Second reef

[Rick]

Has anyone rigged a single line second reef, like the factory first reef ?  On my 1995 Mark I, the first reef works great on the original sail, but I'm now getting a new main with fairly deep second reef.

thanks,

Rick Niles
#1294 Gentle Storm

Rick Niles
Rick@ranfit.comˇ

[Stu Jackson]

Rick

We have two reefing points on our mainsail, however, neither one of them is continuous, as you describe.  

There are separate tack and clew reefing lines for each of the two sets of reef points.  The reason I mention this is that the advantage I see in this system is that while there are twice as many lines to pull to reef, we get good purchase indivudally on both the tack and clew lines, and so assure that they are each tensioned and set properly.  

While I have never used the single line type of installation, I have always wondered how, with the single line system, both the tack and clew could be tightened "perfectly," since my experience in our earlier boats and other rental/bareboats indicated that the clew reefing line(s) needed a lot more tension than the tack.  This is because the tack point and the mainsail luff can be tensioned with both the reefing line and the main halyard.

On our Catalina 25, the tack hooked into a reefing hook at the gooseneck, so the halyard made up all of the necessary tension, and the clew was done by the traditional line at the aft end of the boom, then through the clew cringle forward to a cleat on the boom.  

Based on the drawings in the Catalina 34 owner's manual, the stock C34s came with pretty much that same arrangement.

Ours was modified by the PO so the clews run through (inside) the boom, exit near the gooseneck and are run back to the cockpit sheetstoppers through the deck turning blocks.  The tack liness work from cleats on the mast, up through the cringles on the sail and back to the cockpit, too.  I only need to hand tension the tack line to reef, but the clew line in use needs the winch on the cabintop to get it tight enough for a secure reef at the clew.

You may want to consider the dual line setup for your second set of points, even though you have the single line setup on your first set.

If you can't run the new second clew line inside your boom, you could do it outside and still use the two line setup.  

There is plenty of room on the cabintop for more sheetstoppers.  We have three on each side:(looking from the cockpit forward, and from port to starboard) portside - 2nd reef clew and tack, 1st reef clew; starboard side - mainsheet, 1st reef tack, and main halyard.  

Yes, we heretics use a sheetstopper for the mainsheet, and it is always kept open when sailing with the mainsheet on the selftailing cabintop winch.  I learned this from a bareboat (dare I say it?) Beneteau in the BVIs a few years ago.  (At least it wasn't a dreaded Hunter!)  

Of course, you'll need the extra turning blocks on the forward cabintop to run all these lines aft.  We have six on each side, two stacks of three each.

The mainsheet sheetstopper is a great improvement on that cheap cam cleat, doesn't ever pop out unexpectedly, and provides a much better fairlead to the winch, and, therefore, avoids winch overrides, which always had seemed to occur at the worst possible times.  I used to have to use two hands to crank in the mainsheet: one to hold the line down to avoid the override, and the other on the winch handle.  No more of that nonsense any more.  I was able to use one of the holes through the cabintop from the old cam cleat, and only had to drill one new hole to install the new Spinlock XA sheetstopper for the mainsheet.

Even the new boats could use that improvement.

Stu

[dpenz]

Last Saturday, for the first time in 3 1/2 years of sailing, I had the opportunity to put in the second reef (it don't blow hard very often here in inland Georgia!).  My '88 has fittings for separate clew and tack fastenings, and I managed to figure those out.  I had no strings for tying the intermediate grommets, however, and ended up reeving a long nylon cord through the grommets and around the boom.  Gotta be a better way.  I see in the November Sailing magazine (p. 65) an ad for the "reef maker", a cinch-like device.  Is this a good way to make reef ties, or are there simpler and better ways?