Reefing Lines

Jun 13, 2004
90
Hunter 40.5 Hampton,Virginia
Has anyone on a 40.5 used 3/8 line for reefing instead of the recommended 7/16 line.
Any thoughts
 
Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
Given that Hunter is recommending 7/16" and the reef line is single so ALL the reef tack and clue loads are on a single line I'd be going with 7/16" line
 

Joe

.
Jun 1, 2004
8,226
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
For the reasons that Bill gave, I would be going down in size, but with a similar strength rating, so there will be less friction when setting or releasing. You need to peruse the line selection charts to see the wide variety of tensile strengths between line type and size.
http://www.apsltd.com/line/polyester-sailboat-line-rope.html