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Encyclopedia > Preventer

A Preventer is a mechanical device on a sailing vessel which limits the boom's ability to swing dangerously across the boat during an accidental gybe. There are several meanings of the word boom: a sound such as a sonic boom - onomatopoeia the sound of an explosion. ... Gybe (also spelled jibe) is when a sailing boat (yacht) turns its stern through the wind, such that the wind changes from one side of the boat to the other. ...


The uncontrolled gybe is feared by all sensible yachtsmen. The heavy boom can potentially inflict severe head injuries or dispatch crew members over board while the mainsheet or traveller can also inflict serious injury. Quite apart from that uncontrolled gybes can also lead to serious gear failure. Gybe (also spelled jibe) is when a sailing boat (yacht) turns its stern through the wind, such that the wind changes from one side of the boat to the other. ... There are several meanings of the word boom: a sound such as a sonic boom - onomatopoeia the sound of an explosion. ... In sailing, a sheet is a line (or rope) used to control how much wind a sail (or part of a sail) gathers. ...


Rigging a preventer on a yacht's mainsail is often performed when the wind is behind the beam (i.e. when it's coming from more than 90° off the bow). It can also be useful at other times when there is more swell than wind, so the wind may not have the strength to keep the boom in place as the boat dips and rolls. A mainsail is the most important sail raised from the main (or only) mast of a sailing vessel. ... Wind is the quasi-horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by uneven heating of the Earths surface. ... Wind is the quasi-horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by uneven heating of the Earths surface. ... There are several meanings of the word boom: a sound such as a sonic boom - onomatopoeia the sound of an explosion. ...


On any boat that is sailing downwind without a preventer, strict 'heads-down' procedures must be enforced anywhere within the boom's arc. Certain areas of the side-decks and maybe the cockpit also have to be strictly 'no-go' to all crew depending on what the boom and mainsheet could do there in unchecked full swing.


Commercial products are available that operate in various ways, but the simplest and strongest preventer is a line, from the end of the boom, led outside of the shrouds and a long way forward - perhaps right up to the bow - through a block, back to the cockpit and secured within reach of the mainsheet. Care should be taken when selecting the line which is used - some rope available on board will stretch under strain rendering the preventer useless. On a sailboat, the shrouds are pieces of standing rigging which hold the mast up from side to side. ... In sailing, a block is a pulley or a number of pulleys enclosed in sheaves so as to be fixed to the end of a line or to a spar or surface. ... Cockpit of a light aircraft, showing instrumentation dials and dual control yokes. ... In sailing, a sheet is a line (or rope) used to control how much wind a sail (or part of a sail) gathers. ...


Gybing

If the boat is to be gybed, then a second identical preventer line must have been rigged on the other, windward, side. Carefully, using the steering, the stern of the boat is brought up into the wind. Then the leeward, active preventer is released little by little, while the mainsheet is shortened to bring in the boom. It is important to maintain at least a turn or two around the preventer's cleat the whole time ready to catch an early gybe during this stage of the manoeuvre. Make the mainsheet pull the preventer around its cleat, do not offer it any slack. All the while it is also necessary to take in slack on the other, lazy preventer to keep it under control (i.e. prevent it getting tangled around something) until it is needed. Windward is the side of a boat into which the wind is blowing. ... For other meanings of the term, see Stern (disambiguation). ... Leeward is the side of a boat away from the direction where the wind is coming (i. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ...


As the boom gets as near as you can get it to midships (near to running fore-and-aft along the boat's centreline), slacken the active preventer, tighten the lazy one, make sure the mainsheet is very secure, check that all crew are safe from where the boom may swing, call "Gybe-ho" if you're feeling nautical, then make the slight steering adjustment that will actually gybe the sail. The course of the boat may slew further than you expect: That's good, ignore it, it gives you time to do the next three things.


Run out the mainsheet as fast as you can without burning your hand, check that the newly lazy preventer runs free, tighten in and secure the newly active one.


External links

  • http://www.mistweb.f9.co.uk/content/south2.html - Photos of gybing with preventer in use


Sailing Manoeuvres
Broach | Capsize | Close Hauled | Death Roll | Gybe | Heeling | Hiking | In Irons | Jibe | Planing | Reaching | Running | Reefing | Tack | Wear


Broaching is a sudden change in heading angle of a sailboat, caused by a number of wind/sail interactions. ... Capsizing refers to when a boat is inverted such that the bottom of the boat is on top. ... Points of sail is the term used to describe a sailing boats course in relation to the wind direction. ... Death roll is a term used by dinghy racing sailors to describe a capsize where the mast hits the water first with the boom and sail pointing outward, still catching the wind, causing the craft to rotate nose-first into the water. ... Gybe (also spelled jibe) is when a sailing boat (yacht) turns its stern through the wind, such that the wind changes from one side of the boat to the other. ... Heeling is the angular rotation or lean caused by the winds force on the sails of a sailing boat or a sailing ship. ... In sailing, hiking is the action of moving the sailors body weight as far to windward (upwind) as possible, in order to counteract the force of the wind pushing sideways against the boats sails. ... Points of sail is the term used to describe a sailing boats course in relation to the wind direction. ... A jibe (also spelled gybe) is when a sailing boat (yacht) turns its stern through the wind, such that the direction of the wind changes from one side of the boat to the other. ... A Musto Skiff, planing on a fast reach A planing boats hull skims across the surface of the water rather than pushing through the water in the way a traditional displacement hull works. ... Points of sail is the term used to describe a sailing boats course in relation to the wind direction. ... Points of sail is the term used to describe a sailing boats course in relation to the wind direction. ... To reef the main sail means to reduce its sail area. ... Tack is a term, that depending on its application has several different meanings. ... A jibe (also spelled gybe) is when a sailing boat (yacht) turns its stern through the wind, such that the direction of the wind changes from one side of the boat to the other. ...



 

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