reefing the main sail at a catamaran

[CaptainRivet]

Downwind I use 10m round sail or Parasailor till 15kn Apperant, then switch to 8m round sail which is ok till 40kn…one line to control it no reefing needed.
From 40kn on only Genua with a Block on the middle cleat and reefed as needed, no main.

Hard on the wind as Rapanui explained, go into wind with autopilot or 2nd person on the helm, me upfront at the mast putting in the reefs. I generally sail conservative when close or reach as 1 have 100sqm sail area at 6.5t weight, so reef early and no problem.
1 line reef system adds a lot friction and hard to operate and not necessary on a cat as you are much safer at the mast compared to mono.

With your fully battened main you have quite big distance between the battens. So your reefing eye can be 30cm from the mast if your unlucky and very is hard to pull closer to get reef line in and lock it when 30kn wind going into the sail. I added a slider at the mast track for each reef and lashed the reefing eye (all 3 reefs) to it with a 2mm dyneema line. Like this I catch 2 bunnies at the same time, 1st my reef eye is always close to the mast and to tie it down super easy now, just put line through, lock it and whinch it tight. 2nd I get the sail better shaped and tight down when hard on the wind which results i can go till real 40 degress instead 45. for a cat without daggerboards that is very good…the 5 degrees doesn’t sound much but the occasions I need to motorsail when hard on the wind as possible to stabilize sails and add the 0.5-1kn greatly reduced since I did that mod.

[mikereed100]

We sheet the jib in tight then bring the boat into the wind until the jib is drawing nicely then set the AP. By then the main is luffing and is easily reefed. If it is night or there are squalls about we will just drop it. I´d rather sacrifice a couple of knots of boat speed than get out of my bunk to reef again.

[lo2jones]

As a delivery skipper, you find some funny things happening on deck after coming off watch, in spite of the laundry list posted on the bulkhead near the exit. I’ve reefed in 40+ Kts of wind, on a broad reach by easing the halyard a few inches and taking up on the reef lines either in a lull or when the boat accelerates on a wave, then repeating the process until the deed is done.

[donradcliffe]

A lot of conflicting information to process when you are looking at full length battens bending around the shrouds. Pulling the boom more into the wind to unload the battens heightens the possibility of an accidental gybe in 4-6 meter seas. I've done the inches at a time thing, and it is neither nice nor easy.

[HUFFnPUFF]

I typically point into the wind and reef. However, in oh crap cases, I will start reefing before I headed into the wind. Just grab the reefing line release the main and start cranking. This happens when wind speed jumps on you and you are trying to do three things at once. Turn the boat into the wind ( using auto pilot), releasing the main, and cranking down on the reefing line. By the time my boat is in the wind, i have reduced my main sail by 20 percent. Which can really help if the wind just jumps at you. I have had it jump from 15 to 35 with no warning a few times. Stuff happens.

If the wind really jumps, then I turn off the auto pilot and turn that boat as quickly as possible. Then I turn on the engines, and drop the main as fast as possible. Happen once so far. I had a buddy boat with me. We came around the tip of an island and there she was, a strong squall hidden by the mountains and we couldn't see 5 feet in front of us. So it was a combination of the wind whipping around an island and a mean squall.

[fxykty]

Reefing downwind on a cat is easy, but does require practicing either of the two most common techniques so that you know what you’re doing and don’t damage yourself or the sail. The OP is probably long gone so I’m not going to bother writing down the techniques as they’re both documented in various CF threads.

It is so dangerous to turn from downwind to close hauled in a cat, especially in big seas. Why go through that risk? Learn to reef downwind.

Regarding heaving to, why bother? On a close hauled course with the jib sheeted in tight, easing the main sheet so the mainsail unloads immediately slows the boat right down, effectively hove to but without the bother. Reef (or unreef, as the case may be), then sheet in and get going. Nothing difficult, nothing fancy.