Elegant Reefing Solutions

[DefinitelyMe]

I'm looking to upgrade our reefing system and am looking for feedback on what people are doing, what works and what doesn't. Something really easy and elegant. Specifically I am looking for ways to secure the tack, without using a downhaul line and without using a reefing horn or hook. I want one person to be able to go to the mast and secure the tack quickly, easily and securely at sea. This is for a 50' sloop, so it has to be strong. I'm thinking something made out of UHMWPE probably?

[Breaking Waves]

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

I'm looking to upgrade our reefing system and am looking for feedback on what people are doing, what works and what doesn't. Something really easy and elegant. Specifically I am looking for ways to secure the tack, without using a downhaul line and without using a reefing horn or hook. I want one person to be able to go to the mast and secure the tack quickly, easily and securely at sea. This is for a 50' sloop, so it has to be strong. I'm thinking something made out of UHMWPE probably?

dyneema strop, with trigger shackle (tylaska/wichard), from properly placed padeye. Super quick and easy and secure. Commonly done on bigger boats.

You could use a soft shackle rather than trigger shackle, but they are slower to operate and usually require two hands. The trigger shackle is superior for this application.

[DefinitelyMe]

Originally Posted by Breaking Waves

dyneema strop, with trigger shackle (tylaska/wichard), from properly placed padeye. Super quick and easy and secure. Commonly done on bigger boats.



You could use a soft shackle rather than trigger shackle, but they are slower to operate and usually require two hands. The trigger shackle is superior for this application.

Do you mean a snap shackle? This sounds non-adjustable. So I'd need at least three different length strops for the first, second and third reefs. How do you secure the snap shackle? On a pad eye? Then you've got a snap shackle (or more likely two; one on each side so that you can always stand on the upwind side to reef) banging around when not in use, tapping on the mast. I like the idea, just needs some refinement. Thanks.

[Benz]

I have two toggle-and-loop dyneema strops, one for each reef, that go through the cringle and around the boom. The toggle is hardwood, though aluminum and stainless ones are commercially available. Cheap to make, strong enough to lift the boat, easy to secure and undo, and impossible to flog loose if the loop is correctly sized (not that a reefing strop ever flogs). If the boom is too big around, I've rigged some that go through the tack attachment on the boom--you just need the room to feed the strop through.

[marcjsmith]

you say elegant and easy. while may take some doing to set up, once set up, a single line slab reefing can be set up to run the lines back to the cockpit, so no one even has to go to the mast (easy). and if done right most all of the lines can be hidden inside the boom (elegant) and if you don't want to run the lines back to the cockpit, then you can leave them at the mast.


yes it does fail the "no down haul" part of the test.



personally i would think grabbing a line in the comfort of the cockpit rather than having to deal with cringle hooks or strops/toggles would outweigh the downside of having a down haul...

[DefinitelyMe]

Originally Posted by Benz

I have two toggle-and-loop dyneema strops, one for each reef, that go through the cringle and around the boom. The toggle is hardwood, though aluminum and stainless ones are commercially available. Cheap to make, strong enough to lift the boat, easy to secure and undo, and impossible to flog loose if the loop is correctly sized (not that a reefing strop ever flogs). If the boom is too big around, I've rigged some that go through the tack attachment on the boom--you just need the room to feed the strop through.

If it's just around the boom how do you keep it from pulling aft when you tighten the 'clew' line? You want a nice tight foot to really flatten the sail out when the wind picks up. Is all that tension taken by your sail slides / cars?

[DefinitelyMe]

Originally Posted by marcjsmith

you say elegant and easy. while may take some doing to set up, once set up, a single line slab reefing can be set up to run the lines back to the cockpit, so no one even has to go to the mast (easy). and if done right most all of the lines can be hidden inside the boom (elegant) and if you don't want to run the lines back to the cockpit, then you can leave them at the mast.


yes it does fail the "no down haul" part of the test.



personally i would think grabbing a line in the comfort of the cockpit rather than having to deal with cringle hooks or strops/toggles would outweigh the downside of having a down haul...

Thanks. Yes, I know many people are great fans of single-line reefing systems but I'm not I'm afraid. I find them too temperamental. Too many components that all have to work perfectly or nothing does and they lack versatility.

[hugosalt]

I made up from dyneema 2 modified strops. Each one is luggage tagged to a reef cringle and each has a fixed loop that I loop around a solid dedicated cleat on the mast.
Each live on the cringle and takes a second to fix to cleat. Crank up the main and your done.
Have never fouled raising, lowering or reefing.

[hugosalt]

A little bkgd of my experience. Started using horns and found I was spending time moving sail out the way. Then made up soft shackles to length for each reef, too much time to rig and used both hands.
Current way, described in above post ...one hand only and literally seconds to attach as when lowering sail to reef loop presents itself.

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

Thanks. Yes, I know many people are great fans of single-line reefing systems but I'm not I'm afraid. I find them too temperamental. Too many components that all have to work perfectly or nothing does and they lack versatility.

Not a fan of single line reefing but a two line system works pretty well

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

I'm looking to upgrade our reefing system and am looking for feedback on what people are doing, what works and what doesn't. Something really easy and elegant. Specifically I am looking for ways to secure the tack, without using a downhaul line and without using a reefing horn or hook. I want one person to be able to go to the mast and secure the tack quickly, easily and securely at sea. This is for a 50' sloop, so it has to be strong. I'm thinking something made out of UHMWPE probably?

Originally Posted by AKA-None

Not a fan of single line reefing but a two line system works pretty well

I agree with AKA and I don't like the idea of going to the mast to reef. A single line is more complicated than it needs to be. It also means you have more lose line to deal with.

KISS principal might be considered elegant?, a 2 line reef system is pretty simple and can be done without turning upwind and you can set or shake a reef from the helm.

[bil56]

for me, simple and safe: 2 separate lines, one for the front reefing, one for the aft reefing
but the mast sail window must be closed for the sliders to go down and stack well

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by AKA-None

Not a fan of single line reefing but a two line system works pretty well

^^ This. It is useful to have a way to pull the luff down, particularly reefing off the wind.


I have single-line reefing on my PDQ and I'm not wild about it. It works fine, but the friction could be less. I rig the third reef using two lines.


A common downfall of many "line" reefing systems, though, is that they do not hold the tack forward against the pull of the outhaul. On my F-24 I have a line that is lead through blocks on the mast that pull forward and down, and it works with the cunningham or any reef. The blocks float on a strop.

[hugosalt]

All good and used in many boats.
However thinking OP wants
"something easy, when going to mast at sea, to secure tack."
Or maybe he will be convinced to install/upgrade to one of the reefing
systems suggested.

[bil56]

Originally Posted by thinwater

^^ This. It is useful to have a way to pull the luff down, particularly reefing off the wind.
A common downfall of many "line" reefing systems, though, is that they do not hold the tack forward against the pull of the outhaul. On my F-24 I have a line that is lead through blocks on the mast that pull forward and down, and it works with the cunningham or any reef. The blocks float on a strop.

yes, a solution as a line guide attached to the mast below the level of the boom, so that the forward reef line pulls slightly forward