Dipper
Well-known member
There was a recent short review in PBO - early 2013 I think. I don't have the article now as I gave it to a friend in my club who has one. The main comment that I can remember was 'goes to windward like a witch'.
Varne 27
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brian.campbell
New member
You can see how high off the boom the clew is. Bad set-up. It is a feature of in-mast reefing that the clew is cut quite high, and you lose some foot of the sail. This is to keep it high enough to roll in to the mast. It was made worse because we'd furled so much as the wind was building. A previous crew found that the loads on the cabin winch were quite high for reefing the main, so changed the set-up in an attempt to reduce the friction in the system. This worked to a certain extent, but resulted in the foot of the sail being higher off the boom, which is why we've now gone back to the original standard set-up.
We found later after experimenting that to ensure a good tight roll in the mast there is a technique to follow. This will prevent the sail jamming in the mast, which seems to be a common complaint of in-mast reefing users. We found that keeping the boom on the port side when reefing helps enormously, as it helps the in-going sail follow the turn of the furler. We originally assumed that centering the boom tightly with the mainsheet would be best, to stop it flapping around etc. But this has the effect of lowering the boom end, which then puts creases in the sail as you reef. This is bad as it makes it hard to reef, and even harder to unfurl as it keeps jamming. So now we keep it reasonably loose, on the port side, and try to keep just a bit of tension on both ends as we furl in. The flapping around means there is a bit of a risk of 'boom rash', but it's mostly out to port side so we seem to avoid it. We've also experimented with a clew tie-down which seems to help, but setting a good traveller position is probably more important.
If it all goes in the mast like a bag of washing because we've messed it up then we unfurl it in harbour and re-furl properly. This means we can get it out again next time without it jamming up.
I understand in-mast reefing isn't for everyone, but we like it. On the day in question we were able to exactly match our main to our jib, so there was hardly any rounding up or excessive tiller loads, and we were able to frequently finely adjust the reefing to suit the building wind. Sometimes just an extra turn or two on the main helped, where a whole extra slab would have been too much.
We found later after experimenting that to ensure a good tight roll in the mast there is a technique to follow. This will prevent the sail jamming in the mast, which seems to be a common complaint of in-mast reefing users. We found that keeping the boom on the port side when reefing helps enormously, as it helps the in-going sail follow the turn of the furler. We originally assumed that centering the boom tightly with the mainsheet would be best, to stop it flapping around etc. But this has the effect of lowering the boom end, which then puts creases in the sail as you reef. This is bad as it makes it hard to reef, and even harder to unfurl as it keeps jamming. So now we keep it reasonably loose, on the port side, and try to keep just a bit of tension on both ends as we furl in. The flapping around means there is a bit of a risk of 'boom rash', but it's mostly out to port side so we seem to avoid it. We've also experimented with a clew tie-down which seems to help, but setting a good traveller position is probably more important.
If it all goes in the mast like a bag of washing because we've messed it up then we unfurl it in harbour and re-furl properly. This means we can get it out again next time without it jamming up.
I understand in-mast reefing isn't for everyone, but we like it. On the day in question we were able to exactly match our main to our jib, so there was hardly any rounding up or excessive tiller loads, and we were able to frequently finely adjust the reefing to suit the building wind. Sometimes just an extra turn or two on the main helped, where a whole extra slab would have been too much.
lpdsn
New member
On the only boat with in-mast furling that I've sailed, the clew was attached to a car that ran along the foot groove. That allowed the mainsail to keep its shape when partially furled. I still needed to manually keep the leech tight when furling to get it to furl up smoothly.
brian.campbell
New member
Yes, that's our set-up. Our friend thought that by-passing the boom car and block at the clew of the sail would reduce the friction, which it did, but resulted in a rubbish sail set. You still lose some sail and pointing ability with the correct set-up, and as you say you have to keep a bit of tension on the leech when furling, though not too much or else you get creases.
Definitely not a racer's set-up, but we don't race ours!
What did you think of the system yourself?
Definitely not a racer's set-up, but we don't race ours!
What did you think of the system yourself?
Eyore
Well-known member
happy sailer
New member
Hello . The boat in the article is now in my ownership . A wonderful boat . Waiting for mast stepping (corona virus rules frustrating my efforts to get it done)
fredrussell
Well-known member
congratulations! There’s a Varne 27 a few boats up from me, fine looking boats. Have fun!
Alasdair
New member
Hi, particularly Cindersailor as I am in Edinburgh. I have a chance to get a Varne 27 that is really just a hull and I would love a chance to see (and photograph closely) a complete craft. Also I understand some of these were sold for self completion and wondered if anyone knew if any of the documentation about that was available. Thanks Alasdair
dk
Well-known member
Enjoy! She's a lovely little boat. Have you seen a copy of my report for ST?
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