Wind Speed & Reefing a CD 27

[Richard Gelfand]

At what wind speeds do other CD27 skippers find it necessary to reef the main and head sail? I find that the boat sails well without a reef up to about 12/13 knots of wind at which point I have been taking a first reef, and feels better with a 2nd reef in over 15/16. Does anyone have a third reef point in their main? I have been reducing the genoa on the roller furler along with the reduction in the main. How far down can you safely reef/furl the genoa?

[Neil Gordon]

>>I find that the boat sails well without a reef up to about 12/13 knots of wind at which point I have been taking a first reef, and feels better with a 2nd reef in over 15/16.<<

Based on experience with my 28... I reef if it's over around 15 knots, with no loss of boat speed. You should be ok into the 20's without a second reef... I'm a little surprised you see the need to further reduce sail so soon.

>>How far down can you safely reef/furl the genoa?<<

All the way to zero... it's just that the sail loses its shape and efficiency after a while.


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



neil@nrgordon.com

[Bob Loewenstein]

I find that the boat sails well without a reef up to about 12/13 knots of wind at which point I have been taking a first reef, and feels better with a 2nd reef in over 15/16.

You didn't mention what size headsail you have. On my 27, I have three to hank on, 155, 100, and storm. I usually use no reef until around 13 knots or so, then if the heel (and weather helm) is excessive, I change headsail to the 100. I reef the main next when the conditions indicate. I expect this is around 18 kn or so, but don't really know. If the reef makes the boat behave better with little or no loss in speed, then it was time to reef.



rfl@yerkes.uchicago.edu

[Bob B.]

I owned a CD 27 on the outerbanks of NC and found that our breezes seldom were below 15kts when I was able to get out. I would start out with a working jib and a single reef. Like said before, judge your boat by the angle of heel, weather helm and the loss of speed due to wind spilling over the top of the sail. I would use the second reef in breezes above 20 or so kts. Like most 27 sailors, I didn't have wind speed indicators so this is a guess. I have sailed the 27 regularly in winds above 30 kts with a double reef and storm jib. The boat was in perfect control and sailed beautifully. I didn't have a roller jib but found that depending on what I felt like doing and the weather helm, I could reduce headsail to keep from reefing main or go ahead and leave the headsail alone and reef the main to keep from going forward. I did blow out a working jib though, so reducing headsail first may be the better option.

Enjoy your boat and experiment. I tend to sail conservatively and would rather be comfortable with a reef in before I think I need it. They are easy to shake out if you find yourself wanting to get a little more out of your boat.

Happy sailing. You have a great boat.

Bob B.



BundyR@aol.com