jib sheets caught on forward hatch.

Mine only caught when unfurling the sail if someone was not taking up the slack on the WW side. Because of this I never thought to make a more permanent solution but I bet some closed cell insulation would work well to fill the gap. You can purchase round sections that you can wedge into the spaces. I just bought some for another project in a large home improvement store in the weatherstripping aisle.

weatherstripping

treilley said:

Mine only caught when unfurling the sail if someone was not taking up the slack on the WW side. Because of this I never thought to make a more permanent solution but I bet some closed cell insulation would work well to fill the gap. You can purchase round sections that you can wedge into the spaces. I just bought some for another project in a large home improvement store in the weatherstripping aisle.

Click to expand...

I agree that some of my line fouling may be due to a little sloppy sailing but my main concern with weatherstripping is keeping it in place when the hatch is opened. I'm looking for a more permanent solution where once the fix is made I can forget about it. I agree however that weatherstripping would be quick, easy and effective if the hatch was never opened. Thanks for your advice. Maybe someone knows knows more intimate details about 'the gap' to know if the foam strip or something else can somehow be attached. I still think something small just at the forward corners is all that is needed.

Same issue here

I enjoy the same issue on my E26-300. I finally gave up on messing with the hatch gap. My sheet catching was primarily due to unfurling using only only the lead sheet. Now I have developed the habit of unfurling while still to weather. I bring the clew back towards the mast with both sheets, then turn and let the sail fill and finish unfurling. That leaves the "lazy" sheet resting behing the hatch for the next tack. Not a purfect solution, but the change in habits resolves 99% of my jib sheet hanging issues. If you come up with something cool to mitigate the hanging, please post up!

This is a big problem for me too.
I given up on having my hatch ever open while underway.
Ive even had it ripped off and go overboard. miserable day.
My gap is real bad even when closed. Sometimes I take the hatch off
and stow below on daysails(just made a new one, nice brightwork) because
I dont want to lose it again.
As I bring the bow through the wind I hold the ww sheet a little
long so it really pops over, less time for lazy sheets to catch.

I wish I could give credit where it is due but I don't remember where I saw it. The solution was to screw a toilet seat bumper at each corner, outside the hatch gap. The bumpers are those round rubber things with a screw hole in the middle.

While the bumpers may detract from the ship-shape look of your vessel a similar shape cut out of starboard might look better ?




-Sven