# Problems when reefing Main Sail



## Charrob (Sep 10, 2010)

Hi,

We have big problems when reefing our main sail. This is fully described and portrayed in a video we made during our last sailing adventure in October 2014. Here is the video on youtube:






Key Points in Video:



Minute 00:00: Video Beginning at dock: are we reefing Main Sail correctly?

Minute 12:04 to Minute 18:34: Motor turned off; sailing with reefed main only. Realizing we are about to ground yet cannot steer the boat to point closer to wind with the reefed main. Finally we had to turn the motor on. Why could we not steer closer to wind with the main sail reefed?

Minute 20:55: Another boat 'Slip Stream', also with reefed main sail only, passes us by like we're standing still. The other boat was not much bigger than ours. We are not racing, but the difference in speed was ridiculous. Something is definitely wrong with our reefed main sail that we should be going so much slower than another similar boat with similar reefed main.

Minute 27:42: At this point in the video there is a helpful picture showing how much further Slip Stream has travelled within 3 minutes of passing us.

Minute 28:59: We decide to see if reefed jib sail will give us better luck than reefed main sail, so Rob begins the process of taking out reefed jib sail.

Minute 29:36 to Minute 33:13: Rob wanted to make the reef on the jib smaller: it's very difficult on our boat as you can see on the video that he is struggling with this despite when the boat is pointed into wind. Any recommendations on making this easier would be welcome. Once the jib was at the size we wanted and we trimmed, our boat picked up speed nicely.

Minute 43:04: We were sailing along nicely with reefed main and reefed jib.

Minute 44:13: Now that we were sailing nicely, our topping lift broke and the back end of the boom came down. Can you tell us: why did this happen? As I centered the traveler, the boom actually completely disengaged and disconnected itself from the mast! What are we doing wrong?

As you can see in the video, we took video with both our ipad and iphone during the trip as we were not sure how well the go-pro camera would work. If you would like at any point in the trip to see the video from our ipad and iphone (which was taken from different angles than the go-pro) to better see the way the sails looked, let me know and I'll upload those videos as well.

Any and all help will be really appreciated. Thanks!


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## Uricanejack (Nov 17, 2012)

I have not watched your video yet.

One big clue is your topping lift broke.

Should not have happened. I suspect when you put your reef in you left the topping lift tight. When you hardened the main sheet after reefing your main you put tension on the topping lift instead of the leach of the sail. 
When your topping lift broke the end of your boom dropped to the level it should have been at. 

Your sail would have had a very poor shape very baggy at the back and just not working right, 

Don't feel bad. I supposedly know how to sail and have forgotten to ease a topping lift more than once.

I will post a quick check list for hoisting a regular Slab reefed main with slides. And a check list for putting a reef in if that helps.


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## PaulinVictoria (Aug 23, 2009)

In short, no, you aren't reefing properly and that is the root cause of your problems. You need to rig it properly to start with , and all of a sudden you will realise how easy it is, and how effective it is. The way you have it now you have virtually no control over the shape of the reefed sail, which is why you can't point and are basically out of control. Google slab or jiffy reefing, there is so much good information available.
Do you have any experienced sailors around that can give you a hand with rigging it properly and show you how to do it?


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## Charrob (Sep 10, 2010)

Uricanejack said:


> I have not watched your video yet.
> 
> One big clue is your topping lift broke.
> 
> ...


Uricanejack,

Unfortunately that isn't it. Last year our topping lift broke and we learned to loosen it before sailing. On the day of this video, we made absolutely sure the topping lift was very very loose, so were very surprised and disappointed when it broke.

At the point in the video where it broke, you can see that the boom points way down and eventually completely detached itself from the mast.


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## celenoglu (Dec 13, 2008)

Topping lift is very tight due to not raising the head of the sail enough which makes the sail baggy. A reefed main should look like a smaller version of your full main. All lines should be very tight, but not the topping the lift. I am not willing to watch a video more than an hour long to find the exact reason. A shorter but meaningful video might help.


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## Charrob (Sep 10, 2010)

PaulinVictoria said:


> In short, no, you aren't reefing properly and that is the root cause of your problems. You need to rig it properly to start with , and all of a sudden you will realise how easy it is, and how effective it is. The way you have it now you have virtually no control over the shape of the reefed sail, which is why you can't point and are basically out of control. Google slab or jiffy reefing, there is so much good information available.
> 
> Do you have any experienced sailors around that can give you a hand with rigging it properly and show you how to do it?


PaulinVictoria,

Last Fall when all this happened, I started a thread here on this forum, and a man who responded recognized our creek because he also lives on Rock Creek. He mentioned he could help us... I tried doing a search for that thread as well as my username, but nothing seems to be coming up.

I hate to bother people, but we really have no idea. I still have his private message from him I think in this forum (I'll look in a minute), so will ask him if he may have some time one day to show us. Hopefully he still views this forum once in awhile. After the day in the video, we winterized the boat because winter was coming.

Other than that man from this forum, there's really no one else to ask except maybe the marina owners, but they are very busy and i'm not sure they would help.

Can you be more specific about what we are doing wrong when reefing the main sail? Last fall when I posted a thread we were using a bungie cord and responses on the forum told us we should use a rope instead, so we changed to using a rope on the day of the video. So you are saying we are not using the rope correctly when tying it to the boom?


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## PaulinVictoria (Aug 23, 2009)

Where to start?
The reefing line at the leach of the sail, it should go from the boom, up through the cringle, down through the cheek block and then forward towards the mast (ot sure what you arrangements are from there on), not back to the aft end of the boom. Then, when you tighten that line up, it pulls the new clew of the sail aft and down onto the boom, flattening the sail. As you have it now, you cannot possibly get enough purchase to get this tightened up properly.
At the boom end, you need to get the reefing cringle right down on top of the boom, and held there, either with a strap/dogbone arrangement, or get a reefing hook fitted it you don't already have one. This then allows you to keep the reef point in place, and then hoist the reefed sail properly with the halyard.
The end result should be a sail that looks just like a normal main sail, but a bit smaller and a bit flatter, imaging you are basically chopping off the bottom section of the sail.
Talk nicely to people docked around you - perhaps they would be willing to help and you never know, you may make some new friends 
Here, you probably want to end up with either the "single line and cowhorn", or the "double line" systems described here


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Flat sails, not baggy is what you want when you reef, which is always in higher wind. You need to make your reefing system work easily because you will need to use it. I am trying to simplify the goosneck reefing hook system on my boat (new main sail wants a hook on both sides to hold down reef points). I am leaning toward replacing my Rams horn reefing hook with the simple reefing hooks shown on the RigRite website, one on each side instead of the existing single Rams horn hook (which is a PITA as the sail has loops that need to be ringed on both sides).
Sailing hardware: another minor wallet drain.


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## Charrob (Sep 10, 2010)

celenoglu said:


> Topping lift is very tight due to not raising the head of the sail enough which makes the sail baggy. A reefed main should look like a smaller version of your full main. All lines should be very tight, but not the topping the lift. I am not willing to watch a video more than an hour long to find the exact reason. A shorter but meaningful video might help.


Celenoglu,

Rob is pretty strong and he pulled up the sail as far as he could get it before tying it down. And to be honest, even with a full main, the bottom part of the sail is pretty baggy, and we've pulled the line as much as we could before tying it down. With a full main, however, we have no problem pointing into wind or coming about.

You don't have to watch the entire video. You can just forward to the Key Points in Video:

1)	*Minute 00:00*: Video Beginning at dock: are we reefing Main Sail correctly?

2)	*Minute 12:04 to Minute 18:34*: Motor turned off; sailing with reefed main only. Realizing we are about to ground yet cannot steer the boat to point closer to wind with the reefed main. Finally we had to turn the motor on. Why could we not steer closer to wind with the main sail reefed?

3)	*Minute 20:55*: Another boat 'Slip Stream', also with reefed main sail only, passes us by like we're standing still. The other boat was not much bigger than ours. We are not racing, but the difference in speed was ridiculous. Something is definitely wrong with our reefed main sail that we should be going so much slower than another similar boat with similar reefed main.

4)	*Minute 27:42*: At this point in the video there is a helpful picture showing how much further Slip Stream has travelled within 3 minutes of passing us.

5)	*Minute 28:59*: We decide to see if reefed jib sail will give us better luck than reefed main sail, so Rob begins the process of taking out reefed jib sail.

6)	*Minute 29:36 to Minute 33:13*: Rob wanted to make the reef on the jib smaller: it's very difficult on our boat as you can see on the video that he is struggling with this despite when the boat is pointed into wind. Any recommendations on making this easier would be welcome. Once the jib was at the size we wanted and we trimmed, our boat picked up speed nicely.

7)	*Minute 43:04*: We were sailing along nicely with reefed main and reefed jib.

8)	*Minute 44:13*: Now that we were sailing nicely, our topping lift broke and the back end of the boom came down. Can you tell us: why did this happen? As I centered the traveler, the boom actually completely disengaged and disconnected itself from the mast! What are we doing wrong?

As you can see, we took video with both our ipad and iphone during the trip as we were not sure how well the go-pro camera would work. If you would like at any point in the trip to see the video from our ipad and iphone (which was taken from different angles than the go-pro) to better see the way the sails looked, let me know and I'll upload those videos as well.


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## Scotty C-M (Aug 14, 2013)

I took the time to go over the video. Yes, you have made some errors, but nothing that you can't straighten out.

1. Look up some YouTubes on how to reef. No sence going over the whole thing here &#8230; but &#8230;
2. After the tack, then clew are tightened up, use the halyard (or a cummingham) to tension up the luff of the main.
3. Then make sure the topping lift is loose enough. When sailing keep an eye on it. It must be loose (not too loose).

&#8230;as Celenoglu says, the shape needs to look good. When you were leaving the dock, the sail hung very loosely. Not with good shape. You can take the time to rig it at the dock and look at the shape. You'll get it.

4. Check the bolts at the gooseneck (where the boom meets the mast). It needs to be looked at. It shouldn't come apart.
5. As you found, the main alone gives only some of the power. The main reefed and the jib together really add some power to your rig. Experiment with the rig on your boat to find what works best. Well done.

&#8230; don't worry so much about the other boat going so much faster. They had more sail up, and the sail was set correctly. When you get the shape of the sail, and the reef combination correct for your boat, you're gonna smoke em!

You did a bunch of things correctly:

1. You put in a reef before going out in challenging conditions. Good call!
2. You used your engine to get away from a possibly dangerous shallow spot. Again, good call.
3. You and that pretty lady at the helm were out having fun on your sailboat. Keep doing that and you're going to sort out all the "how do I do thats" and turn into a couple of old salts.
4. You asked for help. Great to form a support system. Good advice from the above posters (you might want to revisit your post (#4) where you think that &#8230;"that's not it". I thought the previous posts were pretty good.) Sail on friends' boats, take some lessons, haunt YouTube, and read some good How To Sail books. Keep asking questions.

You seem like nice folks. Be safe and have fun out there.


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## celenoglu (Dec 13, 2008)

There are three points on a sail which you can tension. Halyard, clew and cunningham (if you have it). The clew line should be coming from the boom, pass through the cringle and reach the end of the boom. This will tenson the sail both downwards and back so you can tension in both directions with the pull. If the halyard and clew are properly tensioned, topping lift will have no function and the clew end of the boom will never get down.


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## SHNOOL (Jun 7, 2007)

Sometimes a picture is gold to help with rigging. What you have looks like a single line reefing system to me. That one turning block doesn't need to be on the mast, it could be on the boom like yours.. otherwise it looks like you have everything you need to rig this.


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## JonEisberg (Dec 3, 2010)

Have a look at the current (June) issue of CRUISING WORLD, there's a good overview of mainsail slab reefing written and illustrated by Bruce Bingham that should be helpful...


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## Siamese (May 9, 2007)

Study the reefing diagram that best corresponds to your boat, and rig it at your slip or at anchor until it's right. 

Why did your boom detach from the mast? Because it wasn't secured properly. These things need to be inspected and maintained. 

I skipped through your video and was baffled as to why you were sailing for several minutes on a starboard tack with the jib sheeted on the windward (starboard) winch. That indicated to me that you would be very well served by taking some formal lessons. You'll end up safer and have a lot more fun.


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## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

I've scanned through your video ... lots going on (and wrong). Hard to cover everything in text. I think Paul's advice is the best: look up slab/jiffy reefing. Not to sound harsh, but you're completely screwed up from the get-go.

I see SHNOOL's posted a visual. This is single-line slab reefing. It's fine, although most people prefer dual-line system. Either way, look here: Is Jiffy Reefing the simplest way to reef the mainsail on a sailing boat? for good direction.

I can't tell you why the topping lift parted, but it's clearly under intense strain. The mainsail and it's halyard are what's supposed to be supporting your boom when it is up (full or reefed). Your sail's luff was baggy from the get-go, so it's clearly not hoisted properly.

I think the reason you've got little control is b/c your jib/genny is overpowering what little drive you're getting from your messed up main. The main has poor shape throughout (probably b/c it's rigged wrong), so is producing very little drive. Therefore, there is no balance to the boat. You can only compensate so much with the rudder. This is why you can't steer left.


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## aloof (Dec 21, 2014)

When you get the sail trim worked out...and you have much to do in that regard as posted above...when sailing under main alone the boom needs to be down. Certainly not centered. Eased down (downwind) to near the rail. Then twisted off properly at the top. You need to bear away to get the speed going and then keep the speed up no matter what it takes. When you run out of speed you will be in the disgraceful position of having to start the motor.

I know it's popular among neophytes, but generally never sail under headsail alone. Especially in tight situations. Your options are too limited. And it is just wrong except perhaps on open water and downwind.


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## Uricanejack (Nov 17, 2012)

Charrob said:


> Uricanejack,
> 
> Unfortunately that isn't it. Last year our topping lift broke and we learned to loosen it before sailing. On the day of this video, we made absolutely sure the topping lift was very very loose, so were very surprised and disappointed when it broke.
> 
> At the point in the video where it broke, you can see that the boom points way down and eventually completely detached itself from the mast.


I watched the beginning of the video.

Paul said it already. No. You were not putting the reef in correctly. 
I have not figured out exactly what you did wrong but have desribed as simply as i can how to put a reef in. Hope it helps you to figure out your particular boat.

I think I spotted you have a nice Catalina 27. I sailed a few years ago but my computer skills are not good enough to "show you a picture" pictures being worth a thousand words.
I suspect you are quite a ways away from the Pacific North West. or I would say come out for an afternoon's sail and I would show you a few tricks.

Is your topping lift rigged from the top of the Mast?
One of the annoyances on some of the Catalina 27's I sailed. was the topping lift was on the back stay.

From the video it was hard to see how your boat is set up or should be set up. A few stills might help.

Particularly a side view from either side. with full sail up sitting in the dock I might be able to describe how to run the reefing line. 
I did see a block at the end of the boom you were using. also a block near the Goose Neck it is possible you may be able to run a single line reefing system back to the cockpit.

To explain how to reef is not hard but before I start are you familiar with the terms for parts of a sail and the mast and rig?. If you already know the jargon. Sorry for teaching you to suck eggs but just in case I miss something. I will make it really basic.

Reefing before you head out is a really good idea.

All the topping lift does is hold the boom up when the sails down. They come in a few different forms. C 27's were often originally equipped with a line from the back stay and a snap hook to the boom as a topping lift. They were quite annoying and your boat may have been upgraded. The line may lead from the end of the boom up to a block at the top of the mast and back down to the base of the mast or cockpit. Some small boats C 22s it was often a wire down from the top of the mast to a block down near the end of the boom, with a line up from the boom to the block and back to a cleat on the boom.

The top corner of the sail or "head" will be attached to the "Haliard" which may be at the mast or led aft to the cockpit, I think most of the C 27's I sailed it was at the mast.. Traditionally the Main Halyard is on the starboard or right hand side of the mast. I think C7's had a small winch on ether side of the mast for the Halyards. The Jib Halyard is traditionally on the left or port side.

The Halyard may be all rope but is often a combination of wire and rope.

The front edge of the sail is the "Luff" on the C 27's I sailed they all had slides in a track on the aft side of the mast.

The Bottom of the front edge of the sail has a strengthened corner and an "eye" or "cringle" this is the "tack" usually shackled to an eye on the forward end of the boom.

The bottom edge of the sail or "Foot" on most C 27's is attached to the boom with slides in a track along the boom..

At the aft or outer corner there is another stretched corner with an "eye" or "cringle" This is known as the "Clew" . It is usually shackled to a "car" on the "track" on the "boom". This "car" can move along the boom. There should be a line often a wire from the clew or car to a block at the end of the boom which may be on a line inside or along the boom back to the mast or even the cockpit. This is the "outhaul"

The back edge of the sail from the "clew" back to the "head" is known as the "leach"

Under the end of the boom to the center line of the boat there is a block and tackle known as the main sheet..

There are some other lines and bits and pieces but I leave them out except for the "Boom Vang" which is the tackle going from the deck at base of the mast to a shackle about half way along the boom. 
Don't worry about it yet just make sure its slack.

Before hoisting the sail release the sheet.

Hoist the sail all the way up. The Halyard should be tight enough to put a bit of tension in the luff.

Ease the topping lift.

The end of boom should be held up by the leach of the sail if the clew is properly secured to the "Car" and the outhaul is tight pulling the "Car" out to the end of the boom.

If you tighten or harden the sheet your sail will start to catch the wind and drive the boat. The sheet pulls down on the "leach" and holds the boom down. The "Leach" should have some tension in it. If not check your topping lift has not come up tight again.

Again sorry you might know most of this but trying to explain a reef without explaining the whole sail is not easy.

Look at your sail. Particularly the "luff" You may see one, two , three or even four cringles or "eyes" up the "luff"

Look at the "Leach" you should see one, two or possibly three eyes or cringles in the "leach"

Your "first reef" will be the first pair of "cringles" in the "luff" and "leach" at the same level in a line with smaller "eyes" or ties in a line between them.

C 27's may have only one reef or two reefs a few may even have three.

A cringle near the bottom of the "luff" without a corresponding "pair" in the "leach" might be a "Cunningham." its used for sail trim to tension the "luff." Don't worry about it just now .
A Cringle really close to the "clew" might be just a "flattening reef" C 27s dint usually have them so its unlikely you have one. If you do don't worry about it.

Ok Now you have the bits I can tell you how to put a reef in.

The idea is sort of like changing to a smaller sail. But instead of taking the whole sail of and putting a smaller one on. You just take a section of the sail down and use the rest.

The top stays the same.

You nee to pull those first two big "Cringles" down and secure them to the boom, The one in the "Luff" forms a "new" "Tack" and the Cringle in the Leach forms a "new" "Clew" for the sail.

The new "Tack" can be secured by just one line tying it down alongside the end of the boom as close as possible to the "goose neck".

The new "clew" needs two lines one to secure it down to the "boom" AND a new "Outhaul" to pull it out towards the end of the boom

The small eyes or ties are just used to tidy up the left over sail and should not have any tension in them or the sail could be ripped. Notice the Big cringles have lots of extra cloth and stitching they don't

This was traditionally done with separate lashings to achieve each goal.

Most C 27s were pretty basic. Requiring separate lines for the "Tack" and "clew" and done from the mast. Yours may have been upgraded.

If I remember right they did not have "Horns" or a hook by the Gooseneck to attach the "tack" to yours might so have a look for them.

Most sailors like to have the first reef permanently rigged. Some like to rig the second as well.

To put the reef in. Two crew version.

Go forward to the Mast if your boat has its lines at the mast. Most C 27s were set up this way.

Helm. De power the sail turn into the wind and ease the main sheet until its slack.

Take weight of boom with topping lift.

Ease the halyard. And pull sail down till the " New tack" can be secured by ting it tightly as close to boom as possible.
On some boats 'you might have to take the bottom slides out of the mast track. I think on C 27s this was not necessary.

Secure the tack first.

Your reefing line for the "new clue" should be tied around the boom directly under the "leach" "cringle" when the sail is fully hoisted. Traditionally a bowline but any secure knot will do. The line goes up through the "cringle" then out to the "Block" at the side of the "Boom" nearest the end of the "Boom" sometimes it's a block at the end of the boom then back down inside the boom to the mast.
On a C 27 I think it was usually on the side of the boom then back to a cleat near the goose neck. Some boats would have a block and tackle to help pull it tight.

On old traditional boats this line would be reused for each "reef" and after it was tight separate lashings were used to secure the "New clue" most modern boats have a dedicated line which stays in place without lashings

Now you have the "New Tack" and "New Clew" secured to the "Boom". You can Hoist the sail again. Pull the Halyard up tight.

Completely release the Topping Lift.

And harden or tighten the "Main sheet" note if the Leach is not tight ease the topping lift again just in case it came tight.

It looks like your boat may be able to be set up for a single line to do both the "New Tack" and "New Clew" but I would have to see the boat or some very good pictures to be able to tell you how I think it should be rigged.

Hope this helps you to figure out your problem.


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## Uricanejack (Nov 17, 2012)

snool has posted a good diagram.


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

aloof said:


> ...
> I know it's popular among neophytes, but generally never sail under headsail alone. Especially in tight situations. Your options are too limited. And it is just wrong except perhaps on open water and downwind.


Actually, its also popular amongst us experienced sailors...for most boats, sailing under jib alone is routine, and generally much preferred to sailing under main alone. Except for vessels designed with large mains, the boat will sail much better close to the wind or wind abeam, under jib alone than under main alone. Boats with the common large jib/small main relationship sailing under main alone cannot get out of their own way upwind.

As advised by others, the OP needs to re-do from scratch the setup of their reefing lines, to produce a flat reefed sail. You need to be able to tension the luff, if you have a fixed gooseneck, can you sweat the halyard? If the gooseneck is adjustable, lean on it to set it after the main is raised. The topping lift broke because the it was carrying the boom, which it should never do (while sailing).

Bye the bye, as I said above, don't expect to get anywhere up wind with just a reefed main no matte how flat it is, better to go with just the jib.


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## Sublime (Sep 11, 2010)

I'm about 30 minutes into the video.
I know you're probably frustrated. But don't worry. You'll get it.

Regarding your topping lift- it may be popping because your sail isn't fully hoisted and when you crank on the mainsheet, it's pulling down on the boom and stressing the topping lift. 

Your boat can sail under main alone. It won't point as high, but you could move better than you were in the video. 

I think you need someone with experience to go over things with you and go out with you once. The issues showing up are from not enough knowledge. Most sailors are easily enticed to go with you by being bribed with food or drink. If you can work that out or take a class on sailing, you'll quickly be enjoying your boat. 

There's other sailors at your marina, so just be friendly and ask for some help.


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## SHNOOL (Jun 7, 2007)

for the record, I don't recommend single line reefing... but it seems that is what the OP has.

I have a reef horn, and a single line the pulls the aft cringle.. so I lower, hook the tack, yank a line, and I'm reefed, I've not even used the reef lines on mine... But then I rarely reef.


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## chip (Oct 23, 2008)

sailingfool said:


> don't expect to get anywhere up wind with just a reefed main no matte how flat it is, better to go with just the jib.


A Catalina 27 will go to weather just fine on a reefed main (assuming it's reefed properly).

Here is me doing it:






Charrob, as others have said, there's something very wrong with the way your reefed sail is ending up. The reefing cringles (the grommets on the sail where you're connecting the reefing lines) should wind up basically ON the boom. Do you have the hardware to make it look like this?










That's how most stock C27s were set up, as far as I know. It's not the most elegant reefing solution, but it's a very surefire way to get it done. Note that in that diagram, the reef is not engaged...to reef it, you'd pull on those two lines to get the cringles right down to the boom. Then you should be able to hoist the sail and get it flat.

Regarding the boom falling out, did you figure that out yet? There should be a cleat on the aft side of the mast below the gooseneck, and there should be a line that goes from the gooseneck to that cleat. That will keep the boom from being able to ride up and pop out of the mast track at the gate (assuming that's what happened).

I am more intimately familiar with my boom than I ought to be after this happened last year:








Oops.

Frostbitten | Sailing Fortuitous


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

I watched the video, and it seems obvious that the boat was set up for single line reefing, but the OP didn't know how to use it, hence the problems.

All the best,

Gary


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## MarkSF (Feb 21, 2011)

To the OP, dont take this the wrong way, but you guys seriously need to take some lessons before you get yourselves killed.


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## albrazzi (Oct 15, 2014)

1 Loosen Topping lift it should be tight only with the sail down
2 Trim the sail, traveler down too far. Trim with sheet to get telltales flying and then use traveler.
3 Most boats need both sails to power up. Find out which one needs to be reefed first. Trial and error.
4 Inspect all your hardware, any time the sail is up all the stress on the boom is up.
5 Main is WAY too loose.

I use the topping lift only under sail I double the Halyard at dock, so maybe set the topping to what you need under sail and let the halyard keep the boom out of the cockpit.

Study some sail trim books 
More to come


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## tempest (Feb 12, 2007)

You have received a lot of good rigging advice here, but like MarkSF, I'm a little worried that what you don't know could get you hurt. You should really invest in a lesson or two. It will clear a lot of things up for you. 

Gloves or no gloves Rob really needs to break the habit of wrapping a sheet around his hand. That he looked at the backed jib for minutes without realizing it needed to be released and brought to the other side is just basic understanding that needs to be instinct. 

From what I could see of Slip Stream, her mainsail wasn't reefed and had good shape So that would account for some of the speed difference. For much of your video, you are either pinching into the wind, or the sails are not trimmed for your heading. 

It looked at at one point where Rob attempted to move the traveler up, but wasn't able to accomlish that. Don't know why? 

Once Rob trimmed the jib after letting it out you began to sail better. Standing up on the high side casually putting his cloves on to trim it he fell onto the leeward seat. He could have easily fallen heels over head overboard had a bigger wave hit at the same time; or fallen back and hit his head on the boom! Either remain seated and brace yourself with your feet, or hold on to something with one hand. Never stand up with your head above the boom like that. 

When you get your sail trimming better, you will find that you need to sit more forward and hold the tiller at the forward end to get better leverage and feel.

You'll get the reefing and topping lift sorted out. Once you do, you'll want to work on the points of sail and the appropriate sail trim for each point, and some basic safety habits and techniques. 

Also, did slip stream Tack just before they moved ahead of you? Or did they overtake you? Were you aware that they were there before they hailed you? it looks like, in the video that you were suprised to even see them? Situational awareness is essential, you need to know what all the vessels in your vicinity are doing and know the rules of the road. 

Good Luck, I hope you get your rigging sorted out and have a great, safe season.


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## weinie (Jun 21, 2008)

Good reefing tutorial:





ETA: If you spent as much time googling videos on reefing as you did making and editing your own video, you'd have it down pat by now


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## single2coil (Apr 12, 2014)

when having issues, both of you should have life jackets ON !!!!


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## albrazzi (Oct 15, 2014)

SHNOOL said:


> for the record, I don't recommend single line reefing... but it seems that is what the OP has.
> 
> I have a reef horn, and a single line the pulls the aft cringle.. so I lower, hook the tack, yank a line, and I'm reefed, I've not even used the reef lines on mine... But then I rarely reef.


I use the same system and it works well. It should go without saying, but maybe not, don't forget to tension the halyard after setting the cringle then tighten the reef line. (This is not directed at you Schnool you know how to operate your boat). I keep the mid sail reef lines (draft) permanently rigged so I can draw the loose cloth up so it doesn't get pulled into the mid-boom sheet blocks. I keep my Halyard and reefs on the same jam cleat so its a two man operation but that's OK. Interesting, I reef a lot but I carry a pretty tall main. Club racing I will reef upwind and then shake it out downwind.


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## bblument (Oct 22, 2012)

chip said:


> ....


In that pic, shouldn't the cheek block for the clew reef cringle be placed aft of where that cringle would lie, towards the aft end of the boom? In that picture, it looks like there would be precious little outhaul force applied. Just asking... I know nothing, and I freely admit it.



chip said:


> I am more intimately familiar with my boom than I ought to be after this happened last year:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


... and ouch. What happened? The boom is bent right at the poitn where you vang is attached, and I've had nightmares about that happening. I bought a Garhauer vang for our 26' Pearson last year, but never got up the nerve to drill holes in our boom to install it, picturing the very same disaster. Would you be willing to share the story to help me avoid a similar fate this year?

Thanks.. much appreciated!

Barry


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## chip (Oct 23, 2008)

Yeah, on mine the cheek block is actually aft of the cringle. I don't know if that diagram is actually to scale or not. It's just something I found online, searching for images from the Catalina manual.

Regarding the boom, I don't know actually know what happened. It had a boomkicker there that couldn't be adjusted properly...even at max relaxation, the boom sat up too high, so the vang was always on, which was not how we did things on our old boat (the vang was always off unless active needed). I probably just had it on too tightly when we raised the sail, or it was a mix of my poor use of the vang/kicker plus me telling my race crew "What do you mean you can't hoist the sail any higher?" rather than looking for a problem plus a series of other problems on that day leading to a general sense of frustration that all contributed to bending it.

There's a full account here: Frostbitten | Sailing Fortuitous
And the solution here: Live Free or Die | Sailing Fortuitous


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## MarkSF (Feb 21, 2011)

One of the installation steps on the Garhauer rigid vang was to sheet the main in as hard as possible, and then install the vang fully or almost fully compressed. This way you cant have any bending moment on the boom from the main sheet.


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

I swear it looks like your boat is at Oak Harbor Marina? I would be happy to come by and help but you could ask Ken, JB, or Chris... any of them could assist you I am certain. I didn't watch the entire video but I saw a lot of things that didn't look right, starting with you aft line through the chock. The halyard tension is way too loose... yada yada yada


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## imiloa (Mar 17, 2004)

While you have received a lot of good tips regarding the reefing set up, I see two very fundamental problems that appear to be causing your issues.

First, as has been mentioned, your topping lift is way too tight. And second, your lazy jacks appear to also be too tight. Both of these cause the main to be much too full by holding the boom up. The boom needs to be supported by the main sail alone. Loosen up those two things a lot and I think you'll see big improvement. Good luck.


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## RustyPelican (Mar 31, 2015)

You have received lots of good info here. One thing I wanted to add I didn't see (might've missed it)...is addressing your saying several times, "I've got the tiller far over, but the boat won't steer in that direction". One thing the rudder needs to work is: some speed through the water. So as long as you can't get the sails powering you along, don't expect the rudder to work well. you aren't driving a car on land where your tires rarely slip in normal conditions, you need water flow over the rudder. 

with only one sail up you often will have quite a weather (or lee) helm (depending on which sail and how you have it trimmed). sometimes you may have to fall off a bit or head up and get some speed to then have the rudder have enough 'bite' to move you the way you really want to go.

one more thing - I don't mean to sound critical, but mean this constructively: please when posting videos asking for help work on your video composition a bit. the beginning of your video actually made me sea-sick (ha ha - at least it gave me a sense of being on the water which is never a bad thing!) such close ups with the camera swinging from one thing to another makes it very difficult to see the details. 

David - Tampa, Fl


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## TrimJib (Oct 21, 2015)

Quite a learning adventure. 

Lots of great advice. I'm sure you resolved the problems by now. Lessons or go sailing with experienced hands. 

The reason to reef is to de-power the sail. De-power means making a sail flat; pulling out the curves both along the mast and along the boom. You de-power to keep control. Excessive heel is a great indicator of losing control. 

The reef line to the clew seemed to be tied to itself kissing the reef block. Making it impossible to be properly trimmed (tightened) to take the curve out along the boom. Wind pressure stretched the line allowing a deeper curve and more power to stretch more. 

The reef cringle should be just inches from the boom not what looks like 2 feet. The solution: don't tie the reef line to itself, instead tie it in a loop around the boom. When reef line pulled, the clew will be pulled aft and closer to boom. 

After applying the reef the sail needed to be hoisted until tight. This flattens the sail some and moves the curve forward, directing power forward. Importantly it allows the sail to support the boom, countering the massive pulling power of the main sheet tackle. Because it was loose there was more curve thus more power. This also caused the topping lift to fail as it tried to do the sail's job. 

The boom fell because the sail wasn't raised enough. 

There was hardly any heel. Indicating either the wind is on the nose or the sails aren't angled to the wind properly or both. Got to have wind flowing over trimmed sail to move. Got to have water flowing across the rudder to use it; large rudder angle is a brake. 

As to furling the jib. In 25 knots with the jib sheets cast off and using a 10:1 winch my 200 pounds can just inch in my jib. Respect the wind it always wins. Reef early, reef well. 

A year from now you'll look at that video and have a great laugh.


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