Dear Mr. Dashew: A few years ago, I bought your book Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia and found it most informative. For the past 3 years I have been building a Baltek Superlite balsa/epoxy 50′ Simonis-designed catamaran here in Johannesburg, South Africa. We have never sailed or owned a boat before, and every day we find new challenges and unique problems that we have to overcome. We are building this boat 600 kilometers from the nearest port with no experienced folk anywhere in sight. Despite these handicaps, so far I think we have managed pretty good, and day by day we are getting closer to our dream. We are now close to finishing the hull, deck and bulkheads. After this we will then commence with the deck hardware and internal fitting.
The purpose of my email: I cannot find any readily available information either in your book or elsewhere on the Internet providing details regarding the rope to winch (Lewmar – self tailing) angle. I am referring to the genoa rope – at what angle to the winch drum should this rope connect? I would imagine that the rope should meet the drum at about 90 degrees – but I am not sure.
You must be extremely busy but your advice will be greatly appreciated. Regards, Wiets W
Hi Wiets: Sounds like you have a project! There are two angles for your winches. One is the drum angle. With chain, where the chain wraps around a gypsy for something less than 200 degrees, the angle can be critical. However, with a winch used for rope, there will be multiple turns on the winch, so the angle around the drum is unimportant.
The angle up from the deck to the winch drum is important. If it is too flat, the rope will tend to override. If it is too low, there will be excessive drag. We usually come up at an angle a little less than the base of the winch drum. Most winch manufacturers will specify the optimum angle for their drum.
There is one other angle to consider, and this is where the line stripper exits on top of the drum (assuming you are using self-tailing winches). This is adjustable when the winch is assembled, so you will have time to play with it later. Basically, you want to avoid having the self-tailing line fall over the sheet where it comes onto the drum. Otherwise, as the sheet is wound in the self-tailing end, it can become ensnarled around the drum. Good Luck – Steve
Posted by Steve Dashew (November 30, 1999)
