Harness line position

sailquik said..
The ideal sheeting angle varies with apparent wind angle, which varies with point of sail, speed, shape of sail foil, strength of winds and probably lots of other things as well. Not easy to give a simple definitive answer.

It is something you learn by feel and feedback. It is just as detrimental to oversheet as undersheet. I guess this is one of those things that you heard from experience and makes you a better sailor.

I almost always sail with the harness lines just loose enough to adjust while I sail. I am constantly making small teaks as conditions, wind strength and sail trim changes. (I don't like to wrestle with my sail - always find the easiest way to do something.)

One of my pet peeves is that most modern harness lines designs are crap. They over tighten when is use so can't be easily moved as you sail. They are also impossible to remove and replace without taking the boom apart. Ropes and tubes are sewn in and this is nuts! They should be infinitely replaceable - just a money grabbing strategy for manufacturers and retailers?

I also use tube plastic that has a very long life and replace all the new plastic with this stuff before I even use them. I am trying to track down a new source of the plastic tube and I think it is Polyethylene. It's used for drink dispenser tube in pubs and restaurants, but not all of this tubing is the good stuff, there are different types.

I don't get why so many sailors now have their harness lines set so close together. I run mine at least three fists apart and sometimes much wider. Two advantages:
1. It spreads out the load on alloy booms (well all booms actually)
2. Most importantly, it allows me to move my hook a little forward or back and change the centre of pull on the sail without having to move the line attachment points on the boom all the time and when I change angles of sailing.

OK, rant over. Resume normal transmission, keep calm and struggle on..................