I was curious as to the origins of this saying. It seems to have started out being "Three sheets in the Wind". I found this explanation to be one of the best out there. All explanations had a similar story except a few who referred to Windmills which seems less likely than a nautical explanation.
From Mark Treadwell on .NET Hobbyist Programmer Forum
I guess it would be good to be precise here. Using a square-rigged sailing ship as a reference, a sheet is the line that is attached to the clew (the lower corners of each sail). The sails would be trimmed (adjusted) using the sheets to ensure they remained in the optimal position for the relative wind to generate the best ship's speed. The sheets attached to the courses (lowest and largest sails) had the most adjustment since the sheets (and hence the clews) of the upper sails would be attached to the yardarms below them. Each sail has two sheets. Sometimes the upper topsails and upper topgallant sails don't have sheets; their clews can be permanently fastened to the yardarms of the lower topsail/topgallant yards. For a relatively simple description of most of these terms with some pictures, see http://www.infa.abo.fi/~fredrik/sships/square-rigging.html.
With this as a basis, if a sailing ship's sheets have come loose, the affected course is likely to luff or flap loosely in the wind. The appearance of a ship with luffing sails is one of disarray. The slower a ship goes, the less control you have with the rudder. If you cannot control the ship, you are then at the mercy of the waves. In the worst case, the ship can end up broad or beam to the seas and rolling heavily and .
Hopefully, this explains it a little clearer.
Interesting huh!
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