Oldiesrocker2001 made me think of something. So many times I've seen skippers REALLY SINCH down the reefing ties on their main. This is a mistake. The ties are only used to "tidy up" the sail so it is not falling all over the place. The reefing tie cringles are not designed to take a lot of stress. Check them out the next time your on your boat to see what I mean. What happens when you sinch them down? One result it the sail will rip straight up from the reef tie cringles. Picture that to deal with in a reefing situation!!
