Reefing line attachment to boom

[JimC]

I've the bolt rope taken out of my mainsail and now set it loose footed, so I have the option of attaching the reefing lines to the boom using bowlines rather than the existing fixed lugs which are positioned to pull down and back. Any advantage in this? The stackpack now sits in the boom groove and it has zips on both sides so would allow bowlines.

 

[dunedin]

I would definitely attach reefing lines to the boom using bowlines - strongest and simplest way, with no hard bits on side to bash heads.
Best way to do it is to bring rope under the boom and bowline back onto the reef line itself, then work up nice and tight (ideally winch in for the first time). This gets the reef eye on the sail closer to the boom - and hence boom higher to avoid hitting heads and waves.

 

[JimC]

Best way to do it is to bring rope under the boom and bowline back onto the reef line itself...

You mean the bowline goes round the rope? shows what I know! I thought it went round the boom. I guess you could use a buntline hitch.

 

[Old Harry]

I tie a bowline around the standing part not the boom,this allows the line to tighten around the boom & easier to undo if req

 

[Porthandbuoy]

I also run a line, under the boom, from the boom end to the kicking strap attachment. A clove hitch around each reefing line approx. 4" aft of the cringle ensures a good pull aft and a tight foot to the sail when taking in a reef.

 

[vyv_cox]

I tie a bowline around the standing part not the boom,this allows the line to tighten around the boom & easier to undo if req

That's the method I use. My stackpack has lots of zips in it to allow the pennant to be taken round and back to itself.

 

[Bobc]

You mean the bowline goes round the rope? shows what I know! I thought it went round the boom. I guess you could use a buntline hitch.

That's the best way.

 

[vyv_cox]

That's the best way.

I'm always slightly doubtful about clove hitches (which is the major part of the buntline) in attachments that are mostly not under tension. I don't have a lot of experience with that hitch but it is a neater solution.

 

[Norman_E]

I tie a bowline around the standing part not the boom,this allows the line to tighten around the boom & easier to undo if req

Me too, and I pass the line through the fixed ring under the boom so that I get both downwards and backwards pull on the sail. The rings under the boom were originally allowed to slide in a track, but having discovered the best positions for them to provide enough foot tension when reefed I have screwed them in position.

 

[lw395]

A simple bowline around the boom.
It's easy to undo for those of us who have two reefing lines and four cringles in the leach of the main.
With the sheaves being at the aft end of the boom, there seems to be no issue with allowing the bowline to slide on the boom.

 

[johnalison]

If you just do a bowline round the boom, the loop will slide as you tighten it and reefing will be inefficient, with no tension along the foot. Another advantage of the loop round the standing part is that it tightens up and stays in position between sails if you are lucky, but it is the conventional way. Although it usually stays in position, it helps to mark the positions.

 

[Daydream believer]

A simple bowline around the boom.
It's easy to undo for those of us who have two reefing lines and four cringles in the leach of the main.
With the sheaves being at the aft end of the boom, there seems to be no issue with allowing the bowline to slide on the boom.

The problem is that you need a cut out in the sail cover to match the clew position when reefed so it has to be fixed at that point and cannot slide - unless the slot in the stackpack is excessively long of course.

 

[lw395]

If you just do a bowline round the boom, the loop will slide as you tighten it and reefing will be inefficient, with no tension along the foot.....

That is completely untrue with a modern boom where the reef pennant sheaves are all at the end of the boom. The reef pennant runs forwards to the clew, pulling th clew back, and down to the boom pulling the clew down. Job done!
With some olde-worlde systems with cheek blocks scattered along the boom, both parts of the pennant might run at angles and you might want the fixed end behind the clew to get enough foot tension.

 

[lw395]

The problem is that you need a cut out in the sail cover to match the clew position when reefed so it has to be fixed at that point and cannot slide - unless the slot in the stackpack is excessively long of course.

That's a stackpack problem not a reefing problem.

 

[Norman_E]

That is completely untrue with a modern boom where the reef pennant sheaves are all at the end of the boom. The reef pennant runs forwards to the clew, pulling th clew back, and down to the boom pulling the clew down. Job done!
With some olde-worlde systems with cheek blocks scattered along the boom, both parts of the pennant might run at angles and you might want the fixed end behind the clew to get enough foot tension.

I would say it is partially untrue. I found that with the reefing pennant free to move along the boom, within the contraint only provided by the slots in the stackpack it would allow the sail to be a bit fuller than it should be. By passing the pennant though the loops under the boom and fixing the latter so that they are beneath and very slightly behind the reefing points in the sail I now get reasonable foot tension.

 

[johnalison]

That is completely untrue with a modern boom where the reef pennant sheaves are all at the end of the boom. The reef pennant runs forwards to the clew, pulling th clew back, and down to the boom pulling the clew down. Job done!
With some olde-worlde systems with cheek blocks scattered along the boom, both parts of the pennant might run at angles and you might want the fixed end behind the clew to get enough foot tension.

It is not untrue; it is just that the angle of tension on the sail is different. The tension will be at half the angle between the two lines at the clew. With the loop free to slide, this will be something below 45 degrees to the vertical, and in the case of my sail this will not tension the foot sufficiently. With the loop fixed a little further aft, the angle moves well above 45 degrees and the foot is correctly tensioned.

 

[lw395]

You are implying a need for more foot tension than leach tension. That sounds extreme.

 

[Poignard]

[...] By passing the pennant though the loops under the boom and fixing the latter so that they are beneath and very slightly behind the reefing points in the sail I now get reasonable foot tension.

That's what I have, and it works perfectly well.

To attach the reefing lines to the bales blow the boom I use a halyard knot,

 

[geoid96]

You are implying a need for more foot tension than leach tension. That sounds extreme.

Other than reducing the sail area, the reefing line's main function is to provide foot tension to flatten the mainsail. Once this is tight, leech tension is controlled with kicker and main sheet. To stop the boom dropping, the reefing pennant needs to be tied to the boom just aft of the cringle.

 

[lw395]

I've always found it to work fine being able to move along the boom, whereas being fixed in even slightly the wrong place either way often seems to be a cause of poor sail setting when reefed.