I should have been more specific. On my 1978 M17, there is a sheet winch, port side cabin top, just about directly above the galley sink between the grab rails and hatch cover coaming. It has a small cleat beside it. It surely was put there for a purpose, just not obvious to me what that might be. This boat does have a spinnaker halyard, in addition to those for the jib and main. On Jul 7, 2011, at 3:24 PM, jerry wrote:
By sheet winches on top of the house, you mean like you would do on a M-15 (if you wanted winches) or a Santana 20, or the new Sage? The value is that you can winch in after a tack from the weather side instead of having to get your weight off to leeward. On a boat that has the jib sheeted inside of the shrouds (on the house top) it's a no-brainer to put the winches (also the wenches) on the cabin top, even tho it moves the weight a bit higher it's worth it. Cabintop winches would also work for a spinnaker but you would need to have clamps for the sheets so you could release them after the chute is up; also the halyards.
Is this what you were asking?
jerry ----- Original Message ----- From: "Howard Audsley" <haudsley@tranquility.net> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2011 12:54 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: Whisker Pole Installation
Along these lines, what is the purpose of the sheet winch on top of the cabin? I've always assumed it was "chute" related, but wasn't sure. I've only used it for adjusting the tack on an asymmetrical spinnaker and will also wrap the topping lift around it, but isn't needed for that.