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snotnosetommy wrote:I'd like to try the dual mainsheet idea. Never had a traveler on my M25, only the Crosby rig. Not sure how the dual mainsheet does the same thing as a traveler.

Dual mainsheets are not for everyone or every boat but here are some of the benefits over the Crosby rig:

1) You can sheet the boom in past the center line to point higher. With the Crosby rig all you accomplish by pulling it in past a certain point is to pull it down and stretch the leach.

2) You can position the boom off to one side or the other to get it out of the way when at the dock or anchor.

3) Safety. There are two cam cleats, one on each side, so you don't have to reach across the cockpit to dump the main when all h*ll is breaking loose.

4) One of the sheets can be unsnapped from the bottom end and moved forward to act as a preventer when sailing downwind.

I know I've read of other benefits but these are just the ones I can think of right now. I believe Jerry Powlas, co-owner of Good Old Boat magazine, has abandoned the traveler on his C&C 30 and gone with dual mainsheets instead.

Travelers can be very effective in controlling sail shape when set up and used properly but I don't think they are (set up and used properly) on most small boats unless their skippers are really into performance.

Just my opinion.

Henry

I love this dual mainsheet idea. I'm going to test it using my vang and see how I like it in practice. Be nice to get away from having the traveler block the companionway entrance all the time, and it would act as an automatic preventer for boom accidents.

What is the effect on sail shape?

The windward sheet acts as the traveller car, controlling the angle of attack of the sail (in and out of the boom.) The leeward sheet can control the up/down position of the boom, which adjusts the amount of twist in the sail.

I did not want to install a traveller across the companionway because that is prime real estate; it is my wife's favorite place to sit.


Henry

Heinzir, if the sheets are independant of one another, how do you tack? It would seem you would have to release one side while at the same time haul in on the other? Unless I'm missing something.

If the lock bolt hole in the keel lines up with the hole in the trunk though, I assume the keel hole is still reasonably close to original roundness...?

I plan to drop the keel this winter and inspect everything, sand and maybe paint/epoxy the keel and replace bolts/cables as necessary anyways.