Here's a question/topic that I don't recall having seen discussed in the three years I've been following the SailboatOwners forum:
The two mainsails that I have (one that was on the boat when I bought and the other a pre-owned Catalina 36 full batten), both came with 7/16" line for the mid-sail reef ties that are used to gather up the loose sail after securing the reef's tack and clew.
This diameter seems like over-kill? The lines are heavy and cumbersome. From what I've read, and how I'm doing it, is that these lines should only loosely gather up the excess sail. Not much if any tension should be on the line.
For 30' - 40' boat owners, what is the diameter that most of you have? What are sailmakers putting on new sails?
I've got some 1/4" and 5/16" sta-set type of line laying around somewhere. I'm considering to make the switch. I'm thinking that the main problem with smaller lines is that the reef knots will be harder to untie. Other than that, what's the downside?
In the strong wind we often have on San Francisco Bay, really light 1/8" or 1/4" hi-tech Dyeema or AmSteel products might fly almost straight back and serve as tell tales!
The two mainsails that I have (one that was on the boat when I bought and the other a pre-owned Catalina 36 full batten), both came with 7/16" line for the mid-sail reef ties that are used to gather up the loose sail after securing the reef's tack and clew.
This diameter seems like over-kill? The lines are heavy and cumbersome. From what I've read, and how I'm doing it, is that these lines should only loosely gather up the excess sail. Not much if any tension should be on the line.
For 30' - 40' boat owners, what is the diameter that most of you have? What are sailmakers putting on new sails?
I've got some 1/4" and 5/16" sta-set type of line laying around somewhere. I'm considering to make the switch. I'm thinking that the main problem with smaller lines is that the reef knots will be harder to untie. Other than that, what's the downside?
In the strong wind we often have on San Francisco Bay, really light 1/8" or 1/4" hi-tech Dyeema or AmSteel products might fly almost straight back and serve as tell tales!