I have posted some pictures of the Tern in the photo
section. They show parts of the single line reefing system that the
previous owner installed. He ran the lines from the boom near the out
haul through the leech cringle, then down the boom to a swivel block
suspended from the reefing cringle in the luff. The block hung from a
"U" hook and worked well, (a block is shown in one of the pictures)
but the hooks chafed on the sail so much that I removed them. I tried
using line stoppers and also "D" rings to hang the block but they
turned the earing over, parallel to the deck and perpendicular to the
pull of the leach, and threatened to pull the ring out of the sail,
so instead I now run the line through the cringle and to the cockpit
via the organizer. I agree that the line can still chafe the sail
though. Perhaps an answer is to suspend the block from webbing, pass
the webbing through the cringle and sew the web and sail together.
The hook works well however and there is no reason not to use it, and
I may go back to it, but it is necessary to provide patches of sail
cloth, or perhaps soft leather, below the cringle on the hook side of
the sail.
The single line reef is easy and fast. Top up the boom, release
the clutch for the first reef, set the pre-marked halyard in the cam
cleat, and look for flat water. . . . Luff up, release the halyard
and the sail falls of it's own accord, pull in the reef line. The line
is mostly slack. There is no need to use the winch but I reach above
my head to snug the line down through the leech cringle. Secure the
reefing line and cinch up the halyard a bit before falling off. As I
sail away I drop the topping lift and gather in the slack in the
remaining reefing lines. There is a separate line for each reef. I
also pull the slack out of the down haul. (Because the halyards come
to the cockpit a down haul is necessary if I need to coax the sail
down the mast. I installed one for the jib as well which goes a long
way to quiet the boat before I go forward to change sail.) This is
the first boat I've been on that reefed like this and I like it much
better than clambering up to the mast and fighting with a wrench and
the halyard while trying to keep ALL the sluggs from sliding out the
mast track.
Elapsed time from heading up to falling off, 30 seconds or less
(my wife's estimate, and Kris wouldn't lie about a thing such as this ;-).
Craig Tern #1519
section. They show parts of the single line reefing system that the
previous owner installed. He ran the lines from the boom near the out
haul through the leech cringle, then down the boom to a swivel block
suspended from the reefing cringle in the luff. The block hung from a
"U" hook and worked well, (a block is shown in one of the pictures)
but the hooks chafed on the sail so much that I removed them. I tried
using line stoppers and also "D" rings to hang the block but they
turned the earing over, parallel to the deck and perpendicular to the
pull of the leach, and threatened to pull the ring out of the sail,
so instead I now run the line through the cringle and to the cockpit
via the organizer. I agree that the line can still chafe the sail
though. Perhaps an answer is to suspend the block from webbing, pass
the webbing through the cringle and sew the web and sail together.
The hook works well however and there is no reason not to use it, and
I may go back to it, but it is necessary to provide patches of sail
cloth, or perhaps soft leather, below the cringle on the hook side of
the sail.
The single line reef is easy and fast. Top up the boom, release
the clutch for the first reef, set the pre-marked halyard in the cam
cleat, and look for flat water. . . . Luff up, release the halyard
and the sail falls of it's own accord, pull in the reef line. The line
is mostly slack. There is no need to use the winch but I reach above
my head to snug the line down through the leech cringle. Secure the
reefing line and cinch up the halyard a bit before falling off. As I
sail away I drop the topping lift and gather in the slack in the
remaining reefing lines. There is a separate line for each reef. I
also pull the slack out of the down haul. (Because the halyards come
to the cockpit a down haul is necessary if I need to coax the sail
down the mast. I installed one for the jib as well which goes a long
way to quiet the boat before I go forward to change sail.) This is
the first boat I've been on that reefed like this and I like it much
better than clambering up to the mast and fighting with a wrench and
the halyard while trying to keep ALL the sluggs from sliding out the
mast track.
Elapsed time from heading up to falling off, 30 seconds or less
(my wife's estimate, and Kris wouldn't lie about a thing such as this ;-).
Craig Tern #1519