Okay, not to hijack a thread here but I have to ask... I know what a preventer is but why do some absolutely swear by them and others don't use them? I learned to sail at a very young age and have never used a preventer, never seen a need for one, have no idea how to rig one, etc. A couple local guys use them for safety reasons, I assume to keep people from getting whacked? Simple rule on my boat, if you don't know what you are doing then you don't go forward under sail.
If you were to rig a preventer how do you do it? Where does it connect too? My instinct says mid-boom to an extra set of genoa blocks on the toerail or inboard track and then back to the cockpit?
I understand the controlling of the "accidental gybe" but the accidental gybe shouldn't happen if you are paying attention. When are the appropriate times to use a preventer? Seems if just out daysailing setting up and tearing down a preventer everytime you have to run DDW is a PITA.
Clueless? Thanks, RT
If you were to rig a preventer how do you do it? Where does it connect too? My instinct says mid-boom to an extra set of genoa blocks on the toerail or inboard track and then back to the cockpit?
I understand the controlling of the "accidental gybe" but the accidental gybe shouldn't happen if you are paying attention. When are the appropriate times to use a preventer? Seems if just out daysailing setting up and tearing down a preventer everytime you have to run DDW is a PITA.
Clueless? Thanks, RT
Shadowfax
Member III
I use one when sailing wing and wing. A small fluke in the wind and you can get a accidental gybe that can break expensive boat parts, or heads. My preventer also doubles as a vang and has snap shackles on both ends, so in rigs in about a minute. Well worth the time in my opinion
Preventer comments
About three decades ago I did some crewing on a local C&C 30. The owner had double preventers rigged with no conventional vang, per se.
There were two part tackles from somewhere on the mid portion of the boom up to the rail on each side of the mast. From there the tail of each went aft to a cam cleat on the aft corners of the cabin.
He bouy raced with this set-up and also did distance racing. He was both a really nice skipper and a regular winner.
(I will always remember his advice to the crew when another boat was threatening us from behind - chute up on a tight off wind leg - "Don't worry and just keep adjusting the sails square to the wind no matter which way I point the boat..." As I recall the other boat never did get to take us up. And then as soon as things calmed down on the course again, his good natured wife would hand up more fresh sandwiches from the galley!)
So many times in racing and cruising, your chosen course has enough restrictions that you need to spend time running dead down wind or even a little by the lee when the wind vector varies. (This keeps the crew alert...)
With the preventers you no longer have to deal with an unplanned gybe, and when you do decide to gybe you can use the windward preventer tackle to modulate the speed of the boom coming across.
I have also seen this double preventer scheme used on blue water cruisers quite a bit, where wave action can slew the boat around unpredictably and cause a gybe that would not happen in smooth waters.
For local cruising or racing I would not add this layer of running riggind complexity, but for an offshore trip I might reconsider...
:nerd:
Best,
Loren
About three decades ago I did some crewing on a local C&C 30. The owner had double preventers rigged with no conventional vang, per se.
There were two part tackles from somewhere on the mid portion of the boom up to the rail on each side of the mast. From there the tail of each went aft to a cam cleat on the aft corners of the cabin.
He bouy raced with this set-up and also did distance racing. He was both a really nice skipper and a regular winner.
(I will always remember his advice to the crew when another boat was threatening us from behind - chute up on a tight off wind leg - "Don't worry and just keep adjusting the sails square to the wind no matter which way I point the boat..." As I recall the other boat never did get to take us up. And then as soon as things calmed down on the course again, his good natured wife would hand up more fresh sandwiches from the galley!)
So many times in racing and cruising, your chosen course has enough restrictions that you need to spend time running dead down wind or even a little by the lee when the wind vector varies. (This keeps the crew alert...)
With the preventers you no longer have to deal with an unplanned gybe, and when you do decide to gybe you can use the windward preventer tackle to modulate the speed of the boom coming across.
I have also seen this double preventer scheme used on blue water cruisers quite a bit, where wave action can slew the boat around unpredictably and cause a gybe that would not happen in smooth waters.
For local cruising or racing I would not add this layer of running riggind complexity, but for an offshore trip I might reconsider...
:nerd:
Best,
Loren
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