Sail Reefing

[Kelly]

Two part question about reefing: (1) Slab/Jiffy Reefing. Last week we were out in gusty conditions with whitecaps, excessive heel, etc and I decided to reef the main. My Oday 22' employs a boom roller reefing (not reefer rolling, ;D har) system which I tried for the first time. My experience with that echos previous sentiments of others in the archives - i.e. it produced sloppy sail shape and a saggy aft end of the boom likely to take one's head off on a tack if you weren't paying close attention. I figure there's got to be a better way. So... I want to explore slab or jiffy reefing instead but there are no reef points in what appears to be the original mainsail. Do I need to have the sail modified by a sailmaker perhaps to include grommets + reinforcement at the reef tack and clew, as well as reefing lines sewn in at the reef points in order to slab reef? Or is there some other way (other than roller reefing) to reef down the main without sail modification in this case? Thanks y'all(2) Technique. Only myself and the Admiral aboard and during reefing she's busy forward keeping tension on the main halyard (not in the cockpit) while I reef. Meanwhile I'm trying to reef the sail AND manage the tiller to keep the boat pointed upwind. Unfortunately I'm unable to clone myself. Any suggestions how to effectively do this with two people?

 

[kendall]

roller

It's been suggested that you toss a cushion or two, maybe even spare jackets in the roll to take up some slack and help with some shape.  Maybe snugging the downhaul and leaving the topping lift attached would help with the boom sag ken

 

[Moody Buccaneer]

Get a new sail ...

If the boat has "roll it around the boom" reefing and a sail with no reef points, the sail is old enough to have children in high school. Get a new one.Look in the Harken Catalog for reefing ideas. IIRC they even have a single line reefing system that would be near ideal for a 22' boat.After you decide what reefing system you will use (don't kid yourself, you do not have a reefing system now), work with your sailmaker to make sure the reef points get put in the sail in the right places.

 

[Joe]

reefing

you must modify the sail. Take it to a sailmaker and let him advise you. There are many instructional books available that will help you with your reefing technique. I suggest you purchase one... The Annapolis Book of Seamanship is a good one. Here's a link to Harken's reefing systems page. http://www.harken.com/rigtips/reefing.phpThere are other ways to rig the system. Since your mainsail winch is at the mast I would suggest a two line system that terminates near this winch. The tack line to a cleat on the mast the clew line to a cleat at the forward end of the boom. That way your crew can handle everything herself at the mast, leaving the skipper free to manage the boat.Here's another article for you:http://www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=bthlnd035The basic procedure is to head up then lower the halyard to a pre determined setting. Now you can set the tack, then set the clew, them re-tension the halyard. To shake the reef out...reverse the procedure.Oh, don't forget to practice the procedure a few times on a calm day.

 

[Mike]

Heave To

When yo want to reef the main while sailing, and the wind has picked up, heave to.Practice heaving to a couple of times first, It's very easy, and you may have already done it accidentally.To perform the 'Heave To', I usually wait until I am on a port tack(wind from the left). I then slowly come about, and sheet the jib in tighter as I do. Allow the jib to backwind against the mast and shrouds. Gently ease the mainsheet and push the tiller to leeward, until the boat seems to come to a stop. Once you have slowed down, tie the tiller temporarily to the stern cleat. Adjust the mainsheet so that the mainsail is neutral to the wind. Now you can reef the mainsail, without need to maintain sterrage into the wind. The reason I do it as described is that boats on a starboard tack have the right of way, and other boats should give way. To return to sailing after you've reef your mainsail, slowly sheet in the mainsail until it just starts to catch the wind. Uncleat and get control of the tiller. Now releast the jib sheet, and allow the jib to cross over. Sheet in the jib from the other side and resume sailing! Your boat will sit flatter and actually sail faster when reef in heavy winds. There was a short video circulating around on this board, and if any one can repost it, I'd appreciate it.

 

[Mike M16608]

Heave to link

I think this is the link Mike refers to...

 

[Mike]

That's It !

Thanks Mike, That's the one. I got it once from a thread here, and even re-posted it myself before. When my computer had some problems, I lost all my 'favorites'.I've re-saved it.

 

[SteveLyle]

I've been there....

I had an O'day 22 with roller reefing in the '80's. Converted it to slab reefing - took the sail to a loft, added cleats to the boom and mast, voila. Worked great.Prior to that the PO's reef technique was to put up a storm jib (neither of us bothered with the roller reefing). I found the boat sailed much better under reefed main and 100% jib, and never flew the storm jib again.Slab reefing with two people is no problem. One person steers the boat, everything else is done by the other at the mast.

 

[Kelly]

Sail conversion

A hearty thank you to all for the great responses which are most helpful. I'm convinced that converting to a slab reefing system is the way to go. And yes... my mainsail is "old enough to have children in high school". The boat is a solid 1976 with what I believe to be the original sails however. 'bout time for an upgrade.Here's wishing you all a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend, hopefully on the water. And a special nod to our servicemen/women who continue to make this privilege possible.