Eight haulers
When sailing, the aft hauler is the sheet of the spinnaker on the windward side of the ship. It runs from the clew (i.e. one corner) of the spinnaker over the spinnaker boom to the aft and serves to pull the spinnaker to windward and thereby get it out of the slipstream of the main sail . The name comes from the fact that the clew is not only pulled to windward, but also to the aft.
When the wind direction is constant, the eighth hauler usually remains permanently occupied. In contrast, the leeward sheet on the other side of the spinnaker is used continuously to adjust the belly of the sail and prevent the sail from collapsing. While the leeward sheet usually has its haul point far aft , the haul point of the aft hauler is sometimes more amidships, depending on the construction of the ship and the spinnaker .
With a jibe , the eighth hauler often becomes the sheet and the sheet the eighth hauler. Only the spinnaker pole needs to be moved. In some cases, however, double harnesses are used , which means there is a stern hauler and a sheet both on the leeward side and on the windward side, one line of which is not used.