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on my 26m i have single line jiffy reefing from the back of the boom, works great in light winds but in heavy winds heaving too, the back of the boom is not handy. even sailing with main only which the m is so good at, I can heave too, kill boat speed, then pull the boom over, but in howling winds it seems clumsy, any better suggestions? with a quick relaese on the reef line, I could maybe do it downwind by pulling the boom with main sheet when getting close to a jibe, but that doesn't seem prudent in hgh winds either? yes, i know this is precisely the reason folks fun the line back from the mast, just don't \want another line coming back to mess with, and 2 lines would be even worse. any other ideas?

Howling winds is precisely why I want to install a reefing system with lines led aft. Hoving to and putting on a reef when its too late is not very fun.

Phil M

Blue Angel, I don't fully agree with your aversion to bring reefing lines back to the cockpit. The boom end setup you mention seems to be a major hassle, and possibly dangerous as well! I've looked into several of the various options for doing this as I'm in the process of setting up my own single handed configuration, and a dual line reefing configuration appears to me to be the best way of dealing with excess sail pressure and boat movement.
Having two extra lines led aft is a bit of a handfull for sure but reefing is only done in times of need, and is not the same as handling sheets constantly for sail shape and set. Not very hard to rig efficiently and in good Bristol fashion as well!

Ross

I have my single-line reefing led to the cockpit...and I do the heave-to to reef when out sailing works like a charm.

But I agree about the boom-end being a PITA. When I bought my boat the original owner had rigged a "single-line lazy jacks" that was led to the end of the boom. So when I was ready to go sailing and I wanted to get the LJ's up I had to pull about 20' of line out the end of the boom. Then I had to take this 20' of line and wad it up into a big mess and bungy it to the end of the boom. A PITA and an eye-sore.

So I installed carabiners at the ends of my LJ lines and now I just have to pull aft (just the right length...or pretty close) and clip. And when I want to put the sail cover on I unclip take the lines up to the mast and put the sail cover on over the top of the LJ lines (just like it is over the reefing line and the halyards).

If you have to heave-to to reef and the reefing line is out on the end of the boom it could be a dicey situation in a windy/choppy condition trying to get that boom and maintain control of it while hauling in the reefing line while trying to keep the boat under control in a heave-to situation.

Just another opinion.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Jim