Secrets to Rig a Flying Jibe Preventer!

If you are anything like me, sailboat cruising downwind in a brisk breeze takes tons of concentration. After all, it takes just a small change in the true wind and that sailboat boom threatens to swing across the boat in an uncontrolled jibe! Read this excerpt from "Seamanship Secrets" that will show you just how fast things can get out of hand aboard a small vessel at sea...

With the weather going foul and the glass (barometer) plummeting, the owner roused the crew to shorten canvas and make the deck weather-ready. We were flying along in the Gulf Stream, broad reaching at 7 knots. This was the second day of our delivery from Miami to Norfolk aboard a brand-new Ted Brewer--designed Oceanic 43. Being the youngest of the crew, I went forward to assist the owner with reefing the main. The elder statesman of the crew--a gent in his 70s--manned the helm. The boat yawed like a drunken sailor as the swells lifted its quarter, shoving it to and fro. As soon as we finished the main, I made my way back to the cockpit. Perhaps trimming the sails would help ease the motion. Whack! The boom whistled across the deck, missing my head by an inch or two. We quickly hauled in the mainsheet to center the boom. After lashing a line (called a preventer) to the boom's end, we led the line forward to a snatch block and then aft to the cockpit. The boom was eased, the preventer line was tensioned, and the boat came alive again. That uncontrolled jibe came close to knocking me off the boat. Lucky I ducked. Our mistake was not rigging our boat for deep reaching or running from the get-go...

Sunday, 17 July 2011

Use one of these two methods to maintain control on your own small cruising boat when broad reaching or running before the wind:

Small Cruising Sailboat Preventer Rig This small cruising sailboat has the headsail under good control with a whisker pole. It would be be a good idea to move the boom vang to the starboard rail to serve as a preventer. 1. Find a stout deck pad eye on the aft side of your after lower shroud. Make sure this sailing gear has a backup plate and can accept heavy loads. 2. Disconnect the lower part of the boom vang (called a fiddle block). Remove the block's snap shackle from the mast. Attach the snap shackle to the deck pad eye. 3. Lead the boom vang line back to the cockpit. Adjust the new preventer to allow 2" to 3" of slack. This prevents the problem of boom overload that could lead to permanent distortion. Adjust the vang to level the boom. This controls the leech and keeps strains off of your sailboat boom gear. 4. In heavy weather, rig an intermediate strop between the deck pad eye and boom vang snap shackle. Make a loop from heavy bungee cord. Attach one end to the deck pad eye with a screw-pin shackle and the other to your vang. This allows extra "give" when rolling in heavy seas.
This small cruising sailboat has the headsail under good control with a whisker pole. It would be be a good idea to move the boom vang to the starboard rail to serve as a preventer.

Sunday, 17 July 2011

Large Cruising Sailboat Preventer Rig Larger sailboats or any small sailboat that cruises in coastal or offshore waters should consider an end-of-the-boom preventer rig. It gives an extra margin of safety and keeps loads off of the boom and goose neck. Rig this type of preventer before casting off. You don't want to try and work on the end of the boom underway. 1. Attach a large snatch block to the bow stemhead fitting or to a beefy, through-bolted boat cleat on the bow. 2. Install a stout, through-bolted pad eye near the end of the boom. 3. Shackle a long line to the boom pad eye, run it forward to the mast, coil it, and stow it nearby. When you are ready to use the preventer, go to step 4. 4. Run the line up to the bow, through the snatch block, and back to a sheet winch in the cockpit. This type of preventer does not exert much downward pull. It allows the boom to rise to prevent damage in case the boom end "trips" (dips into the water) when the boat rolls.

Sunday, 17 July 2011