If the line does not wind well over the winch head, the turns of the sheet or halyard will pass over each other and literally jam. It is said that the winch overturns.
To get out of this situation, you have to slacken the halyard or the sheet. But it's not always easy. Especially when a sail on the other end of the line is pulling hard.
To get out of this situation, you have to relieve the tension on the rope. There are 4 solutions for this:
Solution 1: Passing a second sheet on another winch
To relieve the jammed listening, you can play a second listen which you will then send to another winch. In this way, the listener who has overflown will be relieved and you will be able to free his winch.
Solution 2: Use a second listen
The free part of the sheet or halyard which has overtaken will be passed around another winch. By pulling hard, you may have a chance to unblock the situation. But nothing is less certain..
Solution 3: Make a Prusic on the sheet or the halyard
The Prusic knot, also known as the Machart knot, can be used to regain tension on a rope. It can be made as a single or double knot:
Simple Machart knot
Make a series of dead turns around the sheeting
Finish these turns by tying them with a bowline knot on the free part
The chair knot should be as tight as possible.
The free part of the rope is then pulled out and locked around the sheet.
Double Machart knot
With a free rope, a large loop is made and wrapped around the sheet.
The final braid is introduced in the first loop.
By pulling on this braid (extended by another string) the tension of the string is regained.
Solution 4: Cut the rope
This is the most extreme solution! But if the wind pushes us to the coast and there's no more time to implement the other solutions, taking out the knife to make a cut in the thick of it allows you to quickly get out of the problem.
If it is a jib sheet, you can quickly tack to take up the sail on the other side. This gives you time to reinstall the cut sheet.
If it's a halyard, it's a lot more annoying, because it must not go into the mast. Ironing it may be more difficult.
