Reefing the Mainsail

[Brent Morgan Shallcross]

Yesterday the wind on Ohio river were we sail was 15-25mph Id say closer to a steady 20 a little too much for my expierence level and my little boat with iffy hatches,no boom vang and no reef in my main after 15 scarey minutes we headed in... we do have a storm jib and i do know how to put a reef in(sort of;lol)but ive never done it! can anyone give me a step by step for doing this?knots to use ect... thanks! iam learning

 

[LaDonna Bubak - Catalina Owners]

Here's what you do

Practice at the dock on a day with no wind. Serisously! If you "know" how to do it, then all you need is practice. Drop the sail a little, pull in the reefing line, tie off the sail at the reef points & tighten it back up again. That's the quick & dirty version. If you need more detail, think about investing in Chapman's Book of Seamanship or similar.LaDonna

 

[Brent Morgan Shallcross]

thanks LaDonna

thanks LaDonna...Chapmans doesnt get very in depth on it..says basically "you should reef when" but my Anapolis book does a little better.A question i have is ..Is it one line that weaves thru those all those gromets and around the boom or is there a line for each hole?Iam sure ill figure it out,and i knew i could have jury rigged it in a pinch,but the next time the wind really blows like that, i wanna know how to handle it the proper way. I guess knowing how to do something and having done something are two different things ..Thanks for your help! Iam gonna try it today!

 

[LaDonna Bubak - Catalina Owners]

Reef points

No line in your reef points? There should be a 2' or so piece of line through each hole (meaning each hole has it's own 2' line). This line is typically knotted on either side of the hole so it doesn't come out. When you lower the main you tie those ties just as you would use sail ties when putting the boat away. Hope that's what you were getting at! LaDonna

 

[Dave LaPere]

Reef before it's needed !

Hi There,My theory on it is, Reef before you need to, then you don't have to worry about being blown around and get hurt or end up going in the water. Regardless of what others might do it's your comfort level we are talking about, and if you are to be a good sailor who has a high level of confidence then practice, and reef before you need to. There is no shame in being safe.Happy sailing,Dave LaPere

 

[Peter]

Watch those reef points!

I have had the misfortune of failing to securely make up each reef point, with the result of having grommets tear out. The trick is to make sure that the reef point on located on the leech is not only securely made up at the end of the boom (so as to outhaul the sail), but this point must also be made up directly on the boom in the same way the others are. Always make sure your reefing cringle is made up on the reef hook (on the gooseneck). Otherwise, wind pressure, especially that caused by a hard gust, will likely cause something to tear out of the bunt of the sail.

 

[Mike Brett]

Reefing Instructions

Get your hands on a Harken catalogue. They have pictures of a few different setups for your reefing line, and instructions. As previously mentioned, reef early. It is a lot easier to take a reef out if you don't need it that it is to put it in when you do.

 

[Hayden Watson]

Don't tie the reef points!

Peter illustrates the point I always try to make when we get to discussing reefing. When I reef (which is often with a tall rig) I never, let me repeat, NEVER TIE IN MY REEF POINTS. Their only purpose is to make things “LOOK“ nice. If they are not tied in the sail will not flog, flutter, flap, or otherwise create a nuisance. This just makes the main “loose footed”. Ever look at America’s Cup boats, they are all loose footed. On the other hand, If you forget to untie your reef points or a reef line breaks or comes untied, you will buy a new mail sail. Hmm, lets see here, little gain, great potential loss, duh. No sail can take strain in the body of the sail. If you do tie in your reef points make sure that they are loose enough that you are not pulling on the cloth. All of the real work in reefing is done by the large cringles at the tack and clew of the main. These must be tight. I pull the tack down with my cunninham. The clew needs to be pulled down and back to provide outhaul. This is done by attaching the reef line to the boom directly below the reef clew cringle and the reefing sheeve about 6” to 9” behind that. West Marine has a good drawing of single line reefing on page 845.However you decide to reef, practice so the you can do it quickly. Reef early and often. You will sail faster and more comfortably with the reef, when needed. I can almost guarantee that no one will ever notice that your reef points are not tied in. Anyone who thinks you have to tie in reef points will be too busy fighting with the full main because they haven’t reefed yet. They don’t what to reef because it is too much trouble to tie “THOSE STUPID LITTLE LINES”.Hayden Watson1988 C30tr/bsPapillonSpokane, WA