Reefing Sails

Reefing Sails

I am for the most part a fair weather sailor. I like a nice steady wind, but when the wind is up and it is gusty it fast gets out of my comfort zone. When there is a strong and gusty wind I do not go out. If I am out I can reduce the amount of sail by reefing it and make the boat easier to sail and safer to sail. Having too much sail up is asking for problems and equipment failure.

When the wind gets stronger you have two choices. You can take down the large sail and replace it with a smaller sail or you can shorten the sail that is up by reefing the sail. 

Traditionally, mainsails have one or two rows of grommets across the sail that are parallel to the boom. A heavy duty re-enforced grommet call a cringle is at both the luff side of the sail (mast side of the sail) and the leech side of the sail (the side of the sail away from the mast). To reef the sail, the sail is lowered till the cringle of the reef line is at the boom level. A line is run through the cringle, under the boom to and through the next grommet, then under the boom to the next grommet, and this is done till you get to the other cringle. This ties the bottom of the sail to the boom and shortens the sail that is up. It is less work to reef the sail than to replace the sail. There are some things that you can do to make reefing a sail easier and quicker. One is try reefing a sail on a calm day to get see what is involved in doing it.

Most foresails or head sails also have reefing points. Today there are rolling booms that can let you have an infinite number of sail sizes by rolling the sail on to the boom. There are also other methods of boom furling setups called slab reefing and multi-line reefing systems that are now available. They all have advantages and disadvantages: some can be done single handedly but most need two or three people to use.

I try not to sail when I might have to shorten sails, but it is smart to know how to if the need comes up. Have fun and be safe sailing.

2 Forestays on the Sailboat

2 Forestays on the Sailboat

I have seen a number of photos in some of the magazines I get with sailboats with 2 forestays. The inner 2^nd stay may be a solent stay. The French call a 100% jib a solent. A solent stay flys a 100% or smaller sail, thus its name.  A solent stay is not like a cutter’s 2^nd or inner stay which has a fixed mount and located aft of the head-stay. The advantage with a solent stay on a sloop with a roller furling head sail is that it can be released and pulled aft and out of the way of the main head sail when not used.

With boats that have a roller furling head sail, and there is too much wind to have it full out, a solent stay with a small 100% or smaller sails on it, is a great solution. Sailing with a partially rolled up head sail can cause problems with the reefing unit, and it also may not be efficient. A solent sail or 100% or smaller foresail is also better when motor sailing.

The solent stay can be wire or line.  A line of a fiber like Dyneema is preferable because of the strength and light weight and it should have a strength equal to the head stay. The Solent stay is attached to the mast near and close to the top spar.

The solent stay needs a tensioning set up at the bow and a 3 to 1 tackle set up with a snap shackle is often used.   The snap shackle is used to release the stay and bring the stay aft when it is not in use. A halyard set up is also needed for the sail.

The sail can be a 100% or smaller sail that can hank on to the stay. The sail can be made so it can be reefed. 

Roller furling sails are great when you have the right amount of wind they were designed for. They can be a pain in the backside at other times. A solent stay and sail can solve that problem and make your sailing more fun.

Sailing hardware

Sailing hardware

I have seen two new Wichard hardware products written up in sailing magazines that look like things I would buy, but I have not found anyone that carries them. I went to the Wichard web site and it was useless to find a dealer from the site.

The two products were the MX solid halyard shackle and the Wichard Boom Brake. I found a link about the boom brake. (http://www.wichard.com/fiche-A|WICHARD|7150-0203030000000000-ME.html)

I like the boom brake and the way it can help in a jib of the boom. I just wish I could find a dealer that has them or could order one for me. 8-(

The same thing with the Ronstan “Shock” Block. I went to the Ronstan Web site but could not get a part number or find the product. I contacted a dealer that has Ronstan products and they were nice about it but they said with no part number they could not help. I even sent them a copy of the write up with pictures, but I heard nothing back from them.

It is nice to see what is new on the market, but it would also be nice if it was available.

MAYDAY Radio Call Procedures

MAYDAY Radio Call Procedures

The correct way of giving an emergency radio distress call is straight forward and simple.

         1.      Make sure the VHF-FM radio is on. 
         2.      Switch to Channel 16 
         3.      Press and hold the transmit button. 
         4.      Say:  MAYDAY MAYDAY  MAYDAY

           Also give :       Vessel name

                                 Position and location

                                 Nature of emergency

                                 Number of people on board

  5.      Release transmit button

  6.      Wait 30 seconds ---if no response repeat the MAYDAY

NOTE: Hoax calls are an offence and are subject to prosecution.

Old Sail / Recycled

What do you do with and old sail?

An old sail that has seen its better day and is blown out of shape so it no longer is good to use as a sail still has some uses. There is a lot of yardage of Dacron. A Dacron sail cloth is tough stuff.

You can make utility bags form the old sails, or make covers for winches, compasses and grills that need a cover. I have thought about making a dinghy cover from an old sail.

Some sails are not waterproof and others are. The ones that are not can be made waterproof with scotch guard if the cover needs to be waterproof.

Stitching old Dacron sails can be tough. If you tape the seam with double stick tape, the cloth is much easier to work with. The sail cloth can be cut with a hot knife and the hot knife leaves a nice edge to the cloth.

Old sails can also make a unique shade tent.

I do not like to throw out stuff if I can recycle it into something. Recycled sail stuff looks Nautical, is useful, and the price is right.