Reefing a Furling Mainsail

[Frank]

I have a 2001 H340 with a furling main and I have easily shortened sail from the cockpit. How can I determine how much sail a first and second reef point equates to in furling? If the wind is approaching 15 I furl the main until the heeling and weather helm eases to the point of comfort.

 

[Pete]

Infinite reef points

Frank, I believe that you are reefing the main correctly now, based on comfort level. Mainsail furlers have an infinite number of reef points, and do not need to be concerned with the one or two reef points that conventional mains have. Between the mainsheet/traveler adjustment and the main furling (plus of course the jib furling), we can always sail at our perfect comfort level for the prevailing wind conditions. (Apologies to Don Guillette, for his many other sail trim adjustments which I have yet to learn.)

 

[Steve Dion]

Just control the amount of heel.

Frank:I would just worry about controlling the amount of heel. Do not worry about the reef points (A/B). This WAS the old way. YOU don't do things like that any more.Your rig is not going to heel as fast as a conventional setup, because you do not have the large roach (less sail to begin with). If I were you I would just try to keep as much sail up while maintaining 15-20 deg. heel.This is almost like having an automatic transmission vs a stick shift.

 

[Greg Jones]

I Agree

Frank,I agree with the previous posts. My O'D 26 has a furled main and I enjoy the ability to reef to any degree that makes the boat comfortable. I'm not saddled with having to reef at any given point in the sail and be stuck with either too much sail out or not quite enough. Kind of like the three bears - you reef until it feels just right!Good luckGreg Jones