Reefing a 272 My reefing system starts at the sail leech. The reefing line goes from the boom vertically strait up to a hole in the sail and then follows the sail leach back down to the aft end of the boom. The line enters the boom, and runs forward. At the mast the line exits the boom vertically, and runs to a block on the starboard side of the sail. The line goes around the block and exits down to a series of blocks which lead the line back to the cockpit. It ends up in a set of three rope clutches along with the halyard and main sheet. The lower 3 or 4 slides in the mast are all strung together with line. This allows a lowered sail to gather below the sail stopper. To set sail, I turn into the wind, and raise the main with the halyard. I make sure the reefing line is free to run, and does not get caught up in anything. To reef the sail, I simply release the halyard to a mark at the reef point, and pull in on the reef line. Sometimes I have to help the sail/reef line into position, but for the most part the line pulls the sail luff and leech down to the boom. The sail has lines for tying up the foot of the sail, but I don’t think I have ever used them. Good Luck, fair winds.
