by GreenLake » Wed Oct 19, 2016 12:55 pm
That one looks like a well-thought out product.
The thing with cleating up or down: the idea about pulling up to cleat could have been that, when uncleated, the mainsheet falls down and gravity keeps it from accidentally re-cleating, if you throw it off completely. However, if the angle of the cleat is too low, you can't play the mainsheet without coming into contact with the cleat and it can grab the sheet when you don't want it. (When playing the mainsheet it is under tension, so there's no effect on gravity).
The idea about pulling up to uncleat is that there's usually nothing to restrict your ability to pull a little higher, but, in the opposite case, if the angle is wrong, you can end up not being able to go low enough and still clear your seat or thighs or whatever else is in the way.
In the end, what matters, is that the angle is such that you can play the mainsheet (from all seating positions) without the cleat grabbing it by accident; and such that you can quickly and positively uncleat the sheet and "throw it off" in an emergency, without it re-cleating itself or needing a foot or other special effort.
So, with the Ronstan swivel having three angles to choose from, it might be possible to set it up at a steep enough angle where "release down" works. The OEM fittings on the DSII did not work for me in that orientation when I tried them, while the OEM fitting from the early DS1s has always worked.
I am curious about one of its features, though: "Adjustable ratchet system prevents the arm from falling to leeward." How precisely is that supposed to work? Presumably, the ball bearings in the base cut friction to the extent that the swivel arm could move in response to gravity and not just pull. Still can't figure out how they work a ratchet, when you need to pull the arm to the other side on the opposite tack. The '60s era fitting on my boat has enough friction that it won't "fall to leeward", so I'm good, I think.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~