Kirby Sheeting

So I know this is a bit controversial, but I find the "standard" Solo layout uncomfortable and difficult to sail.

Almost every Solo has a centre mainsheet system with a traveller track across the central beam (thwart?) and just behind the track is a small platform for the mainsheet block and cleat. 

Something like this...

For me, the cockpit seems to be designed around the rig, not the sailor 😕

Specifically...

#1 There is nowhere to sit if you want to move in a bit.

#2 You end up sitting too far back on most points of sailing.

#3 Tacking and gybing is tricky.

For #1 this is not only a problem in light winds, but also going downwind. Sitting on the track is quite painful for any length of time and the mainsheet block/cleat is very difficult to use on a run if you try to sit forward as it does not swivel all the way round. The block/cleat also stops you sitting in the middle, arguably the best place to sit on a run.

With #2 when you are offwind you need to sit forward to go quickly unless you are very lightweight. The mainsheet system makes this very difficult as there is no where to sit forward of it except on the side of the boat. I have seen some sailors climb over the track and sit on the centreboard case on a run in light winds, but it is a bit precarious and you have to sheet the sail from the boom, which is not ideal in gusty weather when you have to react quickly.

For #3 tacking/gybing involves a lot of pulley blocks and ropes coming towards your face at some speed, causing you to move backwards to avoid them (at the same time as ducking the boom). That temporarily pushes the stern into the water - not fast.

What To Do?

So after sailing my new boat for a bit, I felt I had to make some changes. The Solo rules allow you have a mainsheet track either in the middle (as normal) OR mounted on the transom. So I got the screwdriver out 😧 and moved the track to the back and took the swivel mainsheet block/cleat off completely.

My first new system was simple rear sheeting, like an Enterprise. This works ok, but to tack/gybe you have to turn towards the back of the boat which felt odd and I don't think I would be confident sailing like that except in light winds. Gybing a Solo in strong winds is tricky at the best of times without facing backwards. Also that rear sheeting means your arm holding the mainsheet is pulled back when beating, which makes responding to gusts (and just hiking) more difficult. 

It did work well in light winds though. I could sit in the middle of the boat, sit forward and still control the sail easily. It made for a quicker boat especially downwind - and so much more comfortable.

But it was not going to work for windy weather. 

Bruce To The Rescue

Then it occurred to me the ideal system might be a very familiar one. I sailed Lasers for a long time and perhaps the system Bruce Kirby used for the Laser since the 1970s (and still used today on most racing dinghies) was what I needed?

I think everyone who sails is familiar with how the Laser mainsheet works, so I won't bore you with a long explanation. On my rear-sheeted Solo, all I needed to do was to feed the mainsheet back along the boom from the rear-mounted track and down to a ratchet block which I tied around the thwart/centre beam. 

To make sure the mainsheet didn't get in my way I made a new boom slider with a bit of Acetal plastic just wide enough to fit in the track underneath the boom and tied a short loop of strap from an old cover to it so the main sheet would go through it. The Laser has something very similar of course.

The new system worked really well for me. Comfortable downwind/in light winds. I can sit forward as much as I like, perch on the thwart or centreboard casing and still control the sail. It is super-responsive in gusty conditions (you can drop the main in a gust very quickly) and makes tacking and gybing in a blow easier.

I don't know of any other Solos with this system, but there should be. Once you get over the fear of changing the existing boat to have a rear track, the new sheeting feels immediately familiar and usable. 

Look at all that lovely space to sit in...

You know you want to try it 😎