14-FEB-2018, Lake Union, Seattle – A mainsheet traveler adjusts where the mainsheet connects to the boat.
The mainsheet is the line (rope) that pulls the main sail towards the center of the boat. (It also places some downforce on the sail, specifically on the boom, but that is really a side effect.)
When CaroBabbo was originally sold the mainsheet connected to an eye in the center of the cockpit table. The problem with this is that when sailing very close to the wind, the boom should be very close to, or on the centerline of the boat. To make the boom come to the center line of the boat the attachment point of the mainsheet has to be past the centerline of the boat. The problem is that the attachment point must always be to windward. Continue reading “A new mainsheet traveler”