Thanks to all who chimed in. FYI, all my main rigging hardware is Harken: traveler track, windward sheeting car, triple blocks at traveler and at boom with cam cleat on the triple block on the traveler car. When the wind is up, I add a Harken 4:1 purchase to the main sheet with double blocks and a cleat on the lowest double block. One of the responses (Josh) got me thinking that given the mostly light air where I race, my main purchase may be too much (6:1). Certainly this is fine upwind but going downwind, pushing the main out with a whole bunch of 3/8” double braid line is a chore when I have basically 6 lines thru 6 sheaves to work against.
My 36 XL has a 3 spreader rig and a weighted center board-don’t remember the mast height. So my next/last question: is my main ‘over purchased’ for the boat in the lighter air in which she usually races? If so, maybe I should drop to a 4:1 in the main and keep the additional 4:1 purchase on the main permanently. This would give me a purchase of up to 16:1 versus my current setup of 6:1 up to 24:1 and reduce the main sheet length by about 1/3. What says the list? Charlie NelsonC&C 36 XL/kcbWater Phantom Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS On Thursday, November 20, 2025, 1:01 PM, ALAN BERGEN via CnC-List <[email protected]> wrote: I agree with Joel, regarding the line diameter. I actually went with 7/16" for my main and jib sheets, and 3/8" for my spinnaker sheets and guys (I do dip pole gybes). I replaced all my Shaeffer jib and mainsheet blocks with Harken, and I replaced the Shaeffer traveler with a Harken traveler. Garhauer hardware is excellent, and less expensive than Harken hardware, but IMHO too heavy. That's why I didn't go with Garhauer. Alan Bergen35 MkIII ThirstyRose City YCPortland, OR On Thu, Nov 20, 2025 at 9:21 AM Joel Aronson via CnC-List <[email protected]> wrote: Charlie, My 2 cents: Do you use a cam cleat on the bottom block to cleat the line? I would not want to hold anything less than 3/8 in my hand while trimming. Sta-set is pretty soft, and I suspect new line would run through the blocks easier than 30 year old line. If you want to upgrade from double braid look at Marlow D2 Club. It is Dyneema cored, so you could strip cover off if you want and it is a better price than most Dyneema lines. Also consider new blocks. I'd look at Garhauer. I'd be inclined do spend my money on Sta-set and new blocks instead of high tech line. Joel On Thu, Nov 20, 2025 at 12:04 PM cenelson--- via CnC-List <[email protected]> wrote: Hello all listers, After 30 years, I think its time to replace my main sail sheet on my 1995 C&C 36 XL/kcb. This sheet looks to be ~ 3/8" double braid line, likely New England Rope sta-set. It is rigged to a Harken traveler just forward of the helm/binnacle and uses a 6:1 purchase to the end of the boom. The traveler has a windward sheeting car on it and the car has a 3:1 or 5:1 purchase for adjustments. I also have a detachable purchase of 4:1 which I can quickly add to the 6:1 main purchase to get 24:1 when its windy. Aside from some serious but not yet critical fraying of the cover, it still works OK. However, for most of my racing/sailing the line and the 6:1 and 3/8" line is a little over kill and the friction is substantial. My thought is to replace it with something that is lighter in weight and smaller in diameter BUT not so small in diameter that its impossible to hold or trim when required, especially when on the wind. One thought is to go with a line with a partial cover for handling when on the wind, with the remaining line uncovered when the boom is out for downwind or reaching. With a 6:1 purchase, I think the line diameter could go down substantially and still be plenty strong--however, the main trimmer still needs to trim the line so it cannot be too small. OTOH, maybe there is a single smaller diameter line available now that would work and still be lighter without dealing with a line that has some of the cover removed. In either case, I need ~ 110 feet of line with the current 6:1 purchase. Any suggestions from the list on what to replace it with would be appreciated. TIA, Charlie Nelson1995 C&C 36 XL/kcbWater Phantom November is the time of the year when my Internet bills come in. It's also the time when you can show your appreciation of this list and the C&C Photo Album. Please help by making a small contribution using PayPal at: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/stumurray All contributions are greatly appreciated. -- Joel November is the time of the year when my Internet bills come in. It's also the time when you can show your appreciation of this list and the C&C Photo Album. Please help by making a small contribution using PayPal at: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/stumurray__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!rlACSAfUxfXE3h8t9w_bakBEaec8t-YwK0iLM6tGXGAeebEhubyZVwkiulkNVY6eKUBlKSRJRrXgKoy52jDIQDo$ All contributions are greatly appreciated. November is the time of the year when my Internet bills come in. It's also the time when you can show your appreciation of this list and the C&C Photo Album. Please help by making a small contribution using PayPal at: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/stumurray All contributions are greatly appreciated.
November is the time of the year when my Internet bills come in. It's also the time when you can show your appreciation of this list and the C&C Photo Album. Please help by making a small contribution using PayPal at: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/stumurray All contributions are greatly appreciated.
