reefing hook options

[kpgraci]

My boat came with roller reefing so there is no reefing hook. I'm looking at options. Below I display the depth of my ignorance on the subject, so please offer any advice.

There seems to be 3 basic kinds of reefing hooks.

The ram horn. How is this intended to be attached (to the boat)? Does it bolt to the mast, or is it pinned through the existing tack on the goosneck? I don't think I would trust anything bolted to the mast.

The simple reef hook. Same question as above.

The hook below...at first I assumed it would be tied down with a line running through the eye, but now I,m not so sure how it is intended to be used.

There is another type, hooks attached (welded) directly to the gooseneck...not really an option for me.

 

[kloudie1]

Gooseneck Tack Hook

Hey, Ken !
Here is a shot of the one(s) on my gooseneck. They are like the middle picture in your shots and are welded but you could attach it onto the boom bolt or weld 'em on, or add an attachment to the gooseneck... Consider the rams horn type because the tack doesn't fall off as eaily.. making it easier to do singlehanded.

 

[FourPoints]

those are normally are bolted to the gooseneck, but still able to move a little

 

[kpgraci]

My gooseneck/tack asy appears to be cast metal (Al?) of some type, I don't think there is enough free surface area to bolt and/or weld anything to it. I'll get a photo of it tomorrow. With the roller reefing option there was really no attempt on the part of the manufacturer to allow for a reefing hook attached in any way to the gooseneck.

Found this: it's like mine, but the pic is upside down. the boom fits over the end, so there is very little left to work with.

 

[Ray Bowles]

Ken, I'm not quite sure what you mean by roller reefing? In your first post the upper picture is the ram's horn you want. The middle would also work but not as well unless your halyard tension is spot on. The last picture is of a hook used for the Cunningham control of the mainsail luft.
The gooseneck picture is upside down as the screw in at the bottom is the anchor for the mainseal tack.
The ramshorn is bolted down is a location equal in height with the gooseneck pin that mounts the mainsail tack. The best way to set up your rigging is to look at a number of boats about the same size as yours and copy the best one.
I have found that systems to reef the main from the cockpit are best left for larger boats. With the ramshorn and 4 pieces of line you can best reef manually. The trick is that the first time you think of reefing is when you must do it!!!!!!
When we first learned to sail my wife and I had a rule that the first time we saw a whitecap it was time to reef and I mean right now! When storms hit where we sail you have very little warning as we are in a canyon. Thus our rule.
Practice throwing in a reef at the dock until you can do it in 90 seconds or less or 2 1/2 seconds by yourself.
Good luck,
Ray

 

[Rick D]

OK, I'm Confused...

...do you mean your boat has a roller-reefing mainsail rig? In other words, the boom itself rolls on a pivot pin at the gooseneck and has a swivel tang on the aft of the boom for the mainsheet? If so, what is it you are trying to do? If you are going to retain the roller reefing, then the tack is shackled or pinned. Are you wanting to convert it to slab reefing?

 

[CalebD]

What Rick D. said.

 

[JerryA]

Ken,

If I were no longer going to use the rolling boom, then I would probably try hook #3. Pull the pin retaining the sail, move sail, replace with hook, put pin back in. Maybe there is space to add the hook with the sail, but I doubt it. Also, this looks like a Dwyer piece. They probably have the exact part you are looking for with the hooks welded on already. It would replace one of the stainless pieces, just a clean swap. They've been helpful to me in the past.

JerryA

 

[kpgraci]

...do you mean your boat has a roller-reefing mainsail rig? In other words, the boom itself rolls on a pivot pin at the gooseneck and has a swivel tang on the aft of the boom for the mainsheet? If so, what is it you are trying to do? If you are going to retain the roller reefing, then the tack is shackled or pinned. Are you wanting to convert it to slab reefing?

Exactly. The boom pulls out and rotates around the gooseneck so the main wraps around it, shortening the sail, to do this the boom vang must be removed.

Sorry about the confusion. Roller reefing in this fashion yields poor sail shape as there is inadequate tension on the foot, leaving a baggy sail, not what you want when its time to reef. My understanding is that main sail roller reefing is considered obsolete and a poor choice.

Interestingly, the roller reefing boom comes with all the hardware needed to do double line reefing - well, single line for the clew. All I need now is a darn reefing hook.

 

[kpgraci]

The last picture is of a hook used for the Cunningham control of the mainsail luft.Ray

I did see hooks labeled as Cunningham tie downs that looked like this, this one was labeled as a reefing hook, the orientation of the eye may be different, maybe not.

My thought with this one was I could tie a line to the eye and then tie the other end off on a mast cleat, thus providing an adjustable reefing hook at the appropriate height.

 

[kpgraci]

hmm....Does double line reefing use a reefing hook???

 

[kloudie1]

You are right, Ken.. Not much meat to bolt one to.. But I think you are right on with the other idea.. don't bother with a hook, tie a line to the eye on the gooseneck slide and run that line through the reef tack point and to a cleat .. The reef tack needs to hold tightly because the sail will be pulling aft really hard.. Ya may not be able to get enough forward pull with that scheme..?? Can you rotate the gooseneck so that the eye is on the same side as the tack point without fouling?? if so that would put the new cleated line tension angle much better to hold the reef tack down and forward(especially if the new cleat is on the side of the mast, slightly below and not directly under the gooseneck).. You could play with angles and stuff using a line tied around the mast before mounting the cleat.

 

[kpgraci]

Thanks Claude. I'm moving away from the reef hook concept, looking into double line reefing, so yes, I just need to experiment with how to best tie down the new tack.

 

[Joe]

Thanks Claude. I'm moving away from the reef hook concept, looking into double line reefing, so yes, I just need to experiment with how to best tie down the new tack.

Harken page slab reefing layout and equipment



The slab reefing system is the cheapest simplest and easiest to add to your main. This Harken diagram details the blocks and lines you need to assemble a slab reefing system

US Sailing tips on slab reefing

 

[Bud22569]

I have an old boat (79 Seafarer 30) with the rolling boom reefing system. I have attempted to deal with the same reefing problem. I drilled and taped the cast metal and bolted a rams hook for reefing. The casting on my boom is much larger than the picture you attached. I do not have a picture to post. My system works but it could certainly be better.

One of the design issues I have with the rolling boom on my boat is that the rolling gooseneck mechanism is so long that the tack bracket is positioned too far aft of the mast (my opinion). Perhaps the main sail should have been cut differently to accomondate the location of the tack bracket. The main sail on my boat is attached to the mast with nylon slugs and there is considerable strain placed on the first slug because of the large space between the mast and the tack bracket. I am considering installing a different tack bracket closer to the mast. Have any of you dealt with this sort of problem?