The Day Sailer - Edition #67, Winter 1977 - Wm. C. Waggoner
Among some of the sailor's jargon gems, barberhaulers rank
in there
with cunningham, topping lift and foreguy. Barberhaulers,
sometimes called
outhauls, are merely a gadget to move the jib sheeting angle out
toward the
side of the boat. Hence, they help control the slot between
the jib and the
main. Barberhaulers find their optimal use on reaching legs,
when the sails
are let out. By running the jib sheet through an extra block,
which is on the
end of a line, the jib sheeting angle can be moved out just by pulling
on the
end of the free line. We use a Fico through-deck fairlead
with a turning
sheave just ahead of the chainplate. The line to which the
1/4" block is
attached is lead down through the fairlead, under the sheave and
laterally to
the opposite side. The crew has control of the barberhauler
with a cam cleat
on the windward side.
When you move onto a reach and the jib is let out, the barber
hauler is
pulled on all the way. This moves the sheeting angle out (to
lead the jib
straight back rather thatn have it curve back into the midline and
loose lots
of drive) and forward with the jib (so the jib has the same vertical
sheeting
angle to the jib as in the beating position). Both of these
angle changes help
cut down jib twist at the head.
The barberhauler is also useful to open the slot slightly
in heavy air (it
worked great at Brockport!) to let the wind through and decrease
heeling
moment. Barberhaulers also make interesting conversational
pieces when
strangers come up to examine your layout. To help identify
the proper end
of the line in a hurry, all lines on the main control boards (jib
tack control,
cunningham and barberhauler) should be color-coded. Barberhaulers
certainly seem to make jib control easier.