Reefing the Main - H23

[Mike Misko]

As we prepared to sail this afternoon, we decided to put in a reef while at the dock. That's where the confusion started. We have the Kenyon mast. There are 3 lines running from the aft end of the boom forward towards the mast. One is clearly the outhaul. I thought the other 2 are for reefing, but I see a lot of references to the topping lift in the archives. On our boat, the line for the topping lift runs from the top of the mast to a small block on the boom which has a V shaped notch to snug against. As it came rigged, it seems awkward. You have to pull up while holding the line at the aft end of the boom, then jam it into the stainless notch to secure it. The archived postings talk about the topping lift running back through the boom, but this might apply to the Z-Spar mast/boom only. Our setup has two additional lines in the boom that run to cam levers near the mast-end of the boom. These lines are heavier than the topping halyard and my thought is that they are for separate 1st and 2nd reefs (my UK main has cringles to accomodate 2 reefs).So, am I basically on the right track, or should one of my reefing lines really be used for the topping lift? Thanks in advance.

 

[Bill O'Donovan]

Try this

1. Use the grommet on the front of the sail.2. Hook it to the gooseneck at front of boom.3. Tie a line from back grommet to boom, tight!4. Only then tie off the middle lines.

 

[bleathen]

topping lift

I have an 88 H23 with the same boom arrangement you have. I think the boom is set up to run the topping lift either way. For several years I ran my topping lift just the way you describe with the little cleat at the back of the boom. It is awkward. Sometimes we would forget to realeas the topping lift until we were out in the weather and would end up trying to release the topping lift either with the boom swining around, or with someone leaning way out of the boat. Two summers ago I rigged the topping lift to one of the lines that go through the boom - I picked the one on the starboard side. I don't think it matters much. Now I use the cam levers at the front of the boom by the mast. It is much easier and no one ever has to lean out of the boat. The little cleat at the back of the boom is not in use. Have funBill Leathen

 

[Wanderer138]

Someone may have modified the boom setup

The stock mainsail has one set of reefing points (cringle at gooseneck and leech of sail). With three lines in the boom, the left one is the reefing line, center is outhaul and port is topping lift.I just got a new main that has TWO sets of reefing points. If I were to modify my setup, I'd probably rig a new sheave at the end of the boom, pull the topping lift out of the boom and run it along the outside of the boom using the new sheave. That frees up the port sheave and port cam lever for the second reefing line.What you should do is get a new topping lift (or cut the existing one off about three feet above the boom and splice/tie on some extra length) so it will reach all the way forward to the front of the boom. Screw a small jam cleat to the boom just aft of the gooseneck. That way you can easily reach the topping lift and both reefing lines from the mast base. Good luck.PeterH23 "Raven"

 

[Mike Misko]

Good comments and suggestions

Thanks guys - you're all on target as to how things look/work in my setup. Peter - interestingly enough, there is an extra sheeve on the outside of the starboard side of the boom that I've been wasting by just hanging the excess topping lift halyard from! I'm going to try just what you suggest and hopefully I can solve the awkward use issues Bill Leathen confirmed while maintaining the possibility of 2 reefing lines (which my sail can already accomodate). I really appreciate these observations and suggestions - thanks again, Mike.