As the forecast for this season calls for much cooler temps and more frequent higher wind speeds and gusts, thanks to the effects of a Super El Niño, reefing has become a frequent topic. I was somewhat surprised when many sailors at our yacht club confessed they had never reefed their sails and, frankly, were not sure how to on their boat or when. Many claimed they simply furl in—reef— their foresail since it’s the easiest and quickest thing to do. However, when asked, they admit to losing a lot of steerage and experience violent sail and gear flogging. For unfamiliar or novice sailors and crew, this can indeed provide for some scary moments.
To continue reading this article or issue you must be a paid member. Sign in
Join Practical Sailor
Get full access to Practical-Sailor.com – more than 4,000 articles – for just $34.
Join today and save 42% off our full price.
Like many things, you don’t want to be learning in rough weather, but that is when you need to reef. Instead, practice running through all of the reefs (if there are two or three) on a light/moderate wind day to work out all of the kinks. Maybe it feels silly, but smart sailors will understand that you are doing something smart.
Confirm that the tack reefing line or reefing hook applies forward pull, securing the tack and preventing the sliders from pulling out of the mast; I’ve seen sails torn and I’ve snapped sliders due to the aft pull of the outhaul.
My first two boats reefed by disconnecting the mainsheet tackle from the boom, disconnecting the clew from the boom, laying the boom in the cockpit, lowering the main as needed, re-attaching the downhaul, and then re-connecting the boom to the clew grommet and re-hanging the mainsheet tackle. This sounds cumbersome, but the boom was not heavy and large hooks on the boom and tackle made it fast. Finally, you tied up the bunt.
The next boat had internal single-line reefing, as discussed above. One of the things to watch is careful coiling of the reefing lines, without inducing twist (figure eight coil or equivalent). If the lines twist up inside the boom, reefing becomes difficult to impossible, and working the twist out is onerous. I also added a third, external reef. I did not leave the third reaved; if that sort of weather was coming, you knew it a day ahead.
My current boat has a main that rolls on the outside of the boom. Very fast. However, unless you want to rip a sail, the loads are carried by grommets at the tack and clew. The downhaul goes in the tack grommet, and a lashing goes through the clew.