It's Time For New Sheets, Whip It Good

In the boating world, a "sheet" is a line that is used to control a sail, applying tension to the clew (the lower corner at the back of the sail). We have a single sheet for the mainsail, and we have 2 sheets for our genoa (the sail at the front of the boat).

The genoa needs 2 sheets because the clew of the sail runs past the mast. When we apply tension to the sail, we need to use the sheet that runs on the appropriate side of the mast. If the wind is blowing from the starboard (right) side, then the clew will be on the port (left) side, so we use the port side sheet to apply tension. In the picture below, the wind is blowing from the port side, so we are using the starboard side sheet to control the sail.

The Leopard factory provided all of these lines, but they are pretty cheap and get damaged easily. Our genoa sheets have finally gotten worn enough to be replaced. I'm surprised that they lasted this long, honestly.

I had purchased new genoa sheets when we were in Florida early this year, so it's time to install them.

These are much more expensive, but also much stronger, a bit thinner, and a lot more durable. They are New England Ropes Endura, 11mm, with a 12 strand dyneema core and a polyester outer sheath.

I like to whip the ends of new lines, as shown below.

Stitching this thread near the end (a process called whipping) keeps the outer sheath from becoming separated from the core, and also prevents the end from fraying.

It's a bit of work, but not too difficult, and somehow I think it makes things look better. More sturdy.

On a relatively windless day, we will unfurl the genoa and install the new sheets. She will be better than new for our next sail over to Puerto Rico!

After this upgrade, I think we will only have 2 of the original lines left. The sheet for the mainsail is one of them. It hasn't suffered too much wear so far, but I imagine we will replace it at some point in the next year.