Swan 41 Mainsheet winch (original & modification(s))

Does anyone know what the original mainsheet winch was on a Swan 41?  Does anyone have advice on what a good mainsheet arrangement for this boat is?

Thanks so much,

Matt (41/053)

Hi Matt,

I only just saw your post so my response may be obsolete...  

As I recall, the original arrangement was a 4:1 or 5:1 arrangement with the last end going direct from the boom to the winch, placed under the mainsheet track. When I bought Cavallino (41/028) eight years ago, I replaced the original mainsheet arrangement with a modern 4/8:1 ratio arrangement. While this set-up is working OK, I find that it's an awful lot of sheet and resistance. Hence, I’m now considering replacing the old winch with a new self-tailing winch and changing back to something similar to the original setup. A downside of the original setup, compared to the one I currently have, is that it is more difficult for the helmsman to reach and sheet the main.     

I hope this may be of help and would be very interested to learn about what you arrived at.

Kind regards,

Andreas

Hi,

here are few pics of the original arrangement. I also attached pictures of the original mainsheet winch. You can see the guiding rail where rope goes through before winch. Purpose of the rail is to maintain the angle of rope as good as possible when sheeting.

Hope this helps.

Fair winds

//Henri

s/y Pampero (41/048)

Original mainsheet arrangement

Original Lewmar 16 winch main sheet

Original Lewmar 16 winch main sheet