Main Sail question, No reef points?

[DulceSuerna]

Just curious and looking for some opinions. Looking at used mains, tying to conserve some $$ I have found several that are good priced correct specs, and weight, but no reef points? Is this more common then I thought? Isn't reefing the main crucial in higher winds? Granted our boat comes alive in 15+ winds, being the heavy beasty she is. The cost is less then half for a good used main.

[bljones]

You can, and should, add reef points. It's not hard to do, if the cost of a reefless main is THAT much lower that the cost of the materials and labour to add reefing points is feasible.

[DulceSuerna]

All of the shops wanted between 175 -250 to add just one reef point half the cost of the sail.

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by DulceSuerna

All of the shops wanted between 175 -250 to add just one reef point half the cost of the sail.

Yes, but how much would a new sail or a used sail with reefing points already in it cost you??? Chances are likely that getting a decent used main and adding reefing points is going to cost less.

Also consider that a sail without reefing points is more dangerous to use than one that you can reef.

[kwaltersmi]

Does your current main have reef points and do you use them? If you're just doing the occassional 1 or 2 hour coastal sunset sail in good weather, maybe you don't need reefing. But for anything else I'd insist on it if I were going to put any money at all into new (or pre-owned) sails.

[blt2ski]

I would think at least one DEEP reef minimum would be wanted, if not two. I have two, and wished I had 3 a few times in my 30' Jeanneau. Granted a bit lighter than your rig, but for winds over 30-35, 3 would be nice.

I would also think, based on your post on page 3 of THIS THREAD, a reef or two should be added. This is probably not the place to be cheap frankly.

Marty

[hellosailor]

On your 31' Bombay Clipper reef points presumably would be appropriate and even necessary. It sounds like you would be paying for 2-3 hours of labor and that's about right for a job but you certainly COULD put in the reef points yourself. Once you figure out how much sail area you want to reduce and where to put them (part of the labor time) you arguably don't even have to sew. Use a flexible urethane adhesive to glue reinforcing patches on both side of the sail, then set a heavy grommet through the patched area after it has dried. Add your reefing ties and you are done.

Why the used sails have no reefing points to begin with, and what that says about cheap used sails, is a whole other issue.

[BubbleheadMd]

My dockmate had (past tense) a main with no reef points. Although it lasted for a while, he flogged the hell out of it in heavy air, and finally one day, it literally exploded.

If anyone here understands a limited budget, I do. Spend the money, get a single, deep reef point sewn in or you'll just be buying another sail soon. Worse, you may find yourself in weather where you can't keep the boat on it's feet because you don't have it.

Think of it as "passive" safety gear.

[ffiill]

Often off boats with boom roller furling-my origional main sail and missen are like this-boat was coverted to slab reefing some years ago.