Anybody been out in a real blow in the new 25'? We were hoping to get out this weekend but the weather turned overnight to 2-3 ft seas on the Bay and 25-30 kt gusts. With a double reef and no jib i think we'd be fine, but again, I don't know the full capabilities of this boat yet! Oh. . . and it's supposed to be raining a lot, too!!! FUN!
TCA in 25-30kt gusts???
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I have been out in that much wind, but no real waves
I have been out in that kind of wind in mine. We reefed the main before leaving the marina. I didn't even consider unfurling the jib. It's certainly possible to sail, but I don't really enjoy that kind of sailing, particularly with my wife on board, as she is not comfortable with it. Does your 25 have two reefing points in the main? Mine only has one. My boat has Doyle sails. Since we sail on a lake, we don't get too much wave action. A couple of feet at most.
I have been out in that kind of wind in mine. We reefed the main before leaving the marina. I didn't even consider unfurling the jib. It's certainly possible to sail, but I don't really enjoy that kind of sailing, particularly with my wife on board, as she is not comfortable with it. Does your 25 have two reefing points in the main? Mine only has one. My boat has Doyle sails. Since we sail on a lake, we don't get too much wave action. A couple of feet at most.
reefing points
i don't recall how many reefing points we have. the lines that lead to the back of the boom were installed improperly and we have yet to untangle them. the "blue" striped one is the first reefing line and there are, for lack of a better word at the moment, "cleats" at the leach of the sail that keep it from moving up the mast. but there's a red striped line and i can't remember if it is for something other than a reef. the green striped one is for the topping lift, so. . .
i don't recall how many reefing points we have. the lines that lead to the back of the boom were installed improperly and we have yet to untangle them. the "blue" striped one is the first reefing line and there are, for lack of a better word at the moment, "cleats" at the leach of the sail that keep it from moving up the mast. but there's a red striped line and i can't remember if it is for something other than a reef. the green striped one is for the topping lift, so. . .
Lines in the boom on the new 25
The three lines in the boom should be the outhaul, the topping lift, and the reefing line. Mine are set up differently than yours as far as color, but that doesn't really matter. When I reef our sail, I hook the front of the main on the reefing hook where the boom and mast come together, I pull the reefing line to tighten the bottom of the sail after running the line through the reefing grommet in the sail closest to the stern of the boat. I also tie another short line through that same grommet and around the boom to keep the sail from lifting. I never tie of the sail other than at both ends. You can tie off the middle reefing gromments around the boom, but I have been advised against that since the sail doesn't really have much reinforcement there and could subject the sail to being damaged in a really heavy gust. Not tieing the middle ones does'nt seem to effect the performance of the boat.
The three lines in the boom should be the outhaul, the topping lift, and the reefing line. Mine are set up differently than yours as far as color, but that doesn't really matter. When I reef our sail, I hook the front of the main on the reefing hook where the boom and mast come together, I pull the reefing line to tighten the bottom of the sail after running the line through the reefing grommet in the sail closest to the stern of the boat. I also tie another short line through that same grommet and around the boom to keep the sail from lifting. I never tie of the sail other than at both ends. You can tie off the middle reefing gromments around the boom, but I have been advised against that since the sail doesn't really have much reinforcement there and could subject the sail to being damaged in a really heavy gust. Not tieing the middle ones does'nt seem to effect the performance of the boat.
good idea. ..
i'll try that as well (tieing another line through the grommet to prevent lifting). well hopefully the weather will change again tonight for our benefit.
i'll try that as well (tieing another line through the grommet to prevent lifting). well hopefully the weather will change again tonight for our benefit.
Better idea
Perhaps the following (based on my H23.5) reefing line description matches the way the H25 is set up. The H23.5 and H26 (that I've seen up close) have extra bales (like padeyes) under the boom. The reefing line goes from the sheeve at the gooseneck through the indside of the boom, around the sheeve at the aft end of the boom, up through the reefing grommet at the leech, then _straight_ down to terminate at this bale. My bale is not fixed in place, so I can adjust the amount of aft pull (like an outhaul) by positioning where this bale is, putting it a bit aft of the grommet. I imagine some people fix theirs at one spot, but where it is (and how hard you tighten it) affects the amount of outhaul (flattening). The reefing line was wrong when I bought my (used) boat. It sounds like yours is as mine came, which was that the reefing line went from the boom aft sheeve to the leech grommet and then back to the aft boom and tied off there. This makes it impossible to get the reef point (grommet) down against the boom, prompting Jeff to tie on an extra line. Don't forget to loosen the boom vang and mainsheet, or you'll have a hard time getting the grommet all the way down to the boom. Much less fiddling then tieing the extra line as Jeff described. The link below is to a diagram that shows all this. While you're at it, is your outhaul 1:1 as shown in this picture? It's almost useless that way. Note the blowup at the top of the page showing how to get 2:1 by looping the line through the clew back to the aft end of the boom. I went a step further and installed two double micro blocks to give me 4:1. With the original 1:1 outhaul, I never touched it for the first two seasons. Now I adjust it several times every time I go out. I also made a change at the mast. Instead of using the gooseneck sheeve, the line goes to a block with a cam cleat at the base of the mast. The outhaul line then just lies loose on the cabin top, over the edge and into the cockpit. I can adjust it without leaving the tiller. It would be better to run it properly though an organizer out towards the side, but that's a much bigger project. ...RickM...
Perhaps the following (based on my H23.5) reefing line description matches the way the H25 is set up. The H23.5 and H26 (that I've seen up close) have extra bales (like padeyes) under the boom. The reefing line goes from the sheeve at the gooseneck through the indside of the boom, around the sheeve at the aft end of the boom, up through the reefing grommet at the leech, then _straight_ down to terminate at this bale. My bale is not fixed in place, so I can adjust the amount of aft pull (like an outhaul) by positioning where this bale is, putting it a bit aft of the grommet. I imagine some people fix theirs at one spot, but where it is (and how hard you tighten it) affects the amount of outhaul (flattening). The reefing line was wrong when I bought my (used) boat. It sounds like yours is as mine came, which was that the reefing line went from the boom aft sheeve to the leech grommet and then back to the aft boom and tied off there. This makes it impossible to get the reef point (grommet) down against the boom, prompting Jeff to tie on an extra line. Don't forget to loosen the boom vang and mainsheet, or you'll have a hard time getting the grommet all the way down to the boom. Much less fiddling then tieing the extra line as Jeff described. The link below is to a diagram that shows all this. While you're at it, is your outhaul 1:1 as shown in this picture? It's almost useless that way. Note the blowup at the top of the page showing how to get 2:1 by looping the line through the clew back to the aft end of the boom. I went a step further and installed two double micro blocks to give me 4:1. With the original 1:1 outhaul, I never touched it for the first two seasons. Now I adjust it several times every time I go out. I also made a change at the mast. Instead of using the gooseneck sheeve, the line goes to a block with a cam cleat at the base of the mast. The outhaul line then just lies loose on the cabin top, over the edge and into the cockpit. I can adjust it without leaving the tiller. It would be better to run it properly though an organizer out towards the side, but that's a much bigger project. ...RickM...
Thanks for the diagram
Rick, Thanks for the diagram. It's obvious to me now that I don't need to use the extra line.
Rick, Thanks for the diagram. It's obvious to me now that I don't need to use the extra line.
thanks Rick M
It's gonna take me a while to digest this, but I have printed out the diagram and will attempt to fix it tomorrow if I don't drown in the torrential rain or get blown away by a 50 knot gust at the marina. . .
It's gonna take me a while to digest this, but I have printed out the diagram and will attempt to fix it tomorrow if I don't drown in the torrential rain or get blown away by a 50 knot gust at the marina. . .
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