# How do you let out/ease a mainsail?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-let-out-ease-a-mainsail/770085>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 30, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-let-out-ease-a-mainsail/770085 "2016-10-30T03:16:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-let-out-ease-a-mainsail/770085/21 "2016-10-30T18:38:48Z")

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> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#):
>
> Up to a point. You also get many “hauls” In-haul, out-haul, up-haul, down-haul. Collectively these are all control lines. Sheets are never called anything but sheets, and halyards are never called anything but halyards. They can be made of rope, but are never called ropes. That perhaps is the critical issue. You can have coils of rope awaiting use, but the moment the rope is actually put to use, it becomes the named entity, and no longer “rope”.

BTW, “halyard” could also be classified as a “haul” since the first part derives from the verb “to haul”.

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**Author:** ![ziper1221](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a183cd/32.png) [@ziper1221](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ziper1221)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-let-out-ease-a-mainsail/770085/22 "2016-10-31T03:31:15Z")

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> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> Jib sheets control the job and are run outside the stays (the lines or wires run from the mast to the sides of the boat to help stabilize the mast). Rookie move is to feed the jib sheets inside the stays.

This is not necessarily true, at least not with dinghies, and maybe larger boats with small headsails.

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**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-let-out-ease-a-mainsail/770085/23 "2016-10-31T04:16:26Z")

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And single handed on small ocean sailing boats, you double sheet both sides so you can do inside the stays and outside without having to go to the foredeck in bad weather. Especially storm jibs where you go from beam reach to hard on the wind quickly and must keep steerage way.

Wise to do that in tight quarters with light winds also.

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