Hi all,
I don't know if this has been discussed here before, but I found an interesting claim by Olof Eriksen in the google books excerpt of his book "All Sails Up and Flying"
I found a great webpage that allows you to view, zoom, and even download the aforementioned sailplan:
http://research.archives.gov/description/5956232
The sail plan does show exacly what olof states, that the jib sheet runs through eybolts on the spritsail yard before going back to the pinrails at the bow.
I'm thinking of rerigging my jib sheets and flying jib sheets to follow this line of thinking.
Cheers!
Jose
Jose Gonzales
San Diego, CA