Sheeting in the main, how hard is too hard?

I was able to take my boat to a large lake for the first time where there is very steady wind. Wind was 20mph gusting to 30+. On the tiny lake I'm usually sailing the wind rolling over the trees makes extreme wind shifts, so I usually don't cleat the main, just sheet in pretty snug, playing the sheet in the gusts. Being out on the big lake for about 4+ hours and traveling long distances between tacks, coupled with high (but very steady) wind, I was cleating the main a lot of the time so my arm didn't fall off. Due to the higher wind, I had the 6:1 downhaul on full, double trapped, Jib & main traveled out, and mast raked back what I thought was far enough, however I probably could have gone one more hole as I was still a few inches from block to block. Trying to keep the boat from heeling without traveling out more, I was really pulling on the mainsheet to get the sail flat. I have converted Seaways to 6:1. I'd never had to sheet in that hard... like, laying the tiller on my shoulder, and pulling extremely hard with both hands type of hard, a fairly good grunt. I'm just curious, how hard is too hard? I've read a lot of people emphasize sheeting in HARD, but is there a limit as to how hard one should draw the sheet in? The hardware seemed to take it fine, but was just curious of others experience.

Sounds like you were doing exactly what you needed to, and my experience is similar. If the equipment has any limitations, they are well beyond what I could ever dish dish out!

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16

Almost impossible to sheet in too hard in those conditions. Often, when trying to get that last inch or so, I will lean in and bend my knees slightly then straighten my legs and lean back to use my lower body/back to do the final pull in (if it’s gusty and there is a lot of working the main, this is a full body workout).

That said, if there is ever any question about being sheeted too tight, just look up at your top telltails. The same rules apply in all conditions - if the upper telltails on the leeward side are not streaming back, then you are over-sheeted. In full on double trap conditions, this basically never happens though.

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It can depend on how much mast rake you are running. I like to set up so the crew can just two block the jib. Then I always two block the main unless the wind is lighter. I adjust the jib halyard Tension to get this setup.

Yes, you can sheet too hard. That causes the leech to cup to windward and stalls the sail. Sheeting harder is not always faster.

The use of leech tell tails can help you fine tune.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Thanks for all of the info guys. I was mainly concerned with the hardware. I have '84 sails with only one set of telltales, but I do plan on adding more to the sail so I can get a better picture of airflow a little later down the road.

So your rig tension is actually set on the "loosish" side, and the mast is held back by mainsheet tension while sailing upwind? If that's the case, then, assuming one does not have the newer jib halyard cleating system that's adjustable on the water, you'd pin the shrouds for how far you want the mast to go forward when broad reaching (with mainsheet loose)?

Back to the original post.....I think I understand some of the reasoning behind the question. On these forums, we tend to speak in generalizations (with built-in assumptions) and relative terms....otherwise the posts would be ridiculously long (like this one!). However, there are so many variables at play (wind, chop, weight, equipment, etc.) that almost nothing is universally true for all conditions. Because of that, we're often left wondering....exactly how high is high (pinching vs. footing), how loose is loose (rig tension), how far back is back (mast rake), how hard is hard (sheeting), how light is light (wind)......

That said, I certainly agree that sheeting harder is not always faster. In fact, I'd say it's slower for most conditions that I sail in. However, for the stated conditions (double trapped and still having to travel out to keep the boat down 'cause there's so much wind), I'm finding it hard to believe that a mere mortal like me could sheet too hard. Rather than loosening the mainsheet in those conditions, I thought you're supposed to travel out as needed (to prevent stalling and excess heeling) while sheeted HARD (to flatten sail for speed). No?

(Not intending to be argumentative here...just trying to learn. Lord knows there's always a need for that when trying to get all you can out of a Hobie 16!)

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16

Yes I run on the “loose” side. I do have the adjustable jib halyard system and while racing, I use it to rake forward down wind.
Bill
Fleet 204