Real boats have a sliding gooseneck so one can raise the
mainsail to the top black line and allow the boom to slide
up for ease of uphauling without a winch. Once the halyard
is made fast, tension along the luff can easily be made by
drawing down on the boom using the mainsheet so the
downhaul can be cleated off.

Cunningham cringles and tackle are something that are
totally unnecessary on any boat with a sliding gooseneck.
This is but another advantage of a boat that is set up to
cruise instead of to race. Cunningham gear is just a way
to get around the rules of racing and as such should be
used only on racing yachts.


"Gerard Weatherby" wrote in message ...
Cat's Meow is sailng with a new mainsail this year. The sail has a separate
grommet for a downhaul (Cunningham) in additional to the tack. Given I'm
working with a single winch on the mast, does it make more sense to use the
winch for the main halyard and tighten the downhaul by hand, or raise the main
by hand and use the winch for the downhaul? I tried raising the main by hand
yesterday in a relatively* brisk wind, ~15 knots, and it didn't seem like the
main got raised enough.

*Relative to the usual Long Island Sound light air.

S/V Cat's Meow
http://www.catsmeow.org