well.

-5- Take swift cord 6 mm (hollow) and run a 3 mm line inside it. Run it up the sheet meaning from split to where you will be holding the traveller sheet (or the cleat will). Just start the insert a little up from the tale end. Stitch both ends to eachother.

-6- Quick and dirty. Make a small bowline loop in the middle of a 3 mm line. Tie both ends of to the beam in such a way that the top of the bowline loop just won't touch the place where the traveller sheet exists the car. Now rig the traveller sheet through the car and through the bow line loop and terminate it with a figure 8 knot. The loop must be small enough to only allow passing of the traveller line. This works actually rather well, you only miss about 10-15 mm in sheeting relative to the perfect centre of the beam.


I hope this helps

Wouter

Thanks for the suggestions. I've tried option 6 in the past with mixed results, and my current solution of knotting through the mainsheet wears too quickly, so I'm now looking at a neater, long term solution.

Option 2 sounds good. I'm wondering how you attach the 3mm line to the core? Do you overlap them at all (that would create a thick bit of line, surely?) or do you some how stitch them end-to-end? What sort of line do you use for stitching?

Paul

I found that the easiest way was similar to option 1 above, but I then pass the cover (mantle) though the core and then the core through the cover to prevent any slipping of the cover and core. Finish it off with a nice whip over the intersections and then whip the ends to keep it looking neat.

Chris' split tails are still holding up well on the F18 and the I20!

I have a question, what is the purpose of the split tail on the traveller control?

ak

It helps the traveller stay centered better.

How?

The idea is that rather than anchoring to a single point at the centre of the traveller track, you anchor to two points, one off to either side of centre. This means that there is always one rope with a component of its tension that stops the car from moving, even when centered. This is not the case with a single anchor point. To look at it another way, it's fairly easy to push even a very tight rope sideways, but much harder to move it in the direction that it's pulling.

I finally got round to putting a decent split tail on my main on Tuesday, so I'll be interested to see how it holds up this weekend.

Paul

Paul's right. Take a look at the single-end traveller when under load. You get some deflection in the line under load, no matter how tight you pull it through the cleat. The effect is that you are ALWAYS travelled down an inch or so. Now look at a split-tail - by using two attachment points, of which only the weather side is fully loaded, you have taken that inch back, allowing you to truly have the main centered. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Make sure that you have the split tail tied correctly - I often see that people tie them the wrong length, which eliminates the benefit, effectively making it like you don't have one. Tie it and test it on the beach. Reference marks on the beam are very helpful.

The split tail does help center the traveler but it offers the difference of only a very small amount. You also need to be precise about where the split stops when the traveler is centered tightly. The split tails should enter the sheaves of the traveler car and the split/taper should finish up before it gets to the cleat. If the split tails stop short of the sheaves, you've not accomplished anymore than if you tied one line to the center of the rear beam.

Thanks for the info. I couldn't see the advantage on my boat, and that is because it isn't rigged right.

ak

Could someone post pics so those of us that are mentally challenged can see what is happening?

thanks

Clayton

So instead of tying off to the center of the beam you can basically offset the dead end to windward and gain the additional distance to C/L. Is the small difference that big in performance?

Clayton

its attached all the time to both port and starboard sides and you don't travel past centerline.

when you get it to work just right, you probably gain about 1/4" of traveler distance toward center...I don't think it is enough to make any measureable performance difference.

I agree that the difference is not great but:

a) Getting it to work Just Right really isn't that hard. Use "quick knots" and the join between the ropes will sit in just the right place, every time you rig. Tie a figure of eight at the same point in both tails, push a loop of rope through each eyelet, and put the figure of eight through that loop. From a rigging point of view it's easier than tieing a figure of eight in the end of a rope tied through a centred eyelet, because it's easier to undo.

b) The traveller is very sensitive. Dropping the traveller just a couple of inches when it's really honking makes a big difference, so keeping it properly centered when it's not seems sensible.

Attached is my current effort. It feels pretty solid, but we'll see how it holds up.

Paul

It seems easier to use a traveler line with with a core... extract the core about 1 foot from the bitter end through the jacket wall. Tie the jacket on one side, the core on the other. Whip the joint if you want some added security.

I just leave my traveler line rigged to the boat even when trailering. I use a short traveler line that ties to the mainsheet so once the traveler line is rigged, it stays.