When the rail is ­submerged and the angle of heel exceeds the crew’s inclination for comfort, you’re either in a race or you’re well past the time to take a reef.

Most cruisers prefer to savor their passagemaking rather than shave a few seconds off each mile. So, when it comes to reefing, it makes sense to get an early start. The goal is to have the reef tucked in before the anemometer announces that you’ve missed the sweet spot — a narrow boundary that separates “way too early” from “way too late.”

There are three significantly different approaches to reducing mainsail area: slab reefing, in-mast roller reefing and in-boom roller reefing. Each approach delivers a reduction in sail area and repositions the mainsail’s center of effort. In addition, a good reef flattens the sail, keeps the draft from migrating too far aft and prevents leech flap.

Many cruisers prefer reefing from the cockpit, while a few of us still opt to work at the mast. Regardless of your choice, clip your harness to a jackline or hard point while reefing, especially at night or in rough seas. Some crews turn their boat head-to-wind while reducing sail, but they are usually not offshore, thrashing through a seaway.

I prefer a close reach, or even a little deeper point of sail, as the optimum reefing angle. It allows you to spill breeze and depower the mainsail without flogging the sailcloth, and still keep the boat making way under a well-trimmed jib or staysail.

Once on course and ready to reef, it’s important to depower the mainsail. Begin by easing the sheet so the sail is just on the verge of a luff. The person on the helm should steer carefully to maintain this point of sail, and make sure that the boom vang has been released. Not doing so makes reefing more difficult and can even lead to luff damage to the mainsail or hardware that attaches it to the mast.

The cornerstone of a good reef is a tight luff, and that hinges on having a secure, carefully positioned new tack point such as a gooseneck hook or a snap shackle on a short pendant. Such hardware holds the tack ring close to the mast and proximal to the gooseneck. Sail material, track and slide dimensions, and the stack height all affect the location of the new tack point. A good sailmaker will take these issues into consideration. The bottom line is to provide a secure, well-placed floating or gooseneck-attached tack point that can handle the halyard tension it takes to set a flatter well-shaped, reefed mainsail.

Those using single-line (jiffy) reefing systems face a different challenge. These make life easier by controlling both the tack and clew via the same line, and even eliminate the need for a sailor to go on deck. But they also introduce a new problem. The single-line approach makes positioning the tack point more difficult. Some sailors lessen the negative effect by carefully setting the line pull angles at the gooseneck and outboard end of the boom. Their goal is to establish line tension that keeps the tack close to the gooseneck while adding adequate outhaul and downhaul to the clew. Jiffy reefing changes the order of the lines handled. It’s important to first tension the reefing line before adding the final halyard tension. When slab reefing, you do just the opposite: You tension the halyard and then pull the clew aft and tight.

As with most tasks aboard sailboats, mainsail reefing can be a highly debated topic, and there’s no single solution that meets all needs. However, there are a few additional hints that will make the job easier. If you’re singlehanding, try reefing the mainsail in a heave-to position. The maneuver smooths the seas, steadies the motion and decreases pressure on the sail.

Heaving to involves a tack without the release of the jib sheet. The backed jib causes the bow to bear away, but by turning the helm to windward, the rudder offsets the force of the backed headsail. The mainsheet is eased until the sail is on the verge of a full luff, allowing the crew to easily tuck in a reef. Once the reef is set, the crew sheets in the mainsail, brings the jib over to the same side and, once the boat gathers way, the crew can tack back onto the original point of sail.

Another valuable reefing aid is the addition of a second self-tailing two-speed winch so both the main halyard and the reefing line can be simultaneously kept in play. If you’re heading offshore, consider adding a topping lift, even if you have a rigid vang that supports the boom. It will allow you to raise the outboard end of the boom when reefing — a gesture that makes the reef-setting process even easier. And lastly, stay focused on keeping the mainsail depowered throughout the reefing process.

Ralph Naranjo’s latest book, The Art of Seamanship, shares a lifetime of lessons learned aboard various boats at sea.

The post Time to Reef the Sails appeared first on Cruising World.

When heading out for the day, be sure to check conditions ahead of time and don’t wait for things to get too rough. It’s easier to shake out an unnecessary reef, opposed to putting it in while underway in breezy conditions. Reefing can protect your boat from damage and make the sail more comfortable, but if not done properly can also add extra wear and tear to your sails. Make sure to protect the luff of your sail by putting the luff tension on first, whether you have a boltrope main or a slide main. Release the outhaul and vang before dropping the mainsail down to the desired reef position. Secure the tack of the reefed main and take up on the halyard ensuring there is good tension on the luff – keeping the sail pulled forward. After the luff is tight and secured, take up the slack on the reef line on the clew and ensure that there is good tension on the foot of the sail.

How Many and Where

The number and location of reefs in the mainsail deserves thought. The typical cruising mainsail configuration uses two reefs that are normally placed at intervals of approximately 12% of the luff length. They do not reduce area as a standard percentage. In fact, a first reef will reduce more area because the sail is wider at the bottom.

A third reef is sometimes added for offshore work, again at another 12% of luff length (36%). Few boats, however, are set up with reef hardware for three reefs. The third reef will slightly decrease the overall durability of the sail (by adding weight to the leech), and necessitate hardware changes to the boom to allow for a third reef line.

If there are no plans to sail offshore, two reefs will be plenty. In fact, most sailors who limit their sailing to local trips don’t sail for extended periods in high winds. The only high wind they will see will be in localized squalls, when they will probably take the mainsail down completely.

Another approach to the problem is to space two reefs at slightly deeper locations than normal, approximately 15% and 32% of the luff length. With offshore sailing in mind deeper reefs make sense. Some of this decision is boat specific. Certain boats may need more mainsail, or balance particularly well with a 12% reef. The struggle involved with moving from a second to a third reef is an indication that being more conservative, and taking away more area with each reef, is simpler and generally makes the most sense.

Serious offshore sailors often opt for a storm trysail, and eliminate the third reef.

Single Line Reefing

Using a single line to control both the reef tack and clew has become popular. One should recognize that single line systems introduce a great deal of friction (particularly when they are led back to the cockpit), which can make it hard to reef.

Single line systems work better with blocks in the reef tack and reef clew instead of standard grommets. Care must also be taken to address the angle of the tack reef line, position of the tack grommet, and hardware spacing relative to the reefed tack. Be sure to discuss this issue with your sail consultant prior to design.

It’s important to know the limits of your boat and your crew and to be prepared for breezy conditions. By using a reef you can increase the number of enjoyable days spent on the water.

The post Reefs: How Many and Where appeared first on Cruising World.

Taking your friends and family out for a day cruise is just about the best way we can think of to enjoy the fall colors that are about to start painting the northern parts of the U.S. But dragging the leeward rail in the water, saltwater (or any water) spray mixed in with your hot cider, and snacks splayed out over the deck isn’t fun for anyone.

Most people who sail in notoriously windy locals should have a reefable mainsail and headsail. The trick is to put to put the reef in before you need one. Your guests will have a much better time if they feel safe and stay dry, and your boat will be in a lot better shape at the end of the day if you plan ahead for the conditions.

To make sure everyone’s having fun, we put together a few best practices on when and how to reef:

Jib Reefing

An important feature of a roller furling headsails is having a foam or rope luff, that is, a tapered piece of material sewn into the luff that takes up the camber of sail when it rolls around the headstay, ensuring that the sail still has a clean flying shape when it’s rolled down. You can generally roll a headsail up to 30% before it loses its effective flying shape.

When furling, you don’t want to fight the sheet, so before you furl, follow good procedure and be prepared: Get ready to ease the sheet, luff up into the wind to take the load off the sail, take up on the furling line to wind the desired amount of sail onto the headstay, and then tack up slack on the sheet and resume sailing.

Good care and maintenance will protect your sail, make the job easier, and prevent loose sheets from flogging around and hitting someone in the face.

Make sure to maintain control over the sail as you slowly lower it, especially with the high winds!

Mainsail Reefing

It is good tradecraft for a sailor to reef the mainsail before they have to—and a lot easier. When reefing, the most important thing is to protect the luff of the sail. Whether you have a bolt rope main or a slide main, something is likely to get broken if you don’t have the luff tension on first. Let the outhaul and the vang completely off, and then drop the main halyard down to the desired reef position. Get the tack of the reef fixed and then winch up the halyard to put good tension on the luff—this keeps the sail pulled forward. Once the luff is taught, you can take up the slack on the reef line on the clew, again making sure to put good tension on the foot of the sail.

If you have a loose-footed sail—most cruisers do—roll the reefed portion into itself and secure with sail ties or a heavy-duty shock cord. Take care not to tie the sail around the boom—it wouldn’t be the first time someone goes to shake out a reef and forgets a sail tie through a grommet and around the boom, ripping the sail down the middle. If you have a fixed foot, using one long shock cord to secure the sail (standard procedure on many racing boats) will help to prevent unnecessary damage. Once the reef is set and the sail is properly secured you can resume sailing.

P.S.—Furling mainsails can be reefed too. Just follow the procedure for your sail and system.

When & What to Reef

If the boat is heeling over and main is washing out, the first thing to do is roll the jib down, but smart seamanship requires looking at the conditions ahead and setting up the boat early before you get overpowered. You’ll see the water start to whitecap consitantly between 11-16 knots. If you see whitecaps ahead, you should be thinking about a reef in the main. Look to where you want to go—if the boats already there are well heeled over, put in a reef. Depending on where you live, other telltale signs may include kite surfers ripping across the waves, a low fog blowing in, or racing boats crashing and burning—you don’t want that to be you!

Don’t wait until the conditions are too much. Being conservative is not only good for the enjoyment of your guests; it’s also good for your boat.

Motorsailing Home

If the conditions do get to be too much and you’re ready to head home, you may want to furl the jib and motorsail home. Don’t go straight upwind; it’s not fast or good for the sail. Move the traveler to centerline, and sheet the main on fairly tight. Sail off the wind just enough to keep the sail just filled and have a slight heel. You’ll use half the amount of fuel and go the same speed making the engine more efficient. It’s okay to tack back and forth while motorsailing, and it will be a lot more pleasant than bashing straight upwind.

You don’t have to shy away from windy fall days, just follow these tips and your cruise will be that much more enjoyable for everyone onboard!

Courtesy of Quantum Sails

The post Quantum’s Quick Guide to Reefing appeared first on Cruising World.

A few years back, on a gusty day with winds over 40 knots, my 34-year-old Cape Dory 28, Nikki — a cruising boat I live aboard — won the coveted Michelob Cup on Florida’s Tampa Bay, topping a fleet of more than 40 other yachts, most of which were hard-core raceboats. Not coincidentally, Nikki’s crew had trained in heavy weather and could reef the mainsail in 40 seconds or less, and shake it out even quicker.

Nobody in Tampa Bay racing circles had ever seen or competed against Nikki. She was the oldest and smallest boat to race that day. Though we were later accused of cheating by a disgruntled opponent (and quickly exonerated), Nikki continued her winning ways and was later named Southwest Florida’s Cruising Boat of the Year by the West Florida PHRF Racing Association. Proficient and rapid reefing remained a key to our success. In fact, unlike many of our competitors, we always hoped for strong winds on race days.

Of course, there are lots of reasons to reef that are more important than winning races. Well-executed, timely reefing has a positive impact on your boat’s performance and safety in heavy weather. A well-balanced sail plan also keeps your crew and passengers safer and able to move about more comfortably, increasing their level of confidence in your sailing abilities and attention to their welfare. There’s nothing that will ruin a day on the water faster than a partner or friend screaming, “We’re tipping over!”

Here are a few more ways reefing promotes better sailing:

• Keeps the boat “on its feet” and more efficient in terms of hydrodynamics and aerodynamics.
• Increases speed potential in rough conditions.
• Reduces adverse weather helm (unnecessary drag).
• Dramatically reduces leeway when pointing and close-reaching.
• Reduces wear and tear on sails and equipment.
• Makes sails easier to trim and handle.

Setup and Sequences

It’s important that all the hardware and running rigging for reefing maneuvers are close at hand. For a classic plastic cruiser like Nikki, the reefing-control gear — the bitter ends of the reefing tack and clew lines and their respective cleats or clutches — should be situated on the same side of the mast and/or boom as the main halyard winch (usually on the starboard side). On more contemporary cruising boats, this gear is often led aft to the coachroof, flanking the companionway. The main topping lift should also be readily close by. This way, the crew tucking in the reef needn’t move from one side of the boat to the other to complete the task. Topping lifts and clew lines should never terminate at or near the end of the boom; these would potentially require the crew to hang ­dangerously over the lifelines to access them.

Because they’re quickly made, saving valuable time, I prefer cam or clam cleats for all reefing control lines. On the boom, reefing clew lines are best installed internally to keep the spar uncluttered. Alternatively, these clew lines can be routed through three or four small strapeyes that are machine-screwed to the boom.

Many booms are equipped with reefing tack hooks integral with the gooseneck; others have dedicated tack lines. Nikki has both, and I’ve found that the tack line is much faster to use, saving precious seconds.

Whether you sail a sloop, cutter, yawl or ketch, the traditional jiffy- or slab-reefing sequence is virtually universal. Practice it with your crew until reefing becomes a streamlined and habitual process. Eliminate confusion, yelling and mistakes. The job should be smooth and rapid. The following is the correct sequence for all boats that do not employ a single-line system (more on those in a moment). On Nikki I’ve actually printed out and laminated two copies of these instructions, and taped one to the mast and the other in the cockpit.

Here’s the drill:

• Ease the boom vang and then the mainsheet so both are slack.
• Take up the topping lift so the boom is stabilized.
• Lower the main halyard until the desired reefing tack cringle is in position.
• Tighten and make fast the reefing tack line, or put the tack cringle onto the gooseneck hook, ring or shackle.
• Hoist the main halyard until the luff is firm and wrinkle-free.
• Take in the reefing clew line, or luff cringle, via a boom winch or tackle as much as possible, and make fast.
• Ease the main topping lift.
• Trim the mainsheet.
• Tighten the boom vang.

Personally, I find this slab-reefing system, with separate controls for the leech and luff of the sail, to be preferable to single-line reefing systems. First, due to the friction and loads caused by a single-line system running through multiple sheaves and leads before terminating in the cockpit, those sheaves are not timesavers. Also, because the reefing line is so long, it may develop kinks in the line that delay the maneuver until they’re straightened out. Finally, single-line reefs eliminate the ability to adjust sail draft and leech tension separately.

So now that your sail is reefed, what do you do with the lowered panels of the sail that are no longer set? On Nikki, I use dedicated buntlines: small-diameter lengths of line that pass through a horizontal series of cringles in the sail, between the reefed tack and the reefed clew, and tied with reef knots. Their only purpose is to store the “bunt” — that excess sailcloth that hangs down from the finished reef — to increase visibility from the helm and reduce flopping. For mainsails without buntlines, the sail can be gathered and secured with sail ties rove through the appropriate reef points, or through cringles in the sail, which serve the same purpose. Either way, buntlines or sail ties should never be pulled tight before tying, because they will strain and eventually tear the sail at the cringles. Your reefed sail should be left loose-footed, although the buntlines or ties can be knotted under the boom or only around the bunt itself, which I prefer. When I race Nikki, I leave the bunt untied because it doesn’t get in the way and it reduces the time to take another reef in or shake it out.

Over the years, I’ve heard some sailors say they don’t know how or when to reef, justifying this confession by stating that they don’t sail when it’s too breezy, or they simply bear away as the wind stiffens. This is shortsighted and even dangerous, for the day will come when you’re caught in a rising squall or changing weather, and there are few choices or tactics other than reducing sail.

So practice with your family and ­regular crewmembers, and you’ll soon discover how easy reefing really is. Keep a stopwatch handy and try to beat your best time. This skill will broaden your sailing horizons and increase your self-reliance dramatically as you discover what you and your boat are capable of when conditions deteriorate.

Learning to reef quickly will also teach you what needs to be corrected or modified on your boat to make reefing more effective and convenient. Boat manufacturers are not necessarily heavy-weather sailors and often take shortcuts. What they install is not always ideal in terms of hardware or deck layouts.

In my experience, sailmakers, mast and boom assemblers, and yacht designers aren’t always on the same page either, and the result can be reefing systems that just don’t work.

So let’s delve a bit deeper and focus on some of the finer points of the design and installation of reefing hardware.

End-Boom Dilemmas

If you have a boom with an internal reefing system — with sheaves for the clew(s) installed at the outboard end of the boom — you’ve probably ascertained that something wasn’t right when you tried to set a reef. Most likely, your boom drooped to an odd angle and may even have ended up on top of your bimini or dodger. If your boom has external clew reef lines with cheek blocks and dead-end padeyes installed at the end of the boom, the same thing will happen.

To make matters worse, if the clew reef lines are led to cleats that are also near the end of the boom, you can’t reach them unless you are either sheeted in and sailing to weather or luffing head to wind.

Clew reefing lines emanating from the end of the boom are not only inefficient; they can be hazardous for anyone who has to make them up while hanging over a lifeline or under a thrashing boom.

In other words, there’s really no excuse for this system on a well-found cruising boat.

The angle of that clew line, when reefed, is a related issue. When a mainsail is reefed, it essentially becomes a loose-footed sail (even if the actual foot of the sail is slotted into the boom). A reefed sail’s draft and twist control is not unlike a headsail’s; in other words, the angle of the jib or genoa sheet and the angle of the clew reefing lines determine the sail’s twist, while the tension on these respective lines controls the draft. So it is vital that the position of the clew reefing hardware is correct, and this is easily determined.

With your mainsail lowered to its reefed position and the new tack placed into its reef hook (or, similarly, with the tack reefing line taut and made fast), pull on the clew reefing lines and manually change their angle. When you pull downward, hard, the sail’s leech tightens and its twist is reduced, while the foot of the sail loosens and develops more draft. Likewise, when you yank the clew reef line upward, the foot of the sail becomes tighter and flatter, while the leech loosens and develops more twist.

Ideally, you want to strike a balance so the leech and foot tensions are about the same. The angle for this clew reef line might not be perfect for all points of sail, but you will need to reef most often when sailing to weather, so I recommend adjusting the clew hardware accordingly.

Many older boats have the cheek block for the reefing clew on a track so small adjustments can be made to accommodate changing wind velocities and points of sail. If you want to split hairs, a block on a track is the way to go. Clew reefing hardware at the end of the boom will never result in a reefed sail that is well trimmed.

Tacks and Leeches

When reefing a mainsail, the first reef-point connection to make is the tack cringle. But this can be difficult if the sailmaker has not made adequate accommodation for the stacked-up luff on the mast that occurs when lowering the sail.

If you are using reefing tack hooks, a major problem can occur if there is a slug-entry closure in the mast that prevents the luff from dropping fully to the gooseneck. A ring pendant may be added to the reefing tack cringle so the tack hook can be reached. Cringles for second or third reefs will also require pendant extensions.

If your mainsail is set up with reefing tack lines, rather than gooseneck hooks, the problem of sail stacking is greatly reduced. But the height of the reefed tack position still causes distortion with the sail. My recommendation is to close the slug entry with a semipermanent cover that will allow the sail stack to be much lower. If using tack reef hooks, you’ll still use extension pendants, but that stack will be much shorter.

Along the trailing edge of the main, chances are that your sail has a small-diameter leech line that begins at the head of the sail and extends all the way to the foot. The leech line exits the leech hem through small cringles just above the boom and at the respective patches for each reefing clew. A small cleat will be situated at each reef point. Once a reef is tied in, you should apply just enough tension on the leech line to stop any flapping or movement of the sail’s leech, and then make it fast. When shaking out a reef and before you fully hoist the main, always remember to slack those leech lines to prevent a series of distinct hooks in the sail. Not only do they look bad, they’re also inefficient.

Boatbuilder, naval architect, author, illustrator, marine surveyor and long-time CW *contributor Bruce Bingham is also the proprietor of Bruce Does Boatwork, a yacht repair and refit business in St. Petersburg, Florida. *

The post Seamanship 101: Reefing the Main appeared first on Cruising World.

HOS- Crazy Horse

I sail a C&C 37 TR on the Great Lakes, and an easy mainsail reefing method is very useful. After some hard-earned, on-the-water experience, here’s a description of what I’ve installed on my boat, Crazy Horse:

I installed a two-line reefing system, with turning blocks to lead both lines to winches on the aft end of the cabintop. I chose to run both reef lines to the port side of the cabintop, as I have two spare winches there along with a pair of jam cleats. I quickly learned to attach the luff line to the port side of the reefing cringle, passing the line under the starboard side of the boom to a swiveling block attached to the mounting ring at the foot of the mast. I found this arrangement holds the reef point very close to the boom. I used 1/2-inch braided line of sufficient length to allow winding on one of the winches and making fast to the jam cleat. For the leech reef point, I attached a swiveling block at the reef cringle, running a 3/8-inch braided line from an eye about a foot ahead of the aft end of the boom on the port side, then up through the block at the reef point to a block mounted near the aft end of the boom on the starboard side.

This arrangement allows a downward and rear-ward pull on the reef point. The line is then run along the boom to the mast, where I attached two additional swiveling blocks, one at the boom and the second at the mounting ring at the mast foot. The line is then run through a deadeye positioned conveniently half way to the aft end of the second cabintop winch and jam cleat. Careful measurement of line length must be observed to allow sufficient tails.

The actual reefing process can be done entirely from the safety of the cockpit. As the main halyard is slowly eased, take up on the luff reef line. (Self-tailing winches make this a one-person operation). Using this technique minimizes the need to readjust the main halyard. Once the luff reef is in, use the other winch to carefully bring down the leech reef. The key thing to watch is the shape of the leech. Easing the vang reduces the effort, but care must be taken as the vang is repositioned so as not to overstress the leech. The entire reefing operation will take about two minutes. Another hint is to be sure that the reef lines are released and allowed to run free the next time the main is raised.

Do you have a simple solution for a problem on board? Send your idea and a photo to HOS@cruisingworld.com. If we use your tip in the newsletter, we’ll send you a cool Cruising World_** Hands-On Sailor t-shirt!**_

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