Reefing

[TIM WEBB]

Slugs can be added to a sail with a boltrope (don't they all come with a boltrope?) fairly inexpensively, so if you want to try them, it's easy enough to do, and if you find you don't like them, it's easy enough to remove them.

[GreenLake]

I have a new sail that has a boltrope, so the discussion helped me. In fact, this new bolt rope is about 5/8 of the old one, and found its way out of the slot a couple times during hoisting. Winds were 14mph, and it never looked like it would pull out, so I guess it will work. But this may explain in part why they come down so easily.

The boltrope on my old sail was covered by sailcloth. That added some bulk and made for a smooth surface. The new one appears factory-stitched to a strip of fabric and that's what the sailmaker attached to the sail. As a result it's a tad less bulky, but because the rope is three-strand, the thickness isn't uniform. That makes it easier for it to "miss" the slot during the hoist. Unlike the previous sail, I actually have to "feed" this one. However, once hoisted, it's firm and secure in the sail slot. I've sailed it (unreefed) into the 20's (gusts, not steady).

And I mean knots, not mph

Anyway, there's no need to worry.

[Interim]

I've sailed it (unreefed) into the 20's (gusts, not steady).

And I mean knots, not mph

I can take gusts in the 20smph, but there is a gap in seamanship between me and a 20sknt gust

Perhaps the reef will help with this one day. And more time on the water, which is always the goal.

We had steady 14mph winds last weekend, with little or no gusts. This is unusal for us, because anytime there is wind there are gusts out on the plains. We sailed well, but had bigger waves because of the steady wind which added a new experience.

--john

[jeadstx]

Sailing in winds with 20 knot plus gusts without a reef in the sail can be challenging. Definately keeps you alert.

John

[GreenLake]

Makes a difference whether I'm on a cruise or solo or with inexperienced or lightweight crew or whether I'm sailing a regatta with experienced crew and tons of boats around in case I do end up in the water...

That said, gusts can be managed by luffing up, letting out sheet and hiking. I find you learn quickly

[TIM WEBB]

I've sailed it (unreefed) into the 20's (gusts, not steady).

And I mean knots, not mph

Hey! I didn't write that!

[GreenLake]

I've sailed it (unreefed) into the 20's (gusts, not steady).

And I mean knots, not mph

I can take gusts in the 20smph, but there is a gap in seamanship between me and a 20sknt gust

That gap would then be about 15%

(One nautical mile comes to about 1.15 statute miles - or as they say, your mileage may vary )

[ChrisB]

Seems everyone on the forum is a fan of the reefing hook approach except me. I tried it and can't say I liked it much. I found that the hook snagged virtually everything in the same zip code; jib sheets, UPS sheets, halyards, not to mention ME! I abandoned the hook in favor of the single line slab reef. Much happier with this approach. It starts at the aft end of the boom and terminates at a cleat on the forward end of the boom. Ease mainsheet, ease halyard, pull reef line to bring reef cringles down to the boom, tension halyard, tighten mainsheet. Most of the time I don't even bother with the cringles in the belly of the sail.

[Interim]

Tim--

Sorry about the missattribution. When I pulled the quote, it gave it to you.

--jf

[TIM WEBB]

No worries ... it's just that I'd be reefed *way* before it reached the 20's, kts or mph! ;-P

[jeadstx]

I added a reef hook to my Mariner for the Tx200 this year and it worked well. The boat was set up for the same type of slab reefing I had on my DSII. It worked well enough that I plan to add a reefing hook to the DS as well. I didn't have any problems on the Mariner of the hook snagging anything.

John

[GreenLake]

Seems everyone on the forum is a fan of the reefing hook approach except me. I tried it and can't say I liked it much. I found that the hook snagged virtually everything in the same zip code; jib sheets, UPS sheets, halyards, not to mention ME! I abandoned the hook in favor of the single line slab reef. Much happier with this approach. It starts at the aft end of the boom and terminates at a cleat on the forward end of the boom. Ease mainsheet, ease halyard, pull reef line to bring reef cringles down to the boom, tension halyard, tighten mainsheet. Most of the time I don't even bother with the cringles in the belly of the sail.

I have a single line setup.

1. From a cleat near end of boom
2. Up through Aft reef cringle
3. Down to cheek block near end of boom (other side)
4. Forward to Cheek block at gooseneck
5. Up and through forward reef cringle
6. Down to a cleat on the boom.

The catch is that I have to pull the line tight in two passes; because of friction I can't get the system to work as one. So, if I ever bother to modify this, I would separate the two lines (for aft and forward cringle). As it is, I pull on the part of the line along the boom first, that brings the aft cringle down, then I continue by pulling the slack out at the end of the line, which will eventually bring the forward cringle to the tack.

Or I could go with a hook, but I think two lines would work just fine.

I don't have an outhaul that is set up to be able to reconnect it to the new clew (aft cringle). However, I set up the reef line so it pulls the aft cringle down and aft. The idea is that that there's never a need to use other than full tension on the foot of a reefed sail.

With the foot pulled tight, I just stuff the extra sail cloth between the (new) foot and the boom and it seems to stay in place w/o need for sail ties.

[Interim]

Now, nearly a year later, I finally had the first opportunity to reef. We were in 15mph winds with gusts over 20, and I was stunned by how easily the DSII handled the wind. We were on a much more even keel than our regular expeditions (~10mph), and even in the gusts we did not heel to a point of concern (the crew panics when the rails get wet).

During lulls (maybe 4-8mph), we lost a little headway as we slammed into waves (which I guess at 2ft high). I had to fall off to get speed up which meant we were not exactly quartering the waves. However, we did not have the jib up which would have affected things, including the stronger weather helm.

All in all, a great experience. We're now more confident in going out in stronger winds.

--jf