reefing my main

[Ray]

thanks for your response

Joe,I think there is something to this. Please let me explain further. I have noticed that there is a "bail" or strap in the bottom slide of the boom. It is aft to the reefing clew cringle. I contemplated tying a bowline through this bail, runnig the line through the cringle, and back down to the bail and then secure the same when I reef. It would only take 30 seconds and would give back tension to the reefing clew. I was concerned whether this would put too much pressure on the reefing clew cringle. When the main is reefed, the position of this bail is just about perfect. Probably close to a 45 degree angle behind the reefing clew. I have toyed with the idea of just rigging this additional line through the bail and then running the line through the cringle and securing back to the same bail.The reefing line that runs through the tack works fine, but gives no back tension to the sail and reefing clew.With all of this said, let me explain about my pendant line that currently exists. The line runs through the entire length of the boom and comes out the back end of the boom, and has a knot out the back end. That is it. The line ends there. The line does NOT extend out the back and then back to the reefing clew cringle.Are you suggesting that I somehow rerun this line anew , and have it come through the back of the boom the same way, but then add a number of extra feet to have the line then come slightly forward and run through the port side of the reefing clew cringle, then have it come out the starboard side of the cringle, and run the line back to the bail at the bottom of the boom track aft of the reefing cringle?...and the line would end there rather than at the back of the boom? Do you think this would work when I pull on the single reefing line that somehow it would tension down the reefing clew as well as the tack? I am open to additional thoughts on this.Ray

 

[Ray]

thanks for your response

Joe,I think there is something to this. Please let me explain further. I have noticed that there is a "bail" or strap in the bottom slide of the boom. It is aft to the reefing clew cringle. I contemplated tying a bowline through this bail, runnig the line through the cringle, and back down to the bail and then secure the same when I reef. It would only take 30 seconds and would give back tension to the reefing clew. I was concerned whether this would put too much pressure on the reefing clew cringle. When the main is reefed, the position of this bail is just about perfect. Probably close to a 45 degree angle behind the reefing clew. I have toyed with the idea of just rigging this additional line through the bail and then running the line through the cringle and securing back to the same bail.The reefing line that runs through the tack works fine, but gives no back tension to the sail and reefing clew.With all of this said, let me explain about my pendant line that currently exists. The line runs through the entire length of the boom and comes out the back end of the boom, and has a knot out the back end. That is it. The line ends there. The line does NOT extend out the back and then back to the reefing clew cringle.Are you suggesting that I somehow rerun this line anew , and have it come through the back of the boom the same way, but then add a number of extra feet to have the line then come slightly forward and run through the port side of the reefing clew cringle, then have it come out the starboard side of the cringle, and run the line back to the bail at the bottom of the boom track aft of the reefing cringle?...and the line would end there rather than at the back of the boom? Do you think this would work when I pull on the single reefing line that somehow it would tension down the reefing clew as well as the tack? I am open to additional thoughts on this.Ray

 

[Joe11688]

Bail reply

Ray, I just saw a picture of your O'Day 240 on the "I Love O'Days" web site. Check out the link. The bail at the end of your boom doesn't appear to be used for anything that I can see in the picture. There's a traveler near the companionway of this boat and the Main sheet attachment is at a bail about 2/3s of the way on the boom. If you are not using the bail at the end of the boom, you could use it for the reef line attachment point, by drilling out the rivet heads and moving it to the new location on your boom. That knotted line shown in your picture is your reefing line. That line would need to go up through the reef cringle on the Port side of your Main Sail and down to the reefing bail. I have always attached this reefing line to the bail by passing the end of the line through the reefing bail and tie a figure eight stopper knot at the end, so it doesn't pull through.  My reefing line on my 1986 O'Day 222, according my specs, is; 1/4"- Type Tro-Green,- Length 21'6". So your line should be about that lengh or a little longer. When I changed my main sheeting arrangement to a traveler similar to yours near the companionway, I left my bail at the end of my boom and added another bail near my Goose Neck fitting for the Davis Sail Jock which is nothing more than bungee cord with plastic hooks and flat Nylon webbing. They no longer manufacture this sail jock, but someone came up with a similar type of sail jock that can be made with bungee cord and hooks that works just as well. I'll post it on this site when I get a chance. A friend of mine made one for his Mac 25, and he loves it. It's probably better than the Davis sail Jock because there are no hooks hanging down off the webbing under the boom, and your sail ties are always there whenever you need them. Joe

 

[Joe11688]

Bail reply

Ray, I just saw a picture of your O'Day 240 on the "I Love O'Days" web site. Check out the link. The bail at the end of your boom doesn't appear to be used for anything that I can see in the picture. There's a traveler near the companionway of this boat and the Main sheet attachment is at a bail about 2/3s of the way on the boom. If you are not using the bail at the end of the boom, you could use it for the reef line attachment point, by drilling out the rivet heads and moving it to the new location on your boom. That knotted line shown in your picture is your reefing line. That line would need to go up through the reef cringle on the Port side of your Main Sail and down to the reefing bail. I have always attached this reefing line to the bail by passing the end of the line through the reefing bail and tie a figure eight stopper knot at the end, so it doesn't pull through.  My reefing line on my 1986 O'Day 222, according my specs, is; 1/4"- Type Tro-Green,- Length 21'6". So your line should be about that lengh or a little longer. When I changed my main sheeting arrangement to a traveler similar to yours near the companionway, I left my bail at the end of my boom and added another bail near my Goose Neck fitting for the Davis Sail Jock which is nothing more than bungee cord with plastic hooks and flat Nylon webbing. They no longer manufacture this sail jock, but someone came up with a similar type of sail jock that can be made with bungee cord and hooks that works just as well. I'll post it on this site when I get a chance. A friend of mine made one for his Mac 25, and he loves it. It's probably better than the Davis sail Jock because there are no hooks hanging down off the webbing under the boom, and your sail ties are always there whenever you need them. Joe

 

[Ray]

Joe- thanks for your explanation

Joe,Once again thanks for being patient with a novice sailor.First, I do not believe my main has slides. When I removed my main at the end of the season, I slid it out of the boom track and it was essentially the bolt rope that I guess you would say is taped. It simply slid right through the groove when I pulled it out.Next. I don't have a horn as you do. My reefing line does run internally throughout the boom (along with the outhaul and the topping lift lines) and comes out the back of the boom where it is knotted. The reefing line does NOT extend to the reefing clew. It knots at the back end and it ends there.So, if you can picture this, the line extends through the entire boom (knotted in the back) and then comes out the front of the boom and will run through a couple of blocks I believe. (I dont have pictures here) and then the reefing line runs through a metal ring that is sewn right into the sail and is nearby the reefing tack. So, basically, what happens is that when I pull on the reefing line, the line tightens and the metal ring sewn is held tight in place as if the tack was held down. Does this make sense? Then I simply have the single reefing line run through the clutch cleet that is next to the halyard and cleet it off. It works fine for keeping the tack down tight and reducing the sail area. The problem with this system is that there is NOTHING securing or running through the reefing clew and thus there is NO back tension or anything pulling the main down on the back end of the main..I sent a picture on this posting showing the back of the boom and the reefing line that is knotted at the back. The line does not extend in any way to the reefing clew.I toyed with at the end of last season tying a bowline to the bracket that is in the lower groove of the boom. This bracket is only a few inches from the back of the boom. YOu can see this in the picture. I then contemplated running the line through one end of the reefing clew and then out the other and tying it off at the same slider. This would give some tension to the reefing clew and the line would be at about a 45 degree angle to the bracket in the cringle.. I wasn't sure if this would also put too much pressure on the cringle at the reefing clew and there is no forward force with this setup.

 

[Ray]

Joe- thanks for your explanation

Joe,Once again thanks for being patient with a novice sailor.First, I do not believe my main has slides. When I removed my main at the end of the season, I slid it out of the boom track and it was essentially the bolt rope that I guess you would say is taped. It simply slid right through the groove when I pulled it out.Next. I don't have a horn as you do. My reefing line does run internally throughout the boom (along with the outhaul and the topping lift lines) and comes out the back of the boom where it is knotted. The reefing line does NOT extend to the reefing clew. It knots at the back end and it ends there.So, if you can picture this, the line extends through the entire boom (knotted in the back) and then comes out the front of the boom and will run through a couple of blocks I believe. (I dont have pictures here) and then the reefing line runs through a metal ring that is sewn right into the sail and is nearby the reefing tack. So, basically, what happens is that when I pull on the reefing line, the line tightens and the metal ring sewn is held tight in place as if the tack was held down. Does this make sense? Then I simply have the single reefing line run through the clutch cleet that is next to the halyard and cleet it off. It works fine for keeping the tack down tight and reducing the sail area. The problem with this system is that there is NOTHING securing or running through the reefing clew and thus there is NO back tension or anything pulling the main down on the back end of the main..I sent a picture on this posting showing the back of the boom and the reefing line that is knotted at the back. The line does not extend in any way to the reefing clew.I toyed with at the end of last season tying a bowline to the bracket that is in the lower groove of the boom. This bracket is only a few inches from the back of the boom. YOu can see this in the picture. I then contemplated running the line through one end of the reefing clew and then out the other and tying it off at the same slider. This would give some tension to the reefing clew and the line would be at about a 45 degree angle to the bracket in the cringle.. I wasn't sure if this would also put too much pressure on the cringle at the reefing clew and there is no forward force with this setup.

 

[Joe11688]

Ram Horn reply

Chuck, You're absolutely right, but when you set up your Main Sail this spring you're going to want to hook up the reefing line so that it's always ready when you need it. Your halyard winch set-up is exactly the same as mine. I don't use a sail stop to keep my sail slides from falling out of the track. What I have always done is to tie a short thin diameter line around the mast, under the halyards and over the winch. I use a slipped reef knot to secure it, and this is what I use for a sail stop. When I first started reefing my Main, I noticed that there was too much tension on my last sail slide when the sail was reefed. So I simply take up the topping lift, and lower the sail a couple of feet, untie this line and take the last sail slide out of the track, and retie the line again under the next slide. Then I insert the tack cringle into the horn and pull on the reefing line and snub it off. Then I loosen the topping lift a little. Depending on how hard the wind is blowing while I'm sailing along under autopilot, I may be able to slack off the Main sheet enough to relieve the pressure on the sail and be able to pull the sail back up into place after I've reefed the Main, while she's sailing. If I can't do this;---then I'll walk back to the tiller and head her up into the wind and pull the sail back up. I hardly ever use the winch handle. Once I get her reefed, I'll set the main sheet up if I'm beating, and go back and roll up the extra sail and tie off the reef points with slipped reef knots. I've gotten to where I can do this real fast, but sometimes it may be too windy out in the bay, and if I can sail to an area in the bay that is protected by a point of land which blocks a lot of the wind, I'll sail to the area, and do the reefing there. This happens quite a bit on Mount Hope Bay where I sail, and I've used Mount Hope Point as a wind blocker because it juts out and is quite high. Of course, if it's too windy at the dock, I'll reef her right there before I pull the sail up and leave the dock.Joe

 

[Joe11688]

Ram Horn reply

Chuck, You're absolutely right, but when you set up your Main Sail this spring you're going to want to hook up the reefing line so that it's always ready when you need it. Your halyard winch set-up is exactly the same as mine. I don't use a sail stop to keep my sail slides from falling out of the track. What I have always done is to tie a short thin diameter line around the mast, under the halyards and over the winch. I use a slipped reef knot to secure it, and this is what I use for a sail stop. When I first started reefing my Main, I noticed that there was too much tension on my last sail slide when the sail was reefed. So I simply take up the topping lift, and lower the sail a couple of feet, untie this line and take the last sail slide out of the track, and retie the line again under the next slide. Then I insert the tack cringle into the horn and pull on the reefing line and snub it off. Then I loosen the topping lift a little. Depending on how hard the wind is blowing while I'm sailing along under autopilot, I may be able to slack off the Main sheet enough to relieve the pressure on the sail and be able to pull the sail back up into place after I've reefed the Main, while she's sailing. If I can't do this;---then I'll walk back to the tiller and head her up into the wind and pull the sail back up. I hardly ever use the winch handle. Once I get her reefed, I'll set the main sheet up if I'm beating, and go back and roll up the extra sail and tie off the reef points with slipped reef knots. I've gotten to where I can do this real fast, but sometimes it may be too windy out in the bay, and if I can sail to an area in the bay that is protected by a point of land which blocks a lot of the wind, I'll sail to the area, and do the reefing there. This happens quite a bit on Mount Hope Bay where I sail, and I've used Mount Hope Point as a wind blocker because it juts out and is quite high. Of course, if it's too windy at the dock, I'll reef her right there before I pull the sail up and leave the dock.Joe

 

[Joe11688]

One line reefing

Ray, Your set-up has me scratching my head. It's possible that you have one line reefing, which I'm not familiar with at all. Last summer I delivered a 1986 O'Day 272 that had this type of reefing, and thank God I didn't have to use it. This boat had two reefing lines and all the halyards and running rigging led to the cockpit via fair leads and rope clutches on top of the cabin, including the topping lift and Main sheet. As it turned out, the wind was lousy and we wound up using the outboard most of the time. I like to keep things simple and stay away from complicated rigging. I don't like halyards that lead back to the cockpit or lazy jacks which make it hard to cover a sail. It's all in what you get used too, I guess. See if you can find a book in the library by Wallace Ross entitled, "Sail Power." The complete guide to sails and sail handling. It's a thick book with over 500 pages and has loads of illustrations on everything and anything to do with sails and rigging. I guarantee that you'll find the answers in this book. I have the soft cover version that I bought years ago in a book store, but I found a hard cover of it in a yard sale for a buck, and gave it to one of my friends. I'd check it out first before you decide which type of reefing that you want to go with.Joe

 

[Joe11688]

One line reefing

Ray, Your set-up has me scratching my head. It's possible that you have one line reefing, which I'm not familiar with at all. Last summer I delivered a 1986 O'Day 272 that had this type of reefing, and thank God I didn't have to use it. This boat had two reefing lines and all the halyards and running rigging led to the cockpit via fair leads and rope clutches on top of the cabin, including the topping lift and Main sheet. As it turned out, the wind was lousy and we wound up using the outboard most of the time. I like to keep things simple and stay away from complicated rigging. I don't like halyards that lead back to the cockpit or lazy jacks which make it hard to cover a sail. It's all in what you get used too, I guess. See if you can find a book in the library by Wallace Ross entitled, "Sail Power." The complete guide to sails and sail handling. It's a thick book with over 500 pages and has loads of illustrations on everything and anything to do with sails and rigging. I guarantee that you'll find the answers in this book. I have the soft cover version that I bought years ago in a book store, but I found a hard cover of it in a yard sale for a buck, and gave it to one of my friends. I'd check it out first before you decide which type of reefing that you want to go with.Joe