WHAT’S WITH THOSE RINGS?
Q: I’ve been seeing a bunch of boats at boat shows where each jib sheet passes through an aluminum ring, which is then presumably used to pull the jib sheet inboard. What exactly is going on with this kind of arrangement? Is it like a barber-hauler?
Taylor Higgins, San Diego, CA
BRIAN HANCOCK REPLIES
Yes, that is a barber-hauler, and a pretty effective one. It’s simple, lightweight, inexpensive and gets the job done—the job being to change the angle of the jib as the wind angle changes. It was invented, apparently, by the Barber brothers and is used to pull the clew of the jib either closer to the centerline to sail closer to the wind or outboard as you start to head onto a reach.
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September 2016
