Block to block [Manuel]
Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2005 9:43 am
Manuel wrote:
What does block to block excatly mean?. Tacking about the mast rake
What does block to block excatly mean?. Tacking about the mast rake
Dartful Codger replied:
'Block to block' refers to the position of the two mainsheet triple pulley blocks when beating to windward, which means almost touching each other.
At this setting, the leach (back edge of the sail) should be tight, and as vertical as possible, to eliminate twist.
If you have too much mast rake aft, then you won't be able to get the leach tight enough when 'block to block'.
If you don't have any mast rake, (mast vertical so not leaning back), then you probably won't be able to pull the mainsheet in as far as 'block to block', but if you could, the back edge of the sail would probably then 'hook' to windward, causing a braking effect which is also undesirable.