New main sail - no eyelets for reefing lines

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sirnippy

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Hi there - new sail has no eyelets for reefing lines to tie off round boom. Boat has single line slab reefing. So at the moment reefing lines exit end of boom, round sheave, up to leech cringle, and simply secured with a stopper knot. Seems to work! :confused:
 
Reefing line would normally go through the leech cringle and go back down around the boom and be made off with a bowline around itself. Is the sail loose footed? if not I would have expected 2 or 3 eyes in the foot of the sail. If the reefing line stops at the leech cringle you are loosing half the purchase that you should have which is important when reefing in a blow.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=s...hXFKsAKHbh6A7YQ9QEILTAB#imgrc=leXYISNGns_xTM:

Hopefully the link will work but if not try this:

http://www.pbo.co.uk/seamanship/pbo-sail-clinic-how-to-reef-25713

Yoda
 
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yoda said:
If the reefing line stops at the leech cringle you are loosing half the purchase that you should have which is important when reefing in a blow.
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Yes, as well as losing most of the downwards component of pull that resists the leech tension. Might just get away with it (albeit with a badly-setting sail and drooping boom) on the first reef where the new clew is near the sheave, but I doubt it would work at all on the second and third.

If the sail is loose-footed then the reefing lines should go through the gap between the boom and the sail. If the sail runs in the boom track and doesn’t have any provision for the reefing lines then it’s been built wrong. Should be a very quick job for the original sailmaker to press some eyes into it.

(You could instead secure the line to a fitting on the side of the boom, but it would need to be pretty beefy, not just a lacing eye on a couple of self-tappers, and will never be as strong as a turn around the spar.)

Pete
 
Are you referring to the small thin "reef pennant" lines that traditionally tidied the reefed area up? No-one bothers with them now, mainly because forgetting to undo one and unreefing usually results in a torn sail.
 
They are only for keeping the sail tidy and if you have a stack pack they won't work any way. The line through the leech cringle should pull the 'new' foot of the sail taught if positioned correctly.
 
I wonder if eyelets for reeling lines are so rarely used nowadays that any sailmaker now regards the addition as an extra if using a single line system . I would almost be surprised to see them fitted if I hadn't asked for them ? I would have thought usage might be a bit of a faff unless a small mainsail ?
 
On my boat, the reefing line goes from sheave at end of boom up to the leach cringle (actually I have a small ball-bearing block there) and then down to an eye at the bottom of the boom - this is fairly substantial and can be adjusted for position along the boom - seems to work well - I can't recall seeing a cringle/eyelet part way along the sail foot, although some sails have a slit near the foot so that the line can be tied around the boom in exactly the right place.
 
I've seen a set up where the reefing line goes from the end of the boom, up through the leech cringle, down around under the boom, and then back up to the cringle where it was attached with a spliced loop. This effectively gave the owner a three to one reduction rather than the usual two. I thought there might be issues with a line passing through the cringle twice but the owner said they had no issues with it snagging, although they did use quite a light line (it was only about a 25' boat). One thing to note if you are considering this was he stressed how important it was to splice the end to the cringle, apparently any knot you try up there gets shaken out really easily........
 
Another, minor, refinement....

Should you have one or more reefs tied into the mainsail and are faced with the prospect of many hours of heavy-weather in that configuration, consider passing a strop ( sailtie? ) through the reef-cringle and around the boom once or twice and hauled tight. That can take much of the vertical load off the reefing line and reduce/prevent costly chafe.
 
Thanks for the replies. Sail is secured to boom with a bolt rope. Thought I’d see what you lot thought. I’ll speak to sailmaker in the morning.
 
I am a bit confused about what is not fitted to the new sail. I take it that the eyelets along the line from tack to clew reefing eyelets are not fitted. As said perhaps sail maker assumed you had a stack pack.
A first reef can often be accepted with sail bunt (is that the word to refer to the sail area that is redundant with reef in?) hanging down from the boom. I will sail that way when a reef has been pulled in mid race with not to long till finish. I do however like to tie up the front part of the sail bunt to minimise that billowing of the sail bunt when beating. You can use the tack reefing eye (and also the clew eyelet) for a light string to tie up the bunt but when made I requested to have an eyelet about 15cms aft of reefing eyelet. I also have more down the line about every 70 cms.
As said if you forget to remove the tie up string and you shake out the reef you put excessive strain on these little eyelets. If you have a loose footed sail you can just tie string around the sail bunt itself and not the boom. I have a lose footed sail but tie right around the boom. Too fiddly finding the gap foot to boom when the bunt of the sail is in the away.
So yes ask the sail maker what happened. Did he forget? Would he admit it? and how much to add eyelets and doubler patches. olewill
PS 2 line reefing IMHO is far better.
 
I've found it normal for sailmakers to supply one reef row of cringles ( eyelets ) - then one pays a bit to have second and third rows.

Unless they have some reason to think the OP has in mast, in boom or old style round the boom reefing, a sail with no cringles at all seems very odd to me.

My 3 reef rows have lines leading aft along the boom to blocks, the line then goes up through the reef clew and down to an eyelet opposite the block; as mentioned the block and cringle should exert an aft pull as much as down as especially when reeefed one wants a flat sail.

I pull the luffs down to the hooks manually, fine on a 22' as I can do this from the main hatch - though I usually go on deck.

ALL blocks in the deck, mast and boom inc organisers are ball bearing, very well worth it and this makes a tremendous difference even at 22' - something learned from dinghy racing.

It would be interesting to hear why the sail was supplied with no reefs at all !
 
William_H said:
I take it that the eyelets along the line from tack to clew reefing eyelets are not fitted.
Click to expand...

Still no.

What's missing is a means to secure the ends of the clew reefing pendants, the ones that take the main load, around the boom.

I know the thread title is ambiguous, but surely the first post is reasonably clear?

I swear some people have already written their post in their head as they're clicking on the title to open the thread...

Seajet said:
It would be interesting to hear why the sail was supplied with no reefs at all !
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It would be interesting (alright, it wouldn't really) to hear why you think it was.

> "at the moment reefing lines exit end of boom, round sheave, up to leech cringle, and simply secured with a stopper knot"

Pete
 
zoidberg said:
Another, minor, refinement....

Should you have one or more reefs tied into the mainsail and are faced with the prospect of many hours of heavy-weather in that configuration, consider passing a strop ( sailtie? ) through the reef-cringle and around the boom once or twice and hauled tight. That can take much of the vertical load off the reefing line and reduce/prevent costly chafe.
Click to expand...

Sounds a good idea - will try that
 
Communication with sailmaker! They have been to boat and put the eyes in the sail. They were pretty good about it all. The boatyard were carrying out another job today, and then it`s fingers crossed launch on Friday. Bit windy middle of the day, but slowing down in the afternoon.
 
sirnippy said:
Communication with sailmaker! They have been to boat and put the eyes in the sail. They were pretty good about it all. The boatyard were carrying out another job today, and then it`s fingers crossed launch on Friday. Bit windy middle of the day, but slowing down in the afternoon.
Click to expand...

Good to hear it's resolved!

Yoda
 
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