Cascaded mainsheet on a Catalina 270
My crew and I were having great difficulty trimming the main sheet (red line)with fresh wind.
It just took too much force. the cam lock on the fiddle block was at a bad angle to lock and unlock the sheet. I added an extra pair of blocks to give it a 5 to 1 advantage; but, that was not enough.
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| View from the starboard beam |
After a suggestion from a smarter-than-average sailing friend and some though, I added a cascaded pair of blocks to the sheet, It has a four to one advantage. So the 4 to 1 pulls on the 5 to 1. The yield is a 20 to 1 advantage.
Purchase on the red sheet gets the main close; but the final trim is made with the cascaded block. This is Easy to do even is strong wind conditions.
For anybody with a Catalina 270, to make this conversion, a block needs to be added to the padeye that secures the boom vang. I then put a mid-line loop to fasten he cascaded double block.
The micro fiddle block with a cam-lock is fastened to the traveler.
The large blocks are Garnauer blocks, The small blocks on the cascade are Harken micro blocks,
The Catalina 270 has a double ended main sheet. the odd end leads back the starboard winch. Since the winch is not available when on a starboard tack, it is not a practical arrangement.
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| A closer look a the cascaded Harken block with jam cleat |
