[C320-list] jam cleat replacement

[Jeff Hare]

Rick / Fred / Warren,

Can I ask why you don't just wrap the mainsheet on the port cabintop winch and give it a grind with the winch handle? It will pop right out of the jam cleat and then ease it jike you would a jib sheet under load?

The starboard cabin top winch is not as well lined up but also does the trick easily. For what it's worth, we leave the starboard end jammed and the port cabintop winch is always used for the mainsheet. But in some instances we transfer it to the jam cleat but only temporarily. We have even done this on a 30kt broad reach when we needed to tighten the genoa halyard by pressing down on the mainsheet right over the jam cleat and easing the line on the drum. Drops right into the jam cleat and the drum is now free for other uses.

Is it possible that some early hulls didn't have port cabin top winches?

_jeff

-jeff

Fred LEcuyer <fred.lecuyer at live.com> wrote:


Rick, thanks for the comments. Has your first mate ever set foot on the boat again???

I also keep the mainsheet on the winches except when I need the winch to furl the mainsail.... which, of course, is when the wind kicks up. So, with a in-mast furling main, you really do need to use both the jam cleat and the winches at the same time. ...but now I have more respect for what a "jammed" jam cleat can mean. Thanks for the lesson.

Fred

> From: rsulewski at bex.net
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2011 23:13:34 -0500
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] jam cleat replacement
> 
> Fred,
> 
> I second Warren's practice of using the cabin top winch to control the
> mainsheet in higher winds, especially for a single line early 320 model. I
> learned my lesson on Lake Erie that is notorious in the spring for rapidly
> kicking up some challenging northeasterly wind and wave action along the
> shallower region of the Western Basin. 
> 
> My jam cleat (clam cleat) learning experience came on my first higher wind
> trip on our then, newly christened 320. Having locked the mainsheet in the
> jam cleat well before the true wind rapidly went from the mid teens to over
> 32 knots, the higher wind speed made it impossible to clear the jam cleat so
> I could ease the traveler or shorten the mainsail with my traditional boom &
> single reef set.
> 
> The wind was also shifting while I was taken off guard and off course.
> Because I was unable to release the tension on the main, I got busy furling
> the headsail and punching course adjustments into the autopilot to remain
> close hauled and nearer the edge of the wind. After I furled the headsail
> and reduced hull speed and heel, I had no other option but to wait out the
> blow.
> 
> We plowed along while the first mate was hanging on with her white knuckles
> securely locked to the lee side companionway handle(s) I had installed
> earlier in the day. As we proceeded close hauled, leaping up and then over
> those sharp edged waves. By the end of the blow we were in 8 footers. The
> bow was leaping out of the water before the hull crashed down the wave
> picking up speed only to plow into the middle of the next wave and resulting
> in water coming over the topsides and pouring into the cockpit. The entire
> thrill ride lasted for almost a half hour and several miles off course. The
> blow finally subsided to the lower 20s and the wind shifted again so I could
> begin a course heading to my destination island. When the wind subsided I
> released the mainsheet from the jam cleat and began using the cabin winch to
> control the main (ever since).
> 
> Had I been using the cabin winch all along instead of the jam cleat to
> control the mainsheet on that particular day, I could have eased the main,
> eased the traveler and eventually shorted the mainsail to find a more
> tolerable wind/wave angle and hull speed to enjoy the high wind experience.
> Instead, I was thinking how much longer can we continue to remain off
> course, rolling and pounding away while watching the standing rigging take
> those high load shocks again and again each time we ran up, over, and down
> into the waves..... all the while wondering if I should reach for the claw
> hammer or a crow bar to release that mainsheet jam cleat. 
> 
> I learned to begin to reef much earlier and even added an additional set of
> reef points at the end of that first season. The other lesson I learned from
> that jam cleat experience is that my 320 can stand up to anything I am ever
> going to give it because the boat's limits are far more than conditions I
> may ever sail in! 
> 
> Rick
> My-Ria #277
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
> [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Fred LEcuyer
> Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 5:58 PM
> To: Catalina320list Catalina320list
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] jam cleat replacement
> 
> 
> Thanks, Warren. I trust the jam cleat so little that I always use the winch
> (both in my case) to secure the mainsheet. The only time it comes off is
> when we are furling or unfurling the main and need the winch. It's when the
> wind starts to really rev up that I most need to rely on the jam cleat and
> that's exactly when I don't trust it.
> 
> Fred
> 
> > From: wupdike at hotmail.com
> > To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> > Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:52:03 -0500
> > Subject: Re: [C320-list] jam cleat replacement
> > 
> > Fred, someone else mentioned it, so I should emphasize that when winds are
> > strong I use the cabin-top winch to manage the main sheet. On these older
> > hulls the main sheet is a single feed (stbd side) not a dual feed as on
> > newer hulls. Still, I find it no problem to use the cabin-top winch.
> > Warren
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Fred LEcuyer [mailto:fred.lecuyer at live.com] 
> > Sent: Saturday, November 26, 2011 9:34 PM
> > To: Catalina320list Catalina320list
> > Subject: Re: [C320-list] jam cleat replacement
> > 
> > 
> > Thanks, Warren. Given all the comments, I'm wondering if my first step is
> > to wash the mainsheet. It doesn't seem to hold well currently.
> > 
> > I've had it release while furling the main in heavy winds.... not a fun
> > thing!
> > 
> > Thanks for the advice!
> > 
> > Fred
> > 
> > 
> > > From: wupdike at hotmail.com
> > > To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> > > Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:45:34 -0500
> > > Subject: Re: [C320-list] jam cleat replacement
> > > 
> > > Fred, my slip-mate is a Hunter 35.5 named "First Light." 
> > > My locking tab was broken years ago. I thought about replacing it with
> a
> > > clutch; but, decided to wait. I no longer feel I need to replace it.
> > It's
> > > easy to use and easy to let go. In 7 years, the number of time the
> sheet
> > > has let go unexpectedly are few. Just make sure you properly set the
> > sheet
> > > in it by pulling forward. One benefit is that I can take the sheet aft
> to
> > > the wheel and control a gybe single handedly. 
> > > 
> > > Warren & Pattie Updike
> > > 1994 C320 #62 "Warr De Mar"
> > > 
> > > 
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Fred LEcuyer [mailto:fred.lecuyer at live.com] 
> > > Sent: Friday, November 25, 2011 10:48 AM
> > > To: Catalina320list Catalina320list
> > > Subject: [C320-list] jam cleat replacement
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > Has anybody replaced the jam cleats for the mainsheet? The locking tab 
> > > on our 2003 First Light has broken off and I was never very happy about 
> > > secure the line was going through the jam cleat. 
> > > 
> > > Has anyone changed that to a rope clutch? Thoughts about it?
> > > 
> > > Fred
> > > 
> > > First Light
> > > #926
> > > 
> > > 		 	 		 
> > > 
> > 		 	 		 
> > 
> 		 	 		 
>