Ear-rings gone out of fashion?

[Krusty]

Am I the only skipper left using ear-rings?
For those not acquainted with the use of them under sail: An ‘Ear-ring’ is a line through the leech cringle of a reefed mainsail to secure it to the boom after the cringle is pulled down by its reefing-line. Its primary purpose is to prevent the sail flogging and possible tearing along a seam if the reefing-line should part or its cleat or jammer fail: (It does happen!) It also hitches up the bunt of sail and keeps it from slapping the helmsman across the face or obscuring his view to leeward when the boat is heeled hard.
From the number of times I’ve crossed tacks with a helmsman who evidently could not see me coming from behind his hanging bunt of sail, it seems the use of ear-rings has all but died out.
I use a ‘Lizard’ (a length of supple 3-strand nylon with large eye-splice). The plain end is poked through the cringle and round the bunt of sail, folding it in, fed through its own eye and secured as a (slipped) sheet-bend. When it comes to shaking out the reef, one pull and it is free. Three lizards hang on a handle in my cockpit, and woe betide the crew who uses one for any other purpose!
I can understand (but not excuse) charter-boat companies neglecting to equip their yachts with lizards, but what about all you keen, careful owners proud of your seamanship?
Is anyone else out there still using ear-rings?

[image].

 

[William_H]

Yes fair enough I often sail with the spare sail after reefing hanging in my face. Actually it is not as bad as that but I know what you mean. I delight in being able to reef quickly from the winches at the front of the cockpit with no need to reach for the boom or mast. Yes if I did it at the mooring before departure I would tie up the spare sail including an earing at the back although my priority is the front where the wind fills the envelope of spare sail.
Yes I keep pieces of cord just for tieing up the slack sail when reefed but I just use a knot. I just can't remember the name of that knot? Ah reef knot, now I remember. good luck olewill

 

[graham]

Didnt know it was called an earing but usually use one when reefed.

I tie up the slack when deep reefed with bungy cord through the reefing eyelets rather than ordinary rope so should I forget to let them go the sail wont get ripped if the Leach reefing line is let go .

PS Piota looks great rigged like that.

 

[davies]

Thanks for the right term! I use a heavy piece of nylon tape for this job.

 

[Krusty]

Thanks for the reminder about correct terms! :
so for 'sheet bend' in my post, please read 'becket bend'! (for newbys and any other pedantic oldies!)
Incidentally, that mainsail is is now 14 years and 40K miles old: a good sail is worth taking care of!

 

[alisdair4]

Definitely not out of fashion where I sail -Joint Services teach the use of earrings, as do the British Kiel Yacht Club.

 

[bilbobaggins]

Yes, Keith, still use an 'earing' to take the loads when reefed for any length of time, and deep-reefed, so that any chafe does not wear through the boom-run leech/clew reefing lines. As taught decades ago on HMSTYs Lord Trenchard and Lord Portal, by John Reeve.

Have demo'd this to many, along the way. Only some are receptive enuff to implement it. Their loss.....


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[dickh]

I must be honest and say I don't use one - but I do have a 'Stack-Pack' which contains the bunt of the sail so it doesn't flap in ones face.
Nice boat Piota - I was tempted by one some years ago but couldn't afford it!

 

[FAITIRA]

MY H K "cheapie?" came with them as standard, and I have used them for many years, a Crusader Main yrs ago came with them too. Why would they be fashionable, I suspect many sailors arewell aquainted with a pretty common, useful item.

 

[Krusty]

FiaTira: I think you refer to reef-point ties which are an option on mainsails; tiddly bits of cord knotted through tiny eyelets along the line of the reef. But an Earing is a line, capable of taking the full load of the mainsheet, which is used to lash down the same big cringles the reefing lines winch down to the boom.
A canvas disaster occurs when the reef-point ties have been used to tidy-up the bunt of cloth without first using an earing, then the reef-line parts: the clew flies free; all the load comes on the aft-most tie which tears out of the sail and puts the load on the next one, rips out that one and perhaps the next one too. With a shredded mainsail, you wish you had a trysail!
I once had a second (kevlar-cored) reef-line part with a bang in a violent squall, but the earing took the load, with no damage done.
The sail was saved, and another lesson learned: 'Never use kevlar with repeat loads coming in the same place every time.'

 

[john_morris_uk]

[ QUOTE ]
Definitely not out of fashion where I sail -Joint Services teach the use of earrings, as do the British Kiel Yacht Club.

[/ QUOTE ]I am not sure that they still do.

The logic of putting an 'earing' in is that it saves the sail if the reefing line parts. You have to weigh that up against two factors.

1. How many times have you ever had a reefing line part?

2. Do you really want a crew member standing up on the leeward side-deck balancing on and trying to tie the wretched thing in?

I have taught and examined at JSASTC and I have a Nich' ticket, but I don't recall being briefed or encouraged to use an earring recently. It might be appropriate sometimes, but its a judgement call. I am not sure that I would want to get all santimonious about their use. It is something to consider, but not using one is not necessarily a hanging offense. On our boat its near impossible to tie an earing in as we have a stack-pack. But then you haven't seen the size of our reefing lines and we have no bunt of sail hanging down.

On a connected topic, a seamanlike way to tie the bunt of the sail up if your sail has reefing points is the use of small lengths of bungy cord. They are kinder on the sail.

 

[Krusty]

Agreed: The need for earings declines as boat size increases, because as size increases the gear can be made more-than-adequate for the loads, and the boom is usually well above the helmsman's sight-lines.
When I think about it, where I have repeatedly encountered the problem of the unsighted helmsman has been crossing small-ish yachts (in present-day terms).
When my boat was built, she was probably of 'average size'. Now she is considered 'small'.
On arrival in arctic Norway direct from Shetland, a bemused harbour official looked down on her and said ''You came across the North Sea? in that!''

 

[Gunfleet]

On a cruising boat, especially one you might sail single handed, having the boom in a position where it might obscure your sight (or crack your skull) is crazy. I had my main made by Jeckell's with a 'kick' so it passes over my head. I lose a minimal amount of sail and will have to find other reasons to visit a&e. Racers may feel differently. By the way an earring is useful if you want to use very light lines for reefing. The light lines travel through the blocks with little resistance, the thicker earring secures everything once it's in.

 

[bilbobaggins]

[ QUOTE ]
1. How many times have you ever had a reefing line part?

2. Do you really want a crew member standing up on the leeward side-deck balancing on and trying to tie the wretched thing in?

[/ QUOTE ]

John's quite right, with others, in it being 'a judgment call'; a technique, or 'tool', to file away for when it's appropriate - like most seamanship concepts.

FWIW, I have had reefing lines chafe through on several occasions - or nearly so ( frequent watch-on-watch inspection ) - as I have halyards, in heavy weather, on various boats. The cost of a failed reef clew line and a ripped mainsail is far more than that of a spare length of webbing.

And as for 'standing up.....and trying to tie the wretched thing in', that's a task I do myself - not delegated. Alternatively, it's easy enough to lower the boom, on the topping lift, right down where it can be controlled. Preventive seamanship.

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[DJE]

Hmm, I often use an elastic tie there to tidy up the sail. Never thought of the reef line parting, and they are as old as the boat. Think I'll be using something a bit stronger in future; thanks for the tip.

 

[FAITIRA]

Earings are, surely the stainless, usually rings joined by a web thro, the eye on the luff of the main, or sometimes called specs, but if i,ve got it wrong I certainly stand corrected!!! BTW, I never tie the reef pendants, and do lash down the clew.

 

[stephenh]

Fiatira - I agree with you , I 've never heard of a 'clew lashing' called anything else but a 'clew lashing' - but you learn something new everyday....

and a sail tie is always good for this, you don't need something special.

OTOH I recently heard what you and I call 'earings' being referred to as 'spectacles' for obvious reasons...

 

[FAITIRA]

Glad it,s not just me, or my senility Sephen!!!

 

[Krusty]

To subscribers to this topic, my apologies to those whose feathers I have unintentionally ruffled.
Clearly nautical/sailing terminology is neither universal nor timeless.
I think the terms we adopt depend upon which authors we read, and who our early-days mentor was. Mine was a highly regarded voyager, writer, and instructor: I shall refrain from naming him to spare him the embarrassment of association.
Maybe it's time to abandon the forum and go work out my frustrations on the garden!

 

[peterb]

[ QUOTE ]
I think the terms we adopt depend upon which authors we read, and who our early-days mentor was.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. I tend to rely on the "Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea", one of those books that you pick up to look at a reference only to realise half an hour later that you have been sidetracked by other things and now can't remember what it was that you were looking up in the first place.

The OCSS shows earings being used to fasten a square sail onto a yard. One part of the earing is used to pull the sail cringle up to the yard, while the other end is used to stretch the top of the sail towards the yardarm (the end of the yard outboard of the lifts). It also mentions reef earings, used to tie in the reefs. Surprising how often yacht terminology is descended from square riggers.