Reefing (Again)

[davidpm]

Beneteau 51', sadly I have no pictures and the boat is too far away at this time, but maybe this description will suffice.
Exiting the boom at the mast and running inside the boom all the way to the end where they exit are 3 lines.
One line is the out haul. Works as advertised
Two lines I assume are the reefing lines.
One line is not their but their is a space for it.

I am accustom to reefing lines ending on a block mounted on the side of the boom underneath the appropriate reefing point on the sail.
With the reefing lines run to the far (clew) end of the boom the angle of pull does not seem to be optimal for shorting the sail.

At the goose neck end of the boom where these lines exit their are cam style dogs that don't really work right as I was unable to get them to clamp shut. I'm thinking that the lines are a little over-sized so the cams don't work.

How should this be rigged?

[Faster]

Each reef line should go from the sheave at the end of the boom, up through the reef cringle, and terminate on or around the boom at a spot slightly aft of the reefed cringle position. This will give the reef line a (admitteldy high friction) doubling and act as an outhaul as well.

The cam cleats built into the gooseneck will probably only "latch" with a significnt load on the reef line. It is possible the line's too large, but if you get the reef rigged in you may find that it cleats OK when loaded up. On a B51 I'd expect to see a winch to assist grinding the clew down and out when you're reefing.

[sailingdog]

Chances are pretty unlikely that the lines are over-sized, since the tolerances are pretty tight and an oversized line would have a lot of friction. It is far more likely that the jammers require a fairly significant load to hold properly.

[121Guy]

David,

The posts before this provided excellent info. from the front bottom of the boom, after the lines exit past the toothed cams, the lines should run to the base of the mast, then go through a block, then come back to a winch in the cockpit. Those cams are so you can leave the lines forward but if you are cruising the boat it is probably nicer to have them back in the cockpit. It sounds like your setup isn't a single line system where the same line controls both the lech and luff. So your reefing drill will be to release the mainsheet some, then release the halyard to a point where the reef gromet on the luff can be attached to the reefing point at the top of the boom and then tension the halyard. It is great to mark this with a permanent marker for easy future reference. Then take up on the reefing line until the leech reef gromet is tight on top of the boom. Nice to mark this as well with a marker where it exits the clutch.

Good luck,

121Guy

[Bene505]

davidpm,

I recognize our boat in here.

That was actually me posting on the other thread. I was using my son's Kick's computer and didn't realize it until after the post hit. So we are thinking alike here.

Did we not have a fitting on the boom to ties off on last month? I'm going to have to check next time I'm at the boat.

Regards

[SVAuspicious]

Originally Posted by 121Guy

Those cams are so you can leave the lines forward but if you are cruising the boat it is probably nicer to have them back in the cockpit.

That's a personal choice, and many of us prefer keeping halyards and reefing lines at the mast.

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by SVAuspicious

That's a personal choice, and many of us prefer keeping halyards and reefing lines at the mast.

True enough, while others choose a combination of the two.

Our main halyard is led to the cockpit, but the jib halyard is at the mast since with roller furling it's rarely used.

We kept our first reef at the mast, on the thinking that first reef conditions are relatively benign. Second and third reefs are in the cockpit, on the reasoning that as conditions deteriorate, we'd prefer to remain in the cockpit as much as possible.

I guess my point is it doesn't have to be "all or nothing."

[Bene505]

Originally Posted by JohnRPollard

True enough, while others choose a combination of the two.

Our main halyard is led to the cockpit, but the jib halyard is at the mast since with roller furling it's rarely used.

We kept our first reef at the mast, on the thinking that first reef conditions are relatively benign. Second and third reefs are in the cockpit, on the reasoning that as conditions deteriorate, we'd prefer to remain in the cockpit as much as possible.

I guess my point is it doesn't have to be "all or nothing."

Nice setup.

After our BFS (for us anyway) last month, I'm really tempted to put in a third reef. Our main sail is getting a bit old, so I'm not sure how the economics work (How much does it cost to add another reefing point?) The boom is fitted for it though.

[artbyjody]

Originally Posted by Bene505

Nice setup.

After our BFS (for us anyway) last month, I'm really tempted to put in a third reef. Our main sail is getting a bit old, so I'm not sure how the economics work (How much does it cost to add another reefing point?) The boom is fitted for it though.

You'll probably be looking at around $300 or so parts and labor. Estimated guess though...

Patches to re-enforce the grommet areas, and cost of the grommets... its a short work order and your local sail loft can usually turn it around in a few days...

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by Bene505

Nice setup.

After our BFS (for us anyway) last month, I'm really tempted to put in a third reef. Our main sail is getting a bit old, so I'm not sure how the economics work (How much does it cost to add another reefing point?) The boom is fitted for it though.

Yeah, you could probably do it, but...

When they designed your sail, they designed it for 2 reefs. If it had been designed for 3 reefs, the first two probably would have been placed differently. So if you add a 3rd reef to your current sail, it may not be in an ideal location -- it will probably end up reducing sail area too much.

Or maybe not. Maybe they placed those first two reefs no differently than they would have if the sail had 3 reef points. You'll have to try to judge that or get an opinion from a sailmaker.

I can tell you that the reef points on our old 2-reef mainsail and our new 3-reef mainsail are in completely different locations. That is one of the advantages of going with a 3-reef sail -- more "gears" to choose from.