Control Line lenghts

[TBeyer]

West Marine is having a pretty good sale on running ring today only, prices are even better than Rigging Only! and I would like to order new jib sheets and spin sheets. So how do you figure the lenghts of each? I dont have spin sheets now so I cant measure and the two jib sheet sets that came with boat didnt seem right either so I dont trust there measurements. Boat is a 26ft. head sail are hanked on 100% and soon to find used 135% and a 170% drifter.
Thanks

[dasein668]

I don't have a spinnaker, but my jib sheet is my repurposed main sheet, about 75 feet. I use a single length attached to the clew at the center or the line with a simple cow hitch (or lark's head).

75 is probably a little long, but not so much so that I've bothered to cut it down. I prefer to err on the side of too much lenght than too little, myself.

[Robert The Gray]

If intend to use the same sheets for all head sails they will have to be very long. I would suggest using much lighter line on the drifter (125%) this will not cause the clew of the sail to droop when the winds are very light. in a basic sense you want the sheets long enough so that when close hauled you have enough slack on the lazy sheet to reach the winch. any longer and I feel they just get in the way. I have heavy sheets on my blade jib. and light sheets on my drifter.

r

[Tim]

Each jib sheet, roughly speaking, needs to be about 1.5X the length of the boat, to ensure plenty of extra for the lazy sheet to go around the mast and back to the opposite clew, while leaving enough tail to be workable.

This is a guideline only, and gives you some idea. Longer is definitely better than too short! Err on the side of caution, and you can always cut them if they seem too long.

Spinnaker sheets probably want to be 2X the length of the boat, as they need lots of length. Again, this is a rough estimate.

Robert's idea to use light line on the drifter is a good one. It will definitely help the set of the sail in its intended light winds.