How to contain loose part of a slab reefed sail?

[hd002e]

I have a mainsail with three reefing points and find it hard to manage if I am triple reefed. I see reefing lines on older sails, how are those rigged?

I am thinking about splicing an eye on one end of a 3ft line but how do I ensure the other end won’t simply slide off? And would a permanently rigged line chafe the sail?

Thank in advance for your help.

[CaptMarc]

I had a small line going thru the grommets with figure eight on each side of the grommet.

Line just hung and blew in the breeze. When reefed, tie off around the sail, not the boom. The lines are just a house keeping item. If the main has a bolt rope, tie off loosely, do not put stress on the grommets...

I learned this from my wife who was a sailmaker.


Marc

[psk125]

We often leave the bunt of our reefed main alone. It goes off to leeward without seeming to wear the sail much. If it does become bothersome, we rig a line around the boom and through the reef cringles (grommets) to tie it off. Sometimes just a sail tie in the middle is enough. Using a separate line for each grommet takes longer to tighten and loosen than one long line. With a separate short line for each grommet (a reef point) you'd also need a separate short line for each grommet, and need to leave it rigged & ready on the sail all the time. Otherwise, digging them out and setting them up would be a real hassle each time you wanted to put in a reef. Once installed, these reef points would weigh the sail down and chafe against it on almost every wave. Square riggers with 12oz canvas could put up with some chafe.

[Jim Cate]

An approach we used prior to boom bags was to weave a length of shock cord through t he grommets (reef points) from luff to leech. Put a plastic hook in between each point. Then, all that is required is after reefing, reach under the bunt, grab the shock cord on the other side of the sail, pull it under and hook it to the cord on the near side. Repeat for each pair of points, and lo, the sail is contained. When not in use the shock cord lies tidily against the sail. Much quicker than tying the little cords (called nettles by the Brits) knotted into the points and then struggling to untie them when soaked and stressed.

worked for us for some years.

Jim

[hd002e]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

An approach we used prior to boom bags was to weave a length of shock cord through t he grommets (reef points) from luff to leech. Put a plastic hook in between each point. Then, all that is required is after reefing, reach under the bunt, grab the shock cord on the other side of the sail, pull it under and hook it to the cord on the near side. Repeat for each pair of points, and lo, the sail is contained. When not in use the shock cord lies tidily against the sail. Much quicker than tying the little cords (called nettles by the Brits) knotted into the points and then struggling to untie them when soaked and stressed.

worked for us for some years.

Jim

If I am understanding this correctly, I am very interested

I have a few questions but before I do I figured a photo is worth a thousand words. Would you happen to have one?

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by hd002e

If I am understanding this correctly, I am very interested

I have a few questions but before I do I figured a photo is worth a thousand words. Would you happen to have one?

Sorry, but no photo that I can think of. When we bought our current boat 16 years ago (this week) it had lazy jacks, and we soon went to a boom bag.

Happy to answer specific questions, though.

Jim

[hd002e]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Sorry, but no photo that I can think of. When we bought our current boat 16 years ago (this week) it had lazy jacks, and we soon went to a boom bag.



Happy to answer specific questions, though.



Jim

Hi Jim,

Do you have a bungee running on each side of the saik, alternating sides at the grommets? Or is it a single one which hooks onto itself?

Thanks for your help!

[SV_Harbinger]

I really like the idea that Jim posted with the shock cord definitely something I'm going to give a try, as I don't have a boom bag and seems like it would beway easier to do than my current set up with reef points...

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by hd002e

Hi Jim,

Do you have a bungee running on each side of the saik, alternating sides at the grommets? Or is it a single one which hooks onto itself?

Thanks for your help!

Yes, I guess I wasn't clear: two separate shock cords, alternating sides. IIRC, it was 3/16 inch cord, just long enough to lie quietly along the sail when not in use.

Jim

[gjordan]

I like Jims ideas, but something else (or additional) you might consider is that the amount of times you will need the third reef is going to be very small and for 98% of your sailing you can leave it without all of the lines (much less clutter) in the way. Day sailing, learning, short trips in good weather a third reef is needed almost never. When you are planning passages reeve the extra lines for the third reef and put up with the extra clutter in exchange for having it when you need it. If you sail in an area that has frequent thunder storms , then you might just rig the first reef and the third for those drastic but short term thunder storms. I made it a practice of always tying the points (loosely) if I thought I would be reefed for more than an hour or so, or if it was near nightfall. And yes, I like a third reef much better than a trysail. Just another opinion. ____Grant.

[wsmurdoch]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

An approach we used prior to boom bags was to weave a length of shock cord through t he grommets (reef points) from luff to leech. Put a plastic hook in between each point. Then, all that is required is after reefing, reach under the bunt, grab the shock cord on the other side of the sail, pull it under and hook it to the cord on the near side. Repeat for each pair of points, and lo, the sail is contained. When not in use the shock cord lies tidily against the sail. Much quicker than tying the little cords (called nettles by the Brits) knotted into the points and then struggling to untie them when soaked and stressed.

worked for us for some years.

Jim

I read this when it was written and we were in Miami. I bought some shock cord and used five small wire spring carabiners. (I had previously bought them on-line in error assuming that the given dimensions were inches when they were actually centimeters.) I set up Jim's system for our mainsail's first reef. We then left for the Bahamas. The system worked like a charm. We were out of the USA from February 28 to May 30 and we only had to put in a reef once. This thing is better than four leaf clovers or rabbit's feet.

The one time we used Jim's system, it worked better than reef points. It was easier to put in the reef and easier to shake it out later. I could hook and un-hook the carabiners with one hand rather than the two needed to tie and un-tie a reef knot in pendants. That saved the other hand for myself. It was fun to watch the gathered bunt of the sail after "tying" in the reef. The bungee cord worked like a python slowly but surely tightening up on the gathered cloth until it looked neat and tidy.

Thank you, Jim.

Bill

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by wsmurdoch

I read this when it was written and we were in Miami. I bought some shock cord and used five small wire spring carabiners. (I had previously bought them on-line in error assuming that the given dimensions were inches when they were actually centimeters.) I set up Jim's system for our mainsail's first reef. We then left for the Bahamas. The system worked like a charm. We were out of the USA from February 28 to May 30 and we only had to put in a reef once. This thing is better than four leaf clovers or rabbit's feet.

The one time we used Jim's system, it worked better than reef points. It was easier to put in the reef and easier to shake it out later. I could hook and un-hook the carabiners with one hand rather than the two needed to tie and un-tie a reef knot in pendants. That saved the other hand for myself. It was fun to watch the gathered bunt of the sail after "tying" in the reef. The bungee cord worked like a python slowly but surely tightening up on the gathered cloth until it looked neat and tidy.

Thank you, Jim.

Bill

Well, I'm glad that you had such a good experience with the reefing! And I appreciate the thanks.

I had not realized that this method also warded off the need to reef... how cool is that?

Jim