Reefing line for Matthew
My topping lift is on the port side of the boom and the reefing line is on the starboard side along with both halyards. I was told that this setup keeps all the primary lines for reefing on the stbd side of the mast. That way, you don't have to cross back and forth from one side of the boom to the other when reefing. The other advantage of this setup is that since you are reefing the mainsail from the stbd side, the boom has to be over on the port side. This places the boat on starboard tack and gives you right of way, which means you don't have to stop in the middle of reefing to get out of somebody's way. In case you haven't run the reefing line yet, it goes from the gooseneck through the boom, out the stbd sheave at the end, up to the reef cringle (the metal eye in the leech of the sail), through the sail from stbd to port, straight down to the boom where it passes through one of the small bails under the boom from port to stbd. Put a stopper knot in the line and there you have it. The knot should be on the stbd side just like everyting else. Rigging the line like this, will double the downward pull on the leech cringle and also provide some aft pull to keep the reefed foot of the sail taut. It's also a good idea to tie a separate line through the cringle once everything is reefed tight. If the reef line chafes somewhere else (e.g. inside the boom) you won't lose the reef. Color-coded lines also make it easier to avoid mixups at the gooseneck. For example, my topping lift is white, the outhaul is white with blue tracer and the reefing line is white with green tracer. Happy sailing! Peter H23 "Raven"
