What is the function of the main sheet on a sail boat?

Answer 1

Contrary to popular assumption, a 'sheet' on a sailing vessel is not an area of canvas but a rope. Sheets are those ropes that control the trim of the sails, which is to say the angle they are set at. (To maximise performance, sails are set at different angles depending on the angle of the wind relative to the direction you want to go in.) The 'main sheet' is therefore the rope that controls the angle of the main sail. On the most common type of leisure yacht, there is one mast, normally rigged with two triangular sails: one that is attached at the bows of the boat, and one that is set aft of the mast, with its bottom edge fixed to a swinging wood or metal boom. It is this second type of sail that is referred to as the 'main' (even though the sail at the front often has the larger area on a modern yacht). On such a yacht, the 'main sheet' is the rope that controls how far the boom is allowed to swing away from the central fore-and-aft line of the boat, and as such it is a major component in determining how fast and comfortable your ride is. Though the analogy is far from perfect, it bears some comparison to a car's accelerator pedal.