"Capt. Mooron" wrote in message
...
| Replacing the running rigging is easier on the hands (new stuff is
great!),
| which could be key in certain situations. It also looks better. Either one
is
| reason enough. I'm replacing my mainsheet tomorrow with an oversized line
to
| see how that works.

I've seen people do that [oversize].... never with any benefit. Also I'm
not sure if I concur with your premise that new rope is easier on the hands
since very little "handling" is done on the final tensioning with a winch
and tailing.


On my Nonsuch I replaced the mainsheet with oversized single braid - very soft
on the hands. Since a Nonsuch is often sailed more like a dinghy, and the
amount of line you have to haul in to go from dead downwind to close hauled is
huge (about 70 feet) it was very nice. However, on the catamaran it would be
wasted.