Reefing Lines

[SteveA]

We have single line reefing ( on Selden boom) but find that it is quite difficult to shake the reefs out because of the amount of friction caused by the ropes - can anyone suggest what rope would improve this; is there any low friction braid on braid or dyneema which would help.
Steve

 

[johnalison]

I have a similar problem. I believe that Dyneema can help. What I do is to fully draw to line out from the clew first, then if possible pull a loop of roughly the right size from the tack, then the sail will go up without much trouble. If conditions are really awkward and I don't want to reach up, I just resign myself to a bit more winching.

 

[vyv_cox]

We changed from 12 mm braid on braid to 10 mm Dyneema, which made a huge difference. Could probably go to 8 mm Dyneema if the clutches would take it.

 

[Ian_Edwards]

Make sure that the cars inside the boom run freely, on my Selden single line reefing system, there are 2 SS cars made of bent SS sheet. They run in groves, which are part of the Aluminium extrusion, on 4 small plastic wheels (2 top, 2 bottom). Over time the wheels get worn, and on mine the they had worn a "flat", which prevented the wheels from rotating, this made it hard to shake out a reef. It wasn't that noticeable when putting a reefing, mainly because I tend to use a winch on the reefing pennant.

You can check the condition of the wheels by removing the casting at the aft end of the boom (it should be just 4 bolts tapped into the casting), and carefully pull the cars to the end of the boom.

I would second Vyv's comment about using dyneema and going down at least one size, when I went from 12mm braid on braid, to 10mm dyneema it reduced the friction considerably, the dyneema pennants also stretch a lot less, which means the sail sets better when reefed.

 

[BelleSerene]

I went down to 8mm line, the smallest my clutches would hold. I had a 2:1 system with the lines going up from the boom through the eyes in the sail, so I replaced these with low friction rings which I soft-shackled to the eyes, and that reduction in friction made another big difference.

Whilst the lines are dyneema to stop reefs stretching, they are poly sheathed to let the clutches grip them, so the material itself doesn’t lessen the friction.

Leave slack cord in the system rather than pulling it through when the mainsail is down or reefed, so that hoisting doesn’t cause unnecessary friction.

 

[zoidberg]

..... the lines going up from the boom through the eyes in the sail, so I replaced these with low friction rings which I soft-shackled to the eyes....

A step further would be to use small bearing-blocks, rather than useful 'low friction rings'.

 

[William_H]

I would advocate 2 line reefing. Less complicated and easier to pull in and free the reef. Down side of course is more lines on cabin top. Remember that the line at the clew will take all the load of the main sheet when reefed so is susceptible to chafe especially if you are using the eyelet at the clew. So inspect often. olewill

 

[Halo]

Thinner lines improved things for me.

 

[SteveA]

Many thanks for the replies. I should have said that I serviced the whole boom system in the winter replacing the small wheels on the cars and the boom end rollers so think all of this is OK.
I'm using 10mm braid on braid at the moment so, from your advice, will try 8mm dyneema and small blocks at each of the leach reefing points.

 

[ashtead]

SteveA can you easily replace the braid ? Just wondered having never removed our reefing lines if this was a simple job or is boom detachment required. Apologies if on another thread though .

 

[bitbaltic]

We overhauled our (single line) reefing system about four years ago. Our ZSpars boom had a pulley system in it that was causing huge friction- on our boat (30ft) it was not really necessary so we just removed the whole lot and let the lines run direct from goosneck to boom end. we also went down to 6mm dyneema (30 ft boat) for the reefing lines, with ball bearing blocks. Final touch was new deck tidys with an optimised lead angle (the factory fit ones took the reef lines through a right angle at mast step). The only place where friction remained in this setup was where the reefing lines were entering the gooseneck fitting on the way down from the block on the luff of the sail, so I filed and smoothed these down. We also fitted a teflon mast track and changed out all the other running rigging (halyards etc) for undersize dyneema. Result is that the sail is easy to hoist by hand from either the mast or cockpit.

There is a school of thought that single line reefing is the work of the devil and you should go for traditional reefing to the horns or two line or whatever. But on a boat under, say, 35 ft there is no reason why you can't get single line working superbly, but you need to look at every aspect of the running rigging not just going to undersize dyneema (although that is probably the biggest single factor).

 

[duncan99210]

SteveA can you easily replace the braid ? Just wondered having never removed our reefing lines if this was a simple job or is boom detachment required. Apologies if on another thread though .

A few years back I replaced all the reefing lines on our Seldon boom. Fitted lines were 14mm, nearly impossible to pull through: the online Seldon guide suggested 10mm lines for our boom, so I fitted that and it's made a real difference.
Replacing the lines was pretty simple except for the lines from the internal cars to the front of the boom: had to remove the end of the boom to do that so I could pull the cars out to attach the new lines. Careful when you do this, the little wheels are not firmly attached and have a homing instinct for the sea. Otherwise it was a case of mousing the new lines through the boom. Seldon do a good how to guide on line.

 

[bbg]

We changed from 12 mm braid on braid to 10 mm Dyneema, which made a huge difference. Could probably go to 8 mm Dyneema if the clutches would take it.

This.

Reduce the diameter of the rope.

 

[ashtead]

A few years back I replaced all the reefing lines on our Seldon boom. Fitted lines were 14mm, nearly impossible to pull through: the online Seldon guide suggested 10mm lines for our boom, so I fitted that and it's made a real difference.
Replacing the lines was pretty simple except for the lines from the internal cars to the front of the boom: had to remove the end of the boom to do that so I could pull the cars out to attach the new lines. Careful when you do this, the little wheels are not firmly attached and have a homing instinct for the sea. Otherwise it was a case of mousing the new lines through the boom. Seldon do a good how to guide on line.

Will have a look , it just sounded a good idea to replace but was concerned it might turn into a saga consisting of more than a straight swop .

 

[AndrewL]

My top tip from when I replaced the lines in my Selden boom. Have handy a retractable metal tape measure, longer than the boom. If a mouse lines comes off, you can push the tape down the boom from the clew end. Then using some ad hoc metal hooks (bent coat hanger etc) fish out the end of the tape at the gooseneck and attach a new mouse line. Then simply retract the tape.

A metal tape was flexible enough to go around the cars in the boom, but strong enough to push, twist and guide around the cars. And most people already have one.