Moody 336 reefing system

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crisp01

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Hi,
I am considering buying a Moody 336 but the reefing lines do not go back to the cockpit. The agent says its easy to refit reefing lines and feed them back but I'm not so sure. Has anyone attempted such a thing and any idea of costs?
 
I successfully converted a Contessa 26 to single line reefing but bought a new boom.
I would talk to a good rigger such as Allspars in Swanwick or Plymouth.

Tony
 
Single line reefing involving a moving car inside the boom may be difficult but plenty of these Kemp/ Selden booms have been modified for it. What you will probably have is the leach reefs led through the boom and the necessity to go to the mast to hook the reef cringles over the hooks at the gooseneck, fairly standard arrangement for the time. You will probably rarely need the second reef as the main is relatively small by today's standards and you could modify the first reef by using a longer line, taking it down where it emerges at the gooseneck, round a new block on the back of the mast step and back up to the luff reef ring, back down again to the original block and back through the deck organiser to the jammer in the usual way, whether it is worth all the extra rope to avoid nipping forward for a couple of seconds is up to you?
 
crisp01 said:
Hi,
I am considering buying a Moody 336 but the reefing lines do not go back to the cockpit. The agent says its easy to refit reefing lines and feed them back but I'm not so sure. Has anyone attempted such a thing and any idea of costs?
Click to expand...
Easy to do. Barton do a kit with blocks and track to go on the side of the boom. However, if you buy all new blocks that are good quality plus the deck organisers and clutches it is not a cheap exercise. Budget around £800 with all new parts. Do not economise on the blocks as friction is the biggest problem with lines taken back as you have 5 changes of direction per line.
 
I rigged luff reefing lines as there is no single line reefing. I also upgraded the clutches to Spinlocks with 5 each side and the organisers increased from 4 a side to 5. £800 is a bit low if the OP is doing that too.

I also moved the winch on the mast from being under the boom to the side where I use for the genoa halyard which comes up through a jammer on the mast and is not brought back.

This leaves me with one spare clutch which I use for the cruising chute tack line.
 
crisp01 said:
Thanks all. Clearly not a straight forward task.
Click to expand...

No. It is very straightforward. Look at how it is done on other boats and read the advice on the Barton site. Hundreds of people have done it successfully as most boats more than 15-20 years old had reefing at the mast whereas you will find most have now been converted to take at least some lines back to the cockpit. All the gear is readily available, just not cheap if you do the whole lot with new components.
 
I would not think the lack of reefing lines should be a deal breaker in buying a boat. It has been suggested the main is quite small so one deep reef might be enough. I would not go for single line reefing but rather 2 line reefing. ie a line at the tack rather than hook it around a horn. If you have halyard winches you may be able to manage with clam cleats for the lines in lieu of clutches however a small winch can be not much more expensive that a clutch. Leave the reefing line on thesmall winch and use a horn cleat. olewill
 
It depends on what sailing the OP is going to do I reckon. A boat like this should stand up comfortably to her full sailplan up to what, 20, 25 knots? And reef a big Genoa first. So you are probably going to be looking to reef the main perhaps in F6 going on F7? He should ask himself how often he will be out in that sort of weather first because otherwise he might end up overlooking a perfectly good boat for his needs just because of the configuration of a reefing system he is hardly going to use.

Can always start with the at-mast system and see how it goes before laying the lines back later.

My pennyworth would be to make the reefing operation FAST regardless of where you do it. If the main is stiff in its slot and doesn't like to drop then you may end up on deck tugging at it even if you've paid the dosh to run the lines back. I personally think a well sorted system run back to the cockpit is best but would be happy to reef at the mast if I know it will go like clockwork. So good friction free sheaves, dyneema/thin reef lines and a mast track to reduce friction would be the upgrades I'd consider ahead of the organisers and clutches.
 
Had a 336 for some years and both cruised and raced it. Good boat, quite fast even as a bilgie. I never did anything about the standard reef set up and never felt the need to do so. However the standard main sheet used to really irritate - it simply isnt good enough IMO to have the main sheet track forward of the spray hood.

Shallow cockpit, not the most comfortable. Good accommodation
 
bitbaltic said:
It depends on what sailing the OP is going to do I reckon. A boat like this should stand up comfortably to her full sailplan up to what, 20, 25 knots? And reef a big Genoa first. So you are probably going to be looking to reef the main perhaps in F6 going on F7? He should ask himself how often he will be out in that sort of weather first because otherwise he might end up overlooking a perfectly good boat for his needs just because of the configuration of a reefing system he is hardly going to use.

Can always start with the at-mast system and see how it goes before laying the lines back later.

My pennyworth would be to make the reefing operation FAST regardless of where you do it. If the main is stiff in its slot and doesn't like to drop then you may end up on deck tugging at it even if you've paid the dosh to run the lines back. I personally think a well sorted system run back to the cockpit is best but would be happy to reef at the mast if I know it will go like clockwork. So good friction free sheaves, dyneema/thin reef lines and a mast track to reduce friction would be the upgrades I'd consider ahead of the organisers and clutches.
Click to expand...
Although quick and easy reefing is obviously essential, I think you are being a bit optimistic about the weatherliness of a smallish boat. My HR34 is pretty stable and has only a 110% jib but I need to reef at around 24kn apparent in calm water when sailing to windward, but there is an old truism that one should reef for the sea state rather than the wind speed, and this means that most of us with average boats will often be reefing in open water in anything around a true force 5. For a family crew, the advantages of reefing from the cockpit are considerable. I sailed for nearly 30years with reefing at the mast, but the change to a system where one can go to sea under full sail without having to wonder whether one should reef first is one of the great improvements during my time.
 
I bought my 336 with in mast reefing.... crusader sails removed it and put in fully battened main, and ran reefing back to the cockpit. so yes can be done.
 
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