"Easyreef "in mast reefing - how easy is it?

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Boeingdr

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\"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

I am interested in a 35ft Jeanneau, it has in mast reefing Mainsail with vertical battonned main.
How reliable are these systems, do they Jam often?
The aim is to single hand occasionally and short crew almost always, cruising only.
Comments...good idea or bad?
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

I am really old fashioned but all mainsail in mast reefing worries me. If they do jam - and of course sometimes they will - you are stuck with an awful lot of sail up there... as this will only happen when it is really windy it is sods law that you will end up with a big problem..

roller reefing on the head-sail can be got rid of by sailing in circles if/when it jams.

Suspect this is not the answer you want?
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

new purpose made roller reefing may be fine but I have just taken off an old retrofitted roller reefing system and gone back to a conventional main: if you have decent gear it will rattle up and down easily in less time than to wind in the lines on the old roller reefing. We have a steady motorsailor but I have kept the lines at the mast: less friction and an excuse to leave the wheelhouse and saunter up the front to see what the weather is like outside, so long as I put something over the cardy and slippers ( not really we have a semi open cockpit/shelter not a real one with doors etc!)
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

I have been using EasyReef for about 8 years. No jams and no lectures on why you shouldn't have one. Worth learning to adjust the sail, just because it is on a roller doesn't mean that it is not worth trimming and adjusting properly.
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

Good idea. Takes a bit of practice to get the sail out, but reefing is a doddle. I have slab reefing on my own boat that I personally prefer, but I base my view on skippering two trans atlantic passages plus inumerable coastal trips on a variety of yachts with roller mainsails. wouldn't race with it though, Im fed up with coming last in our local regatta on a B37 with a roller!! Practise is the key. Enjoy.
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

if you have easy reef, make sure that the sail was designed for it, and preferably with full lengthh vertical battens.

Personally dont like the cut of the maxiroach from the easy-reef people, as IMHO they cut the sail badly. Lots of other companys will make a suitable sail, if the existing is not designed for it.

pay attention to the instructions on how to use it, and reduce the friction in the in and outhaul as much as possible - cause that is what will cause jams.

IMHO to use it properly, you need a small winch to control the in/out haul, and to assist sail trim, and you also need control of the kicker from the cockpit.
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

Hmmm, as I suspected a variety of views, some not what I wanted to hear , others what I want to hear... has anybody actually experienced a jam..and how easy to fix?
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

Take your point, but can't see how its any different to a masthead sheave failing/jamming, or a track car jamming, all of which happen too.....

I've spent my life as a slab reefing bigot... wouldn't have dreamt of touching inmast main furlers..... now I have one.... 3 weeks in to ownership, and its superb..... its so so easy to handle compared to a slab system, even one with single line reefing, and you can set the sail so much more accurately..... on Sunday, we unfurled to the effective first reef position, and it was a tad too much... so we just put another turn in, and it was perfect..... with a slab system we would have had to go a second reef which would have been a bit deep....

A bit of attention to trim.... get the outhaul right, get the kicker set up properly, sort out the leach lines and she sets beautifully....

Don't get me wrong... if you are planning a round the world trip, crossing oceans, and living in out of the way anchorages, then its just something else to go wrong.... but for the typical UK based cruiser, its, IMHO a fabulous system
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

I used it on a charter boat once and the outhall car jammed, depositing a fistfull of ball bearings over the side.

Thinking about it, as you reef into the mast, the center of effort should be moving forward, thus reducing weather helm.

Shouldn't it? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

Thanks again, all views appreciated, I am not planning to cross oceans...We just want a safe cruiser for our West Coast of Scotland Cruising area.
The idea of being able to reef easily from the safety of the cockpit really appeals to me (epecially after reefing in a 3m swell gusting F6 off Cumbrae this weekend).... but only if its reliable...or at least as reliable as most of the rigging..and if it does break I want to be able to make it safe!
I think its important to have the right boat for short handed and single handed sailing.....I was attracted to the sail because its easier...or is it?....still to be convinced either way.
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

Once my in mast reefing is set up correctly, it seems to work fine, (famous last words).

It jammed on the first trip after having the mast down last year, but getting the tension of the main halyard correct, (I think I slackened it), has had it working OK since then.
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

The in-mast furling on our previous 7 yr old Gib'Sea 30 jammed regularly - I much prefer the single line slab reefing on our new boat (operated from cockpit) and the sail has a much better shape too.
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

I sailed with retro fitted rolling reefing for five years in my last boat. The problem lay not so much in rolling the sail away as in setting it. frequently, as the sail began to come out through the slot the next bit of sail tried to come also, the double thickness jamming the slot. Usually the only way to deal with it was to have someone on deck pulling the sail down at the same time as one was rolling it out with the outhaul by the wheelhouse. Made things difficult when singlehanded.
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

You will get many luddites on here saying they jam all the time and if they do you are totally knackered and wont be able to reef the sail.
Look... Anything mechanical needs a certain amount of maintenance. It can also go wrong. I have it on my current boat which is a cat and have had it on 2 previous monos. Always checked out the cars and bearings every year and never had a jam up in 15 years. But there are pros and cons certainly.
Cons :
1. Slightly less sail area and a flatter main even with vertical battens (which I now have).
2. The possibility of jamming which is theoretically possible, but hey I have had a halliard jam on a conventional sail too... nothing is foolproof.
Pros.
1. Single handed sailing is a doddle
2. You don't need to reef early "just in case"
3. If it did jam it is loose footed, just tie it to the mast with gaskets till you get in.
Don't let the luddites put you off. If you buy the boat and don't like it most have a conventional sail track built in anyway. If this one does just buy a new sail! But you won't though when you get used to it. Few people ever go back....
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

I had easy reef on our last boat and would second the fact that it never jammed when being reefed but could be quite diffecult to get out if the outhaul tension had been too slack.
The condition of the sail is also very important - the previous sail had stretched with time and became very diffecult; we bit the bullet and got a new one from MaxiRoach and found that to be magic both from how easily it went in and out and also how it set
 
Re: \"Easyreef \"in mast reefing - how easy is it?

Nine years with two boat that had add on Easyreef and no jams, also never needed to use a winch. I chartered a boat once with it and it was rubbish mainly because the sail was not cut for in mast and the reefing line were badly run.
 
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