Reefing the main sail almost downwind solo

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

The only thing I would add to all this good advice, is that if you are winching the sail down, please look up... It's pretty easy to get a batten pocket or something hooked over the end of a spreader, and then damage either the sail or the spreader by just grinding on.... And when you've left reefing a bit late, and it's all a bit hairy, it's easy to just think you need to apply brute force....

Dragging the sail down the spreaders generally isn't either a massive issue, or the ideal way to do it. But sometimes it is the best bet for the circumstances. It does require a bit of care though.

Winching the sail down!! Duuh!!

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Still after 3 years feeling like a novice, I've notice how tricky reefing can be when going almost downwind. In the past Ive just let the boom go, so the sails flutter, and sail with just the genoa then reef. Is there any special techniques when sailing solo apart from totally changing course.

The only seamanlike way to set up the boat for reefing is to either luff up or heave to, the latter being the most sensible option for the singlehander without an autopilot.
I've read a lot codswallop on this thread about reefing while sailing downwind. It is actively discouraged by any self-respecting sailing instructor.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

I always do the luff first

i was responding to a post in which the opposite was being done - they were doing the leech first

Well they know now

 

[Poignard]

My mainsail has short battens.

If I start lowering with the wind aft the upper two battens immediately get the wrong side of the aft lower shround and I am not going to force the sail down and risk damaging it..

So rounding up into the wind to reef or drop the mainsail is what I have to do, and doing so isn't usually a problem, if there is room to turn.

It seems better to me to do that than to be careering downwind at high speed with no-one at the helm whilst I am at the mast struggling to drag down a recalcitrant sail.


However, there is another option, favoured by Eric Hiscock and Larry Pardey, and that is to have a battenless mainsail, which can be lowered with the wind aft. The penalty for that is a loss of a sail area since there is no roach; possibly even a slightly concave leech.

As an experiment, I have altered an old mainsail by removing the batten pockets and re-cutting it with a slightly concave leech but I haven't had a chance to try it yet.


It would be very useful for me to be able to lower the mainsail with the wind aft, since my home port is several miles up a narrow winding river (the Vilaine) and the prevailing wind blows upriver.

As it is, I either have to round up and drop the mainsail in the estuary, or else carry on to where the river widens for a bit (off Trehiguier) and do it there. Then I have several more miles to motor before reaching the sea lock at Arzal.

 

[Daydream believer]

Well they know now

Not necessarily so--- You should know by now that not everybody reads every post----- before making an identical comment

 

[johnalison]

Those who reef downwind are relying on the reduced apparent wind making it easier, which is true to some extent. In my case, the risk of something jamming and having to leave the cockpit to sort it out rule it out as a method, but, as I said before, it is not necessary to turn into the wind to reef, only enough for the main to flap and the luff to be freed. It would never occur to me to put the engine on, with a modest speed through the water being maintained by the jib.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

By sheeting the main in, releasing the kicker, taking up a bit of topping lift tension and taking some tension on the reefing clew, the friction on the luff reduces enough to pull down. Some times, if the wind is too high, the luff needs to be assisted down a few feet. I use a small line that passes through a slider eyelet and hooks over the rams horn, only at arms length height above the tack, body weight and a bit if grunt, rereave, repeat. Soon, enough luff has been assisted down that the remainder can be manually hauled down. I reef at mast, I don't have cockpit halyards et cetera.

For decades I have always reefed upwind, or fine reaching, until I read about a similar method at Morgans Cloud (Attainable Adventure Cruising), a much larger yacht, 55’ IIRC.

It works, the leach and luff are not under sailing tension, just extra friction. If you have not done this, I suggest that knocking it, just demonstrates ignorance of the process and and actual loads. I was sceptical but found that by trying you work out what works. For my boat, 15m mast, FB, the boom end needs to be at the gunwale, the topping lift tensioned + 6” (boom weight lifted), the clew pulled back to take the baggy luff nearly off the mast. Topping lift height and some clew tension are key.

Once the new tack is fixed to the rams horn and halyard adjusted, tension clew as normal, release topping lift, tension kicker, adjust mainsheet. Or take the whole main down and sail under genoa only.

 

[Rhylsailer99]

By sheeting the main in, releasing the kicker, taking up a bit of topping lift tension and taking some tension on the reefing clew, the friction on the luff reduces enough to pull down. Some times, if the wind is too high, the luff needs to be assisted down a few feet. I use a small line that passes through a slider eyelet and hooks over the rams horn, only at arms length height above the tack, body weight and a bit if grunt, rereave, repeat. Soon, enough luff has been assisted down that the remainder can be manually hauled down. I reef at mast, I don't have cockpit halyards et cetera.

For decades I have always reefed upwind, or fine reaching, until I read about a similar method at Morgans Cloud (Attainable Adventure Cruising), a much larger yacht, 55’ IIRC.

It works, the leach and luff are not under sailing tension, just extra friction. If you have not done this, I suggest that knocking it, just demonstrates ignorance of the process and and actual loads. I was sceptical but found that by trying you work out what works. For my boat, 15m mast, FB, the boom end needs to be at the gunwale, the topping lift tensioned + 6” (boom weight lifted), the clew pulled back to take the baggy luff nearly off the mast. Topping lift height and some clew tension are key.

Once the new tack is fixed to the rams horn and halyard adjusted, tension clew as normal, release topping lift, tension kicker, adjust mainsheet. Or take the whole main down and sail under genoa only.

Looking back now I think sailing on genoa only would have been the best option.

 

[RupertW]

Getting the wind in front of the beam and letting the sail luff makes it easy, but there are sometimes reasons not to. When downwind, I pull the main towards the centre enough to get the sail off the spreaders then pull it down with the reefing lines. I have full battens and cars, which helps obviously.

When I need to reef the main then pulling the main to the centre will just heel the boat over til the rudder trips and it rounds up no matter what you do with the wheel. So we choose to round up anyway and drop it.

 

[RupertW]

When I need to reef the main then pulling the main to the centre will just heel the boat over til the rudder trips and it rounds up no matter what you do with the wheel. So we choose to round up anyway and drop it.

And we have a boat that is very conservative in shape compared to wide flat sterned boats of the last 20 years.

 

[geem]

And we have a boat that is very conservative in shape compared to wide flat sterned boats of the last 20 years.

My rudder is almost 6ft long. It doesn't trip.
Sheeting the main in on a dead run doesn't cause any such problems. It's never rounded up. The autopilot can control the boat come what may.
We fly the spinnaker on the autopilot as a matter of routine.
The hull is deep fin and skeg hung rudder. From a different era

 

[RupertW]

My rudder is almost 6ft long. It doesn't trip.
Sheeting the main in on a dead run doesn't cause any such problems. It's never rounded up. The autopilot can control the boat come what may.
We fly the spinnaker on the autopilot as a matter of routine.
The hull is deep fin and skeg hung rudder. From a different era

Absolutely- you sacrifice speed and less rolling for steadiness when overpressed. It’s a good compromise.

 

[geem]

Absolutely- you sacrifice speed and less rolling for steadiness when overpressed. It’s a good compromise.

Correct. We are not a planing type hull. We don't readily surf on every small wave. We do average goos passage times especially in light winds as our hull has less wetted area so is easily pushed at less that hull speed. In light winds, mainly about 12kts true wind speed, from astern, we sailed the last West to East Atlantic crossing from Antigua to the Azores at 6kts average with just 2 of us onboard. All hull shapes are a compromise. Mr Van De Stadt designs very nice sailing hulls

 

[ean_p]

Correct. We are not a planing type hull. We don't readily surf on every small wave. We do average goos passage times especially in light winds as our hull has less wetted area so is easily pushed at less that hull speed. In light winds, mainly about 12kts true wind speed, from astern, we sailed the last West to East Atlantic crossing from Antigua to the Azores at 6kts average with just 2 of us onboard. All hull shapes are a compromise. Mr Van De Stadt designs very nice sailing hulls

What model is your boat please G?

 

[dunedin]

Absolutely- you sacrifice speed and less rolling for steadiness when overpressed. It’s a good compromise.

Except that modern boats with twin rudders right at the back seem to be the most directionally stable at speed especially under autopilot.

 

[Minerva]

Except that modern boats with twin rudders right at the back seem to be the most directionally stable at speed especially under autopilot.

Come on Dunedin; everyone knows if you sail a twin rudder boat outside of the solent will result in certain death.

 

[geem]

Except that modern boats with twin rudders right at the back seem to be the most directionally stable at speed especially under autopilot.

What cruising boat are you thinking of particularly? I know of one such boat from a reputable manufacturer that is is terrible in big following seas simply because the rudders are too short. The rudders lose grip as they come out of the water and the boat rounds up for fun.

 

[flaming]

Except that modern boats with twin rudders right at the back seem to be the most directionally stable at speed especially under autopilot.

Yep.

The difference I've found going from a "traditional" cruiser racer with a relatively narrow waterline and single deep rudder to a JPK with twin rudders is immense.

In the Elan, once the breeze was up gybing was a fraught affair. In order to get the main in I had to go right downwind, and any slight deviation would just cause us to spin out. Similarly if the main didn't absolutely smoke out after the gybe we'd just spin out that way. Couple of times we spun out because the main flicked across before the mainsheet man was ready for it, so it didn't release, and hey presto - spreader washing time....
Absolutely no chance at all that center-lining the boom downwind to reef was remotely an option on that boat.

Gybing the JPK in 25kts with the big kite up is just a doddle in comparison, the amount of grip the rudders offer is just incredible. And the fact that you're going about 50% faster helps a lot too... Have gybed doublehanded in over 20kts with no drama and the autopilot driving whilst we sort the kite out. Suspect you probably could bring the main in to reef downwind. Haven't tried it though, in fact we've only reefed the boat in anger once, our inshore race main doesn't even have any reef points.