Downsizing reefing lines

[chris-s]

Our 1998 Oceanis 320 with Isomat spars originally came with single-line reefing. We want to try reinstating this, actually we have already tried it and it actually works very well, the only snag is that the only in-boom shuttle blocks I’ve managed to get (made by seasure) take 8mm lines maximum and we’ve previously been using 10mm lines. In our test we fitted an 8mm line as the 10mm definitely was not going to work with the boom shuttle blocks.

I’m wondering whether I should swap out the 8mm line for a dyneema cored 8mm or not.

Thoughts?

 

[deeb]

Definitely the right choice.

First : it'll work
Second : the low-stretch will mean once you've set the reefs, you wont have to keep taking the up to stop the sail going baggy - which is the commonest fault with reefing
Third: the lines will last longer (with luck.......)

(I wouldnt have reef lines on my boat which weren't dyneema)

 

[ithet]

Are you sure you need in boom blocks? Beneteau's with z Spars use continuous line reefing and no in boom blocks, but blocks on the sail luff. With my Beneteau 331 I have downsized to 8mm Marlow double braid, not dyneema as the 2500kg rating is plenty and works a treat, with low friction (I can set reef without winching) - so either way 8mm would be fine for you.

 

[seumask]

Our single line reefing, 1 at mast ,1 at boom end are 8mm on a SO 37. I have upgraded them to Dyneema but I doubt that is necessary!

 

[Daydream believer]

Chuck the shuttle blocks. They just create friction & if something goes wrong you cannot easily sort it at sea.
I have 8mm Marlow braid on braid on same size main sail as you. Mainsail with single line reefing. No block on the leech but I do have roller bearing blocks on the luff. First 2 reefs are single line. Third one is 2 part reefing set up when needed, to avoid loads of line up the leech.

 

[Never Grumble]

I replaced my reefing lines with 8mm last year, works fine. similar sized yacht.

 

[stranded]

Only thing I’d say from our experience is check your clutches will hold the smaller line - rigger assured us ours would, they don’, and downsizing them is a major job, so the old lines are back and we have two expensive cruising dyneema reefing lines plumping out our spare bits of odd sized string we have no real use for.

 

[gregcope]

There are various ways to splice small->larger line OR increase the breadth of smaller line by adding a core or cover for example. Have you considered that?

 

[Daydream believer]

Once the first reef is set it only shares the winch with the halyards. That means that I can leave the reef line on the winch. Only taking it off if I need to make a quick halyard adjustment. The vang goes to the same side as the first reef, but as it is a heavy cascade I can adjust by hand once a reef goes in The second reef is on the other side & shares with a number of lines. ,Clew outhaul spinnaker halyard, third reef & cunningham, none of which are needed when 2nd reef is set. The topping lift can be set by hand.

So clutch loading is not usually a problem. However, with an older reef line I used a splicing needle & pulled a thin cord under the cover for 600mm to thicken it up. Trouble with that is that one needs a loose cover. This is not good for a clutch, as the core slips loading the cover. This could lead to failure of the cover with the outer cover bunching behind the clutch preventing line release.
Better just to get a new set of jaws.

 

[stranded]

We have considered thickening the line but our lines run back to the cockpit under the deck through eyes/thimbles that are only just big enough for the original 12mm lines and I would be concerned about thickened sections bunching at the junction in conditions when I really don’t want to be on deck unscrewing panels. The main reason for the downsize was to try to reduce friction, but It turned out anyway that a previous rigger had run all the reefing lines the wrong way round the sheaves at the gooseneck and others had just moused so copied when reinstalling the sail. We have now reinstated them to how I guess they were meant to be rigged and the friction is much reduced to the point where it is not a problem. Still annoying to have reef 1 and 2 new lines in lengths which aren’t useful for much else.

 

[vyv_cox]

Chuck the shuttle blocks. They just create friction & if something goes wrong you cannot easily sort it at sea.
I have 8mm Marlow braid on braid on same size main sail as you. Mainsail with single line reefing. No block on the leech but I do have roller bearing blocks on the luff. First 2 reefs are single line. Third one is 2 part reefing set up when needed, to avoid loads of line up the leech.

I have used shuttle blocks for 30 years on two boats. They have never clashed or gone wrong. It's a good system that definitely benefits from thinner line. Mine are 10 mm Dyneema, reduced from 12 mm braid on braid but 8 mm would have been better.

 

[Hoolie]

We've done much the same thing, fitting single line reefing having downsized the 10mm braid to 8mm dyneema. It might have been possible to go down to 6mm but that would be more difficult to handle and probably too thin for our clutches.

 

[Ningaloo]

You will notice a massive reduction in friction with thinner rope. Dyneema tends to more slippery as well. All round great improvement.