August 17, 2001 - Reefing Systems

We've asked all the SetSail contributors to answer a few questions about reefing. Here, Colleen and Brian respond.

Any discussion about reefing systems would first have to consider the type of sailing planned. For example, renting a boat in the eastern Caribbean we would go for mast and genoa furling because most of the sailing is on a reach and the set of the sails doesn't matter too much. On a race boat, nothing other than slab reefing and changeable headsails will provide the sail shapes required for efficient beating.

We found a good compromise with our last boat, a British built Sigma 41, which had a 3/4 fractional rig with a furling genoa. This meant that the larger main, which had slab reefing, could be reefed twice before the genoa had to be furled and therefore minimized the time we carried the wrong sized genoa. We also had a 100% blade genoa, which we would change down to if a prolonged beat was required. How many times have you seen a masthead genoa being carried in a lot of wind, normally not sheeted in properly because it is too hard, the boat dramatically heeled over, broaching all the time because it is out of balance?

THETA VOLANTIS, our Sundeer 64, has slab reefing on both main and mizzen. When the masts were being designed, we modified the boom reefing arrangements to that of our old Sigma, with the reefing pennants passing through sheaves on each end of the boom and down to a winch mounted on the mast below the boom. This we believed would give more aft pull to the sail as it is reefed to keep the foot tight which flattens the sail, important when beating. We have 4 reefs on the main, the 4th being instead of carrying a trysail. As a matter of principle we believe the chances of us putting up a trysail are so slim, it would be a waste of money, better to have a very small and strengthened last reef in the main. In any event, we run off in very bad weather so what use would a trysail be then. Our current strategy is to go to bare poles or just storm headsail in winds over 60 knots--we tested this in 80 knots (story told in Surviving the Storm) and it worked a treat.

We did debate having a single line reefing system, or mast furling--both of which are more complicated with higher risk of failure. In addition, we like to go to the mast to reef, not out of perverse pleasure, but because you can check everything is OK forward, important in bad weather. Staying in the cockpit implies a fear of going forward in bad weather. We have set up our boat to make it as safe as possible, which means we do not fear the experience.

One advantage of having full roach sails on the Sundeer, is that the roach is almost vertical for the bottom half, so we reduce the rope required for the first two reefs by using a single part spectra line from the reef cringle to the aft sheave. When reefed the rope is at 45 degrees to the boom, pulling equally down and aft. With smaller roach sails, the roach moves forward as the reefs come down so it is necessary to take the pennant up from the boom and then aft to the sheave to get the required down and aft pull components. A good tip is to use a timber hitch around the boom rather than tying the pennant to a fitting. It is stronger, allows the rope to take up the ideal angle and is easy to tie and undo.

We have a 100% furling genoa, which means we only have to reef it rarely. If we do, we normally go straight down to our staysail. I do not remember an occasion when we have sailed with the genoa partially furled, not only is it inefficient it looks terrible.

Our reefing rules for ocean sailing:

Reef early. Steve (Dashew) always accentuates the fast passagemaking capability of his boats. Another spin on that statement which we rarely see, but is our philosophy with ocean sailing, is that you can sail conservatively but still keep up good speed. Reefing early means the boat sails more upright, goes faster because the underwater shape is more balanced, you get a much better ride, stress levels are reduced and it is easier and quieter to sleep at night. Our ideal "wind forward of the beam" rig in 18+ knots is staysail and two reefs in the main and mizzen. We may technically be underpowered but what is another few hours on a long passage, even another day?

Think ahead. Some boats always reef at night--we prefer to consider the weather patterns ahead of time. If it is possible we might have to reef during the night we will reef at dusk before the night watches start.

Use all the deck lights at night. We always used to try and preserve night vision at night, by trying to reef in the dark. Daft mid-ocean, we decided. We now turn on all our deck lights. Safety is more important, and you can get back your night vision more easily than someone who has gone over the side.