Adding reefing rings

[lustyd]

Hi all does anyone know how to add reefing rings to a mainsail? I've had quotes for this and it's well over £100 on a second hand sail which is worth only £450 new so if I'm going to spend the money it may as well be on a new sail.

That said, I don't want to spend the money so I hope someone here will have done the process and can advise. I guess I'll need to reinforce with extra fabric, punch a hole then sew in a ring?
Thanks for any advice you have
Dave

 

[Norman_E]

The cringles on my mainsail were put in under a press, not sewn in. You need to see if a sailmaker will supply them, as they are not something you see in the chandlers. I think that they can be closed with a special punch and die and a big hammer. Without the punch and die you will probably have difficulty setting them in place. The sail will need reinforcing for them, but perhaps you could do that, and just get the sailmaker to put in the cringles.

There is a possible DIY alternative. You could sew on a triangular patches to take the load, and three or more webbing tapes sewn on after doubling them through an external stainless steel ring, thus doing away with the need for a cringle in the sail. The reefing line then pulls down on the ring, or better still on a block attached to it. My own mainsail has cringles with the external rings for the reefing blocks held by webbing from ring to ring through the cringles.

 

[kds]

reefing

There is a lot more to it than just fitting rings.
The strain on them is going to be just as much as on the clew of the sail - so you need just as much reinforcing. The quotation sounds perfectly reasonable - the fact that the sail is second hand doesn't alter how much work has to be done.
Remember - you only need them - when you really need them !!!
Ken

 

[lustyd]

I never said it wasn't reasonable for the work. My point was that if it costs £150 to add the rings I may as well shell out a bit more for a new sail.

On a bigger boat where the sail would be £1000 this would look like a bargain but on smaller boats the difference isn't large enough to justify modification of the sail by a pro. If it goes wrong and rips then I get a new sail so nothin lost. Bear in mind how much less strain there is on my clew than that of a larger boat as well. I can pull all the ropes on my boat with one hand without resorting to winches so you may overestimate the tension

 

[srm]

Its not a problem, I put on a first reef (not specified by the previous owner) for a heavy 35 ft yacht last season and its still fine having sailed all summer.

As said above a ring requires a hydraulic press (though they used to be sewn in back in the days of yore). Fortunately, you do not actually need a ring through the sail.

First decide where the reefing points need to be and sew on reinforcing patches. Use an existing reef or clew patch to see how many layers, how big and how they are spaced.

Forget the rings. Use two or three lengths on webbing tape to sew a steel 'D' ring on the tack - make sure its on the correct side for your reefing method. Again use webbing tape to sew a tape eye on the leech, slightly higher than a ring through the sail would go. Attach a single block to the eye on the leech to take the reefing line. Tapes need to be spaced out to spread the load well into the reinforcing patches. You will probably have to add a chaffing patch folded over the leech to protect the sail fabric from the block. I left the leech line free to be tensioned through the reef patch.

Only problem is finding a sewing machine that will punch through the maximum number of layers of sail cloth and tape in the patches. Think the job took me a couple of days, after a lot of measuring and some slight adjustments to fit around a batten pocket.

 

[ianat182]

When hand sewing through say four thicknesses of sailcloth I use a tool rather like a bradawl with a large mushroom shaped handle and a medium size spike like a sail needle to pre pierce the stitch holes,then stitch the thread as required; sewing in a stainless ring by hand is then possible,though I like SRM's method with webbing too.

ianat182

 

[Norman_E]

Forget the rings. Use two or three lengths on webbing tape to sew a steel 'D' ring on the tack - make sure its on the correct side for your reefing method. Again use webbing tape to sew a tape eye on the leech, slightly higher than a ring through the sail would go. Attach a single block to the eye on the leech to take the reefing line. Tapes need to be spaced out to spread the load well into the reinforcing patches. You will probably have to add a chaffing patch folded over the leech to protect the sail fabric from the block. I left the leech line free to be tensioned through the reef patch.

This is essentially what I was suggesting, and on my mainsail the sailmaker fitted leather patches to protect the dacron from the reefing blocks.