Midboom Sheeting with low friction rings

[JoJo - SV Uku]

Hey all. This is my first post but I have been lurking for sometime now.

I am in the middle of a complete refit of a Pacific Dolphin 28 (Yankee 28) that had been setup with midboom sheeting. There are 3 bails on the boom so I am assuming it was a 5:1 setup originally, not sure and there is not a lot of info on this boat that I can find.

Anyways, I am thinking about setting it up like this:

 

My question is, would I be able to use low friction rings in place of the blocks labeled "A" in the diagram? Has anyone done this successfully and if yes could I get some photos please?

Cheers!

JoJo

 

[Rain Man]

In my experience, low friction doesn't mean "no friction".  Since you are using a winch anyway you should be able to overcome the friction and use rings, but blocks are a better choice for this application. If you are not using a winch I would definitely use blocks. 

Pay attention to the breaking loads on the low friction rings.

 

[European Bloke]

The marketing and finance departments have hit gold with 'low friction' rings. The engineering team are stunned.

 

[Will1073]

https://l-36.com/low_friction_rings.php

 

[Zonker]

do not do this with rings. Rings are OK for high load/small deflection/not much movement (i.e. static a lot of the time)

 

[zenmasterfred]

What Zonker says, if it was a reasonable solution you would see the racers doing it to save weight etc.  

 

[silent bob]

do not do this with rings. Rings are OK for high load/small deflection/not much movement (i.e. static a lot of the time)

What Zonker says, if it was a reasonable solution you would see the racers doing it to save weight etc.  

“I have a crazy idea" means "I want to try something stupid."
 

If it's stupid and it works, it's still stupid and you're lucky.

 

[MiddayGun]

The marketing and finance departments have hit gold with 'low friction' rings. The engineering team are stunned.

Yeah the way they're described you'd sometimes come away thinking they're a lower friction solution then blocks. 
They have their uses, like Zonker said, low deflection, lightweight and stuff that doesn't move too much. 

Think like backstay cascades, barber haulers for spinny sheets etc.

For a mainsheet, highly loaded, 180 degrees of deflection multiples times, you'll be much better off with high load ball bearing blocks. 

 

[brucephenry]

The dynamic loads on a main sheet can be truly staggering in a gybe (even an intentional one). That’s a fairly small boat, and I gotta believe you’re probably day sailing rather than crossing the Southern Ocean. So you’re probably okay. But…

That whole thing I said about dynamic loads… to lessen those loads you should use a stretchy line. Not core dependent, not dyneema/spectra/vectran, something cheap and springy.

If you go this route I’d love to hear how it works. 

 

[Raz'r]

No.

And I'm not using a stretchy line for a mainsheet, either.

 

[IStream]

I put the stretchy line on the traveler to protect the boat from a hard gybe but much prefer a low-stretch line on the mainsheet.

 

[Raz'r]

I put the stretchy line on the traveler to protect the boat from a hard gybe but much prefer a low-stretch line on the mainsheet.

Our practice is to center the traveler pre-gybe, grind her in, let it do it's thing then back out. Loaded up like a bitch she is.

 

[IStream]

Our practice is to center the traveler pre-gybe, grind her in, let it do it's thing then back out. Loaded up like a bitch she is.

Same here. Singlehanding a 50'er, I'm not trying to eek out every last turn of speed with my tacks and gybes. I'm just happy if I can get her to go where I want without breaking anything in the process, myself included. 

 

[JoJo - SV Uku]

All the replies are much appreciated! Thank you all. This helps a lot:

Rings are OK for high load/small deflection/not much movement

I definitely don't plan to do any sailing in the southern ocean, but I do intend to do some longer offshore passages with the boat. The thing about the low (not no) friction rings that appeals to me is their lack of moving parts / simplicity. It is good to know their weaknesses as well. I will order some blocks for the mainsheet. 
 

I put the stretchy line on the traveler to protect the boat from a hard gybe but much prefer a low-stretch line on the mainsheet.

I found a good deal locally on a spool of of Samson Trophy Braid, 3/8" https://www.fisheriessupply.com/samson-rope-trophy-braid

Curious as to where this would lie on the stretchy index.

Our practice is to center the traveler pre-gybe, grind her in, let it do it's thing then back out. Loaded up like a bitch she is.

This is what I have always done as well.

“I have a crazy idea" means "I want to try something stupid."
 

If it's stupid and it works, it's still stupid and you're lucky.

Cheers Silent Dad!

 

[Zonker]

That type of rope is fine for a 28' boat. Mainsheets can be a bit stretchy if they are multi part tackles. The only part that sees higher loads is the last section going to the winch.

This person isn't racing where you don't want to give up any force in stretching a rope.

 

[Raz'r]

I understand the simplicity part. Get some garhauer,lewmar or other simple axle sheave blocks, no ball bearings.

 

[JoJo - SV Uku]

That type of rope is fine for a 28' boat.

Thank you. Glad to hear that!

Get some garhauer,lewmar or other simple axle sheave blocks, no ball bearings.

Cheers! I was just going to ask about ball bearings.

 

[Will1073]

Harken’s Element blocks are nice kit too

 

[CaptainAhab]

Low friction rings are used for things that you rarely adjust. The mainsheet does not qualify. I figure they mean lower friction than just using a stainless ring. How much lower is proprietary knowledge...