How to reef a mainsail The boat is overpowered....with the mainsail flogging most of the time... It is time to reef the mainsail. Start the process with only 2 crew leaving the rail. You will need as much weight as possible on the windward side to keep the boat flat. 1.Ease the mainsheet 2.Ease the vang/kicher 3.Ease the main halyard 4.Bowman pulls the luff down to the reefing point 5.Engage the reefing eye onto the reefing hook at the gooseneck. 6.Re-tension the main halyard. Lots of it! 7.Pull tension on the reefing line. 8.It helps if someone lifts the boom during this phase. 9.Put loads of tension on the reefing line.The idea is to have the foot as flat as possible. 10.Roll the excess sail neatly on the windward side of the boom. 11.Tie the rolled up section onto the boom using 4mm bungee cord... Do not use rope - it will tear the cringles out of the reefing patches! Note that the traveller is far up to windward. This is good technique to depower...by twisting the top of the mainsail open. Use less vang when trying this. 12.Re - tension the Vang/kicker. 13.Sheet in the main. Boat is 0.2 knots faster plus the boat is now flatter. The sail has stopping flogging Crew the happier The boat is quieter and easier to steer. You will point higher too. GOLDEN RULE.......
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 08:03:35 +0000
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