Jib trim on a DE 38? Sails and Rigging- Standing and Running Forums

um... on most stock boats there are only one set of tracks. the ones up beside the aft end of the cabin on the deck. They are for the jib sheets. If you have tracks on the aft deck behind there then they are probably for a spinnaker or as a second set of jib  tracks when off the wind with a big 150 jib.

Now there is a track on our boat that runs port to starboard on deck at the transom. It is for the traveler and the end boom mainsheet.

wow.. totally different than my boat.. where are your jib sheet winches?

if thats all you have on the boat then yes a block would go on the track for the jib sheet to go through. However I would bet that was for a spinnaker or very oversized jib for downwind. It is a totally unsuitable location for controlling a jib going to windward. Your jib sheet needs to pull down on the jib about as much as it pulls back on the jib. In that location all the force would be pulling it aft which would be letting the top of the jib luff off and dump air. IE very poor sail shape. Do you have a places port and starboard on the side decks or cap rail that have some big honking eyes you could attach blocks to? If so I would bet on those for running jib sheets. Though I don't see any jib sheet winches so.... im confused.

other difference from our boat I see is our propane locker is hinged outboard not aft. Power inlet is the same. We don't have ladder there or cleat on bulwark. Our Winches sit above and aft of the power inlet but in front of where the coil of rope is.

here are a few pictures of DE38's That show winches and sheet arrangements. Hope they help… Not what the pictures were taken for but they do mostly show were stuff is. 🙂

in this picture you can see the winch behind the line hanging on the pushpit there on port and just barely see  in the lower left corner of picture the block sticking up over the top of gunnel, also you can see the main sheet and main sheet traveler at the transom.

Both sheet winches show in this picture from aft of this boat.

you can see the entire jib car and block on its track in this picture.

again here you can just see the starboard side block sticking up over the gunnel with the jib sheet running outboard to it while at the dock.

I have seen blocks back where your aft tracks are for spinnaker sheets and the sheet did almost a 180, running back forward to a winch. or on smaller boats they just had a ratcheting friction block on them and the line could be hand held.

I would bet on the forward located eyes being for the jib sheets. Though it does make a little difference in trimming our jib, our track is only about 3 ft long if that and a block located about center of it would handle sailing just fine... with a barber hauler? you could emulate all the functions of a longer track for the jib sheets. I have actually thought about doing something like that. I hate the jib track and block where they are on the side decks.. we are constantly stubbing our toes on the blocks. It is narrow there already and it really gets in the way of moving forward or aft.

can you not talk to the prior owners and get advice on how they used her?

thats interesting.. Your jib looks like it almost comes back to the aft cabin face at the companionway. That is much larger than our jib. Ours only comes back to about the aft lowers on our boat if I am picturing it right (um maybe 6 or 7 feet of overlap of the mast?). sigh now I can picture ours in my head. lol.. been to long since we have sailed her.

You would have to have a track farther back like that with such a large sail. is that a 150/160?

our track overlaps where the cap rail changes height. I would have moved it to the cap rail already if it didn't cross that area... I have though about having a forward one and a aft track on the caprail but what we have works and I have more import stuff to do first. Hate stubbing my toes on the one on deck all the time though. 🙂