Reefing lines for main

[ALX357]

anywhere the single line reefing system can be looked at online ?? any photos on this or another site ??

[ALX357]

I just looked at a picture of the aft end of BWY's single-line-reefing system, and it looks like they use a line thru the clew (if that is the aft-bottom grommet) and forward to the tack, but not thru the field grommets of the sail.... so i still can't figure the large grommets in the between part of the sail. is there a single line system that uses all the grommets ?

[Frank C]

That series of middle grommets is strictly for gathering the surplus sail material to the boom. Sometimes they're left with sail-ties hanging, but never a line. They are not reinforced and are not intended to take any stress. The fore and aft reefing cringles (tack & clew) are the only two that are reinforced for sailing loads. If you're going to the mast for reefing, then there's no reason to suffer the hassle & spaghetti of a reefing line hanging off your sail.

Also there's a school of thought that favors of a two-line reefing system for some very good reasons. The head sailmaker at Pineapple Sails wrote a series of sailing articles that are worth skimming. Look under Mainsail Articles to see his opinions about Reefing, partly excerpted here.

I would like to discuss the single line reefing system as a separate subject. My biggest problem is that one cannot establish luff tension, thereby reducing the load on the luff sliders, before placing a load on the reef clew line. This will often cause the bottom several luff sliders to start tearing out of the luff of the sail.

My second problem is that these 'systems' are sold under the notion that they are 'simple.' They are NOT simple. That is partially due to the fact that the loads in a reefed sail are not simple. The load coming out of the reef clew is very much greater than the load out of the reef tack.

This diagram is from Beth Leonard's Sailnet article about
the two-line system used on their boat, Hawk.



Double-line reefing like that shown here
can greatly reduce the friction in a reefing system,
but it also involves more parts.

[ALX357]

well i'm ok with going to the mast to hook the reef tack grommet, and I already have an outhaul tensioning system and line with a shackle for the outhauls, and a tie attached to the shackle to hold down whichever reef clew to the boom, but the problem is how to attach normal reef ties into those huge grommet holes.
I'd like not to have to fumble for the holes and lines to attach them to the sail anytime I am trying to reef. The standard Mac upper reef holes are fine for attaching the ties semi-permanently, but those lower grommets are too big to hold the lines. I need to reduce the grommets interior dimension or increase the ties diameter to much too large a rope size. Or find simple and ingenious solution that works .... maybe nylon fender washers to ..... hey that may be it....

[ALX357]

[MAC26X]

I'm a fan of 2 line reefing, but this is easily rigged on a Mac with a single reef point. Use 2 outhauls (one for full main and one for reefed) and 1 outhaul cam cleat at the aft end of the boom. Use a turning block near the forward end of the boom and a single reef line that rans from the forward reef point down to the block, and along the boom to the 2nd cam cleat at the aft of the boom. Then to jiffy reef from the cockpit in less than a minute:

1. Get to a point of sail where the boom is over the boat and luffing.
2. Drop the main to just below the reef height.
3. Loosen the vang.
4. Tension the reef line in the reef cam cleat.
5. Tighten the main halyard.
6. Remove the full main outhaul from the cleat and tension the reef outhaul.
7. Reset the vang.

I use lazy jacks with some lightweight bungee line built in, so the jacks stay in place for sailing. This means you can just leave the loose sail that way, or if you prefer, now you can go on deck and roll up the loose sail without it flogging you.

[Terry]

Does anyone advocate the use of shock cord (bungee cord) for tying through the grommets and securing the loose sail footing? I plan to do it just in case too much load pulls on the ties, so that instead of the grommets ripping the sail, the shock cord will stretch and provide some give, save a trip to the sail repair shop.

[Frank C]

IMO shock cord itself is fine (excluding the hooks) but UV exposure degrades it pretty quickly. Best case would be shock cord w/ velcro? In my case, I don't bother. Once the reefing cringles are pulled to the boom, the unrestrained, gathered sailfoot works fine for me.
Whatever works ... Works!

I have some sail ties from west Marine that are a combo of flat stretchy material (2" wide, 24" long) with velcro at middle and at the ends. This works great for tying the flaked sail to the boom, but impractical to use with the reef grommets.

[Andy26M]

I use small ball-bungees (8" length I think) for the middle grommets to hold the loose sail to the mast. They work fine, and are cheap so that when one goes zinging off over the side I don't have to feel bad about losing it, like I used to do with my nice matched sets of sail and reefing ties ...

I am one of those who, if caught out and needing to reef, just drops the whole sail - I am usually single-handing, but even if I wasn't I'd not want to subject anyone else to all that racket and flogging around. So, I just start the motor, drop the main, roll in the genny, and usually back gently - the boat will naturally back into the wind and you can basically hover in place - having the waves on the stern is not great, but it is better than having them on the beam. Then with the motor backing gently, I can climb on top of the cabin and reef at my leisure.

- AndyS

[Catigale]

Thanks for post Andy - Ill have to try that 'hovering' next time Im singlehanded...

btw was down on Narragansett with my ex-Navy Friends J35 yesterday - what a great place to sail!!

We sailed out to see the Rolex racers, then back into the Bay. Will return shortly. He tells me he sees s and s all over the bay, and they are all smiling.

[Frank C]

Can't say why the difference, but my 26X absolutely WILL NOT reverse in a straight line ...
No way, No how, No chance.

We discovered this a couple of days when trying to "overfill" ballast tank, just before
plugging the ballast vent.

Sheeeesh ... the Mate was obviously inept, so I sent her below to plug the tank vent
while the Cap't took helm and backed the boat up ....
Hmmm, guess that tank's plenty full - better just close it!