Dave Flett
Posted 2021
Any advice on best mainsheet for the Sonata. We have a bridle and track arrangement with 4:1. The 10mm sheet we currently use is heavy and continually twists even though we have swivel blocks.
Mark Taylor
Posted 2021
I can’t remember the make of the mainsheet I am now using on Saraband but it is 10mm and not the usual “braid on braid” that I had used in the past…… I found it made a difference to remove / lock the swivels on the boom, which then left only the one on the bridle, where quite frankly it made little difference to lock the swivel as the bridle just twisted anyway.
An occasional crew member who does pit on much larger and more exotic yachts pointed out that my diligent coiling of the mainsheet and hanging it on the boom every time I put the boat away was actually the biggest cause of my twisting. He encouraged me to use loops rather than coils (there are youtube videos on how to manage modern ropes) and the other thing he did was lob the whole mainsheet out the back of the boat, tow it behind me for a little while then pull it back in. The difference it made to kinking and twisting was significant as it removed all the tensions in the stored rope.
Mark T