Jiffy Reefing - need help

[Bill Armstronge]

The main sail on my 28 has reefing ties on both sides of the sail,each about 18 inches long. When lowering the sail to take a reef, do these tie together under the sail, or under the boom?. Have not had to reef yet, but will need to soon. ANY advice on jiffy reefing welcomed. Thanks. Bill



meislandbill@yahoo.com

[Neil Gordon]

>>... do these tie together under the sail, or under the boom?.<<

Traditionally, under the sail. But... if the foot of the sail is attached to the boom, you can't do that. So, just gather the sail and tie it all under the boom. Doesn't have to be tight; the idea is just to get it out of the way. And there's no reason to tie all of them, just enough to do the job.

>>Have not had to reef yet, but will need to soon.<<

Practice in conditions where you don't have to.



Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



neil@nrgordon.com

[Jerry Axler]

>>... do these tie together under the sail, or under the boom?.<<

Traditionally, under the sail. But... if the foot of the sail is attached to the boom, you can't do that. So, just gather the sail and tie it all under the boom. Doesn't have to be tight; the idea is just to get it out of the way. And there's no reason to tie all of them, just enough to do the job.

>>Have not had to reef yet, but will need to soon.<<

Practice in conditions where you don't have to.



Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167

I hate to disagree with a valued contributer to this board , but I believe the traditional manner of tying under the sail is the way to go unless the sail is attached to the boom by a bolt rope in the foot making it impossible to do. The reasoning is that the stress of the sail concentrated on the three or four grommets by tying around the boom could cause tearing of the sail at these points. By tying under the sail there will be some give to the sail relieving the stress just as a nylon rode or snubber relieves the stress on an anchor rode.
I do agree that practising in non- threatening situations is an absolute must. In addition to that advice, would be to practise reefing in increasing wind conditions because I have found that reefing in higher winds changes the difficulty in performing the task exponentially. My practise is to over reef early and decrease reef as the situation warrants.
A long winded reply to the simple adage reef before you must.

Jerry Axler
Shana CD36



cutter36@erols.com

[Neil Gordon]

I said:
"Traditionally, under the sail. But... if the foot of the sail is attached to the boom, you can't do that. So, just gather the sail and tie it all under the boom."

You said:
"I hate to disagree ... but I believe the traditional manner of tying under the sail is the way to go unless the sail is attached to the boom by a bolt rope in the foot making it impossible to do."

I hate to disagree with your disagreement, but...

>>The reasoning is that the stress of the sail concentrated on the three or four grommets by tying around the boom could cause tearing of the sail at these points.<<

Yes!!! All the stress should be on the new tack and clew. Gathering the sail is just to get it under control and out of the way... there should be no stress where the reef points are tied around the boom.

>>reefing in higher winds changes the difficulty in performing the task exponentially.<<

One nifty trick is to heave to by backing the jib. Lash the tiller to leeward and ease the main so that it's in the lee of the jib. That takes lots of pressure off and makes it easier to reef in difficult conditions.

>>My practise is to over reef early and decrease reef as the situation warrants.<<

We reefed reluctantly yesterday on a trip from Provincetown to Boston. Except that we noticed there was no drop in speed with the reef in... and the boat seemed happier. We were happier, too, when the wind picked up and the seas began running 4-6 feet.


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



neil@nrgordon.com

[Jerry Axler]

I said:
"Traditionally, under the sail. But... if the foot of the sail is attached to the boom, you can't do that. So, just gather the sail and tie it all under the boom."

You said:
"I hate to disagree ... but I believe the traditional manner of tying under the sail is the way to go unless the sail is attached to the boom by a bolt rope in the foot making it impossible to do."

I hate to disagree with your disagreement, but...

>>The reasoning is that the stress of the sail concentrated on the three or four grommets by tying around the boom could cause tearing of the sail at these points.<<

Yes!!! All the stress should be on the new tack and clew. Gathering the sail is just to get it under control and out of the way... there should be no stress where the reef points are tied around the boom.

>>reefing in higher winds changes the difficulty in performing the task exponentially.<<

One nifty trick is to heave to by backing the jib. Lash the tiller to leeward and ease the main so that it's in the lee of the jib. That takes lots of pressure off and makes it easier to reef in difficult conditions.

>>My practise is to over reef early and decrease reef as the situation warrants.<<

We reefed reluctantly yesterday on a trip from Provincetown to Boston. Except that we noticed there was no drop in speed with the reef in... and the boat seemed happier. We were happier, too, when the wind picked up and the seas began running 4-6 feet.


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167

I agree that the main stress is taken by the triple reinforced clew and tack,but I still feel there would be adding stress to the reef points. I will have to try the backing of the jib and reefing before I would comment,but is it possible that the pitching and rolling in a heavy sea might counter its' effectiveess. I find that easing out the main until it just luffs and continuing to sail under jib stabilizes the boat as I go forward to reef.
You also pointed out that you sailed faster under a reefed main which I find also. I regularly reef the main into a deep reef prior to lowering the staysail or jib as the wind builds. I envied your sail from P-town to Boston because I singlehanded from the Chesapeake to Cape May this weekend in preparation for my annual trip to your cruising grounds in a hot ,humid and windless 110 mile trip.

Jerry Axler
Shana CD36



cutter36@erols.com

[Catherine Monaghan]

For what it's worth, the mainsail of our CD32 is attached to the boom via sailslides within a track and it is easily reefed by rolling up the foot of the sail and slipping the ties (from one side only) beneath the sail. There's no need to send the ties around the boom. This also keeps all of the hardward on the boom (reefing lines, winches and cleats) easily accessible if you have to reef again.


Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay



catherine_monaghanNOSPAM@merck.com

[Olli Wendelin]

Bill,

When I reef, even double reef, I seldom use the reefing ties. The sail just folds and hangs from the boom. The reefing ties are just to keep the loose sail from flapping, if needed.

On my CD30, the boltrope on both the mainsail and mizzen slips in the boom, so when using the reefing ties they go around the boom. I tie them loose so that they don't pull on the sail.

Reefing ties are especially needed on loose footed sails, such as my working jib. Otherwise the unused sail would hang down and catch on things.


Olli Wendelin
BLUE MOON
Charleston, SC



wendelin@spawar.navy.mil

[Scott MacCready, New Ber]

Just got back from a day of Sailing here on the Neuse. I was singlehandling so I was reefed from the start for safety. Until today, I had always tied the reefing lines under the boom but today tried it above the boom between the sailslides as you suggested. What a difference it made. The shape of the sail is much better and I can reach all the hardware without having to dig through the hanging sail. thanks for the tips as always, Scott



capedorysailor@coastalnet.com