I was wrong and all of you were right

[SKIPPER2C]

I still need to work out the best way to store and secure the sail for trailering.

I just don't know what to do about that part. I guess I could just bag it every time I trailer?

I made 2 bags to put the main and other boat stuff in.









Does not look nice but works very good.

[Tomfoolery]

I have slab reefing what I think people are calling single line reefing.

I can't speak for others, but my 34 footer had real single-line reefing. Slacken the halyard (all lines led to cockpit), take up the first reef line, which goes through both the tack (a block hanging off the tack, actually) and the clew, so no hook involved. Retension the halyard against the now-shortened sail. Same process for the second reef, but lots more line to do it than the first reef, of course.

Mine resembled this, though some systems use a butteryfly block inside the boom. Mine had a block hanging off each of the two tack fittings, but there was still a lot of friction in the system. The lines were inside the boom, including the standard outhaul, keeping the clutter on the boom to a minimum, but there was still a lot of line all over the place. Kind of a PITA.

[BOAT]

It almost looks like you could just put a downhaul on the tack cringle and just tie down the clew right from the cockpit on the MAC and have the same thing.

I'm not an expert at reefing mains, but I guess now that I have a MAC I might need to become one.

[Catigale]

If you want to single line reefing (SLR), the solution is to...

1 Install a "Colonel King" single loop main halyard....Ill point to a link on the next customer complaint call.

2 Install a single line reef to collect sail at the reef points.

The looped mail halyard eliminates 10s of feet of line and gets rid of the SLR spaghetti problem.

[Tomfoolery]

It almost looks like you could just put a downhaul on the tack cringle and just tie down the clew right from the cockpit on the MAC and have the same thing.

And that would be two-line reefing.



With the Mac being as small as it is, it's probably easier to just pull the clew from the end of the boom rather than feeding it forward to the mast and then down to the cabin roof. Saves some rigging when trailering, too.

About the only thing two-line reefing does, assuming you don't bring the clew forward, is save a trip to the mast. But in a bad seaway, that may be the most beneficial part - not going up to the mast.

[Tomfoolery]

If you want to single line reefing (SLR), the solution is to...

1 Install a "Colonel King" single loop main halyard....Ill point to a link on the next customer complaint call.

2 Install a single line reef to collect sail at the reef points.

The looped mail halyard eliminates 10s of feet of line and gets rid of the SLR spaghetti problem.

How do you splice yacht braid into a loop?

I haven't mastered splicing an eye into yacht braid yet, but I'm working on it.

[BOAT]

1 Install a "Colonel King" single loop main halyard....Ill point to a link on the next customer complaint call.

What's a Colonel what? Chicken A La King or Colonel Sanders? This all sounds like having a bunch of ropes hanging off the sail? Is that a good thing? Or are you saying to use a double block on the main halyard so it loops right back on itself and becomes the downhaul too? (I have been pondering that).

I think I need to put the mast up in the side yard here and play with the mainsail and boom again, ( uh oh! That's how I got in trouble in the first place!) I THINK I can invent stuff but the truth is that I am no fabrication wizard like seahouse or a rigging pro like highlander or a master craftsman like summer.

I think I can make stuff that's strong enough to work out in the real ocean but my gadgets break.

I think you need to send pictures.


As for the SLR I was thinking why even have a line for the Clew Cringle?? The end of the boom is right there over my head - can't I handle that by myselfe by just tying it off?

[Tomfoolery]

With the Mac being as small as it is, it's probably easier to just pull the clew from the end of the boom rather than feeding it forward to the mast and then down to the cabin roof. Saves some rigging when trailering, too.

Sounds vaguely familiar.

[BOAT]

Okay, you guys are making fun of me now - so maybe I deserve it - I guess you said the same thing I said in a different way - I guess the point is that on our boats being so small we probably don't need any special rigging to handle the Clew Cringle, I think I got that. Not really sure about the Tack Cringle - I thought it needed to be in that hook on the mast, but could a simple downhaul repace that?

[Tomfoolery]

Okay, you guys are making fun of me now - so maybe I deserve it - . . .

That's the problem with forums like this - without facial or body language cues, it's not always easy to read the intent of what someone said. I wasn't making fun of you. It's just not something I do. I joke around sometimes, but never (intentionally) make fun of someone. Sorry if it came across that way.

Not really sure about the Tack Cringle - I thought it needed to be in that hook on the mast, but could a simple downhaul repace that?

That's what I was thinking. Going forward to the mast in a nasty seaway is not something I like doing, and being able to pull that tack down from the cockpit while reefing is probably a useful feature.

[BOAT]

No insult taken, and no need to apologize. I was just making sure we were on the same page. I'm going to Minnys this weekend with my sail (Minnys is a big used sails and hardware store right next to the Doyle sail loft in Newport), and I want to make sure I get all the right Cringle adjustments and slug placements correct for reefing - I'm sure the Doyle guys will be able to help me. They are right there only a couple of miles from the factory and they have modified hundreds of sails for the factory over the years.

After that I will walk over to Minnys and look for reefing stuff and ask to see the boom roller mechanisms that other boats use. I might see if they have a kite for 'boat' too at a good price.

I just want to get as much info as i can before i go cuz it's a 50 mile drive.

[Catigale]

How do you splice yacht braid into a loop?

I haven't mastered splicing an eye into yacht braid yet, but I'm working on it.

The trick that the Air Force teaches you is, the loop starts and ends at the head of the mainsail, no there is no braid required. One side of loop pulls head down to reef, the other up to raise. The loop end stays back in the cockpit and both ends feed up the mast, ergo no spaghetti.

[Judy B]

1 Install a "Colonel King" single loop main halyard....Ill point to a link on the next customer complaint call.

<<SNIPPED>>


As for the SLR I was thinking why even have a line for the Clew Cringle?? The end of the boom is right there over my head - can't I handle that by myselfe by just tying it off?

Hi,

Tying a reef in at clew at the end of the boom isn't easy in high winds. it won't be sitting quietly overhead The boom will be violently moving from side to side . Consider this also please: you might need to reef at some angle of sail that puts the boom way off the centerline. That's why it is a time-tested design to run the clew reefing line forward along the boom, to within a foot or two of the mast -- that way it stays over the boat so you can reach it no matter what point of sail you have to be on.

Here's my take on Double vs Single line reefing systems if you're running lines to the cockpit: Double line reefing may seem like it's more complicated than single line reefing, but it's the easiest and most reliable system. It's fast, it's easy and it works on any point of sail.

Single line reefing systems typically have a lot more friction in the system. Single line system have another major shortcoming -- They don't always tension the front reef reef cringle tight up against the mast before tensioning the outhaul. That's a bad thing because if clew gets tensioned first and then a gust hits, the next slug above the front reef cringle gets torn off. They also make it harder to get the foot of the mainsail really flat when reefing.

If you single hand, make sure the topping lift, main halyard and the reefing line(s) all terminate near each other -- either have them all end on the mast or all run aft to the cockpit. If you want to use a reef hook instead of a reefing line, that's fine, just make sure you can reach all of the important parts of your reefing system from one place: either in the cockpit or at the mast.

If you always have crew, you have more options. For double handing, it's not uncommon to have the halyard run aft (handled by the helmsman), and the reefing hook and aft reefing line up at the mast (handled by the crew member)

There are some fancy "single" line systems that have a complex variable-purchase system inside the boom that tensions the front reef cringle first, but they're not simple to engineer.

Fair winds,
Judy B
Sailmaker

[mastreb]

I still need to work out the best way to store and secure the sail for trailering.

I put the sail bag on the deck below the boom. Unclip the halyard and secure to the mast. Disconnect the boomkicker and vang and lay them on the sailbag. Disconnect the gooseneck pin and lay the boom and mainsail onto the sail bag. Button up the sailbag with everything inside. Open the cabin hatch, and lower the boom/sail bag onto the cabin sole. It will fit perfectly from the forward v-berth back to the small area between the companionway ladder and the galley. The sailbag will keep it from marking anything. Trailers perfectly and never moves. This is where we keep it any time the mast is down. Goes on and off in less than three minutes.

Matt

[ronacarme]

At least since 1988, on our prior 26D and present 26X, we have used a Spinlock mainsail prefeeder which very much eases raising the stock, boltrope luff, nonslugged, mainsail. West Marine model# 414128, $82.99.
Have not raised the main in 30 knots of wind tho. Max was maybe 15-20 mph (Lake Michigan) wind and 4 foot waves.
Ron