This is a timesaving method for tying in the intermediate reefpoints in the body of the sail. It is faster to do and particularly to undo. And won’t rip the body of the sail if a main reefline lets go. The article is based on the simplified method of reefing racing yachts as an alternative to reefing ties or tingles.
RELATED LINK – All our Lug Rig Articles – over 20 directly useful articles on setting up and thinking about lug rigs.
The new fast reefing system for Lug sails is also cheap and simple
This method has been developed by the Goat Island Skiff Sailors on our Facebook group. It is a very simple system that requires a single knot and one snap hook to attach the clew of the sail to the outhaul.
We used fixed size loops that are presized rather than conventional adjustable or tied off reefing lines.
The main reefing eye at the luff has a fixed loop sized to drop over the front end of the boom. That is the front end done.
The main reefing eye on the leach (back edge of the sail has a fixed loop that has been carefully sized to bring it up to the same length as the foot of the sail. When it comes time to reef that loop is dropped into the same snap hook that holds the clew. Then the two loose ends of the loop are tied under the boom.
Video image can take a moment to load.
How long does it take to fully reef a lugsail – time it in real time
I don’t use the lazyjacks that Teo uses in his video above – not good for racing and I worry about the sail being high up or hard to drop in extreme conditions – I think they are great on bigger heavier boats with more stability.
At the same time I have to concede that the lazyjacks do make some manoeuvres simpler and faster.
I drop the sail into the boat and rehoist. I’ve done this several times between club races. It takes about two minutes to put a reef in and rehoist the sail about a minute to take it out and rehoist. This is the 89sqf Oz Goose sail.
You have to practice to do it very quickly.
This is Teo doing a reef afloat. It takes him one minute – time it.
Video image can take a moment to load.
Is there a need to do anything More to tidy up the sail? Maybe Not.
It is quite possible just to reef the main lines at the edge of the sail and not worry at all about tying up the middle of the sail. That’s what the racing guys do. They don’t want to have to waste time tying in and untying middle reef points.
This photos shows my BETH sailing canoe with only the main reefing lines tied in … the middle part of the sail is just allowed to do what it wants.
That is … intermediate reef lines are far less necessary than people think.
However … if going a long long way in rough weather having a big bag at the bottom of the sail can carry inconvenient water or do something else that may not be fun. So then we have to talk about intermediate ties.
When racing my Oz Goose I never put in the intermediate ties. Makes it easier to rehoist or drop the sail.
Reefing a Dinghy or canoe is very different from reefing a yacht
Fairly regularly we see discussion about yacht type systems where the sail is supported by lazyjacks or a topping lift.
I don’t think this is generally a good idea on boats that depend on crew weight for stability. If the wind in completely crazy we don’t want to be standing up in the boat trying to clip or tie parts of the sail to get it under control. Not to mention reaching to leeward.
It is far better to get the sail down into the boat, sit on it and tie in the reefs to rehoist.
We have a new page on reefing developments from the Goat Island Skiff Group.
When you need to reef there is often some urgency. And having the sail thrashing around up in the air – and you crouching or standing to tie in the reefs is absurd.
Sometimes we see “single line reefing” attempted on small boat. This seldom works due to friction or fails to work because of the complication of the system.
Instead of individual reef ties – how about using one bungee!
One of the advantages of a balance lug sail is reasonably easy and efficient reefing. I put together a guide on how we do it on Storer Boats. it is a useful method to consider as it is faster than tying individual reef points. It will suit John Welsford’s SCAMP, several traditional Humber Canoe Yawls, Bolger Martha Jane, Pheonix 3, Piccup Pram and many others
We suggest having the normal major reefing lines at the front and the back of the sail as per normal.
Instead of individual lacing use the all in one solution below rather than individual ties or tingles. It is fast to put in and take out and won’t damage the sail if one of the reefing lines lets go. One knot to do up and one knot to undo.
The Drawing for Using continuous Shockcord (bungee) instead of Individual Ties
This diagram just shows the front end reefing because I want to make a point about having the line permanently there and just pulling on through the cleat.
Many boats are unhappy when the crew moves forward so having a cleat to pull in the major that can be reached from the middle of the boat is quite useful.
The Traditional method.
Step 1 – Front Main Reef Line
Left Image above.
The sail is reefed normally by lashing down the luff and leach using the big eyelets on the edge of the sail. As small boats get less stable as you move forward in the boat having a reefing line tied off on the boom, through the front eye for the reef and to an eye or block on the sailthen back along the boom to a cleat. I would recommend either a CL217mk2 Clam cleat (it is a side entry cleat so you don’t need to thread it or a traditional horn cleat.
If this is tied in first and pulled very tight that is enough. I would probably recommend spectra for the rope so it doesn’t stretch at all.
Back Main Reef Line
Mid image above
The back end is more accessible from the body of the boat usually so can be tied in manually.
It is very important the sail is tied down to the boom as well as pulled out towards the end of the boom. If the reef is going into the front sail on the boat, don’t overflatten the sail. Depth in the foot of the front sail will help you keep going against waves, particularly upwind. Much, Much faster. It gives you power low down that won’t heel the boat too much and a touch more weather helm to stop the waves knocking the bow off the wind.
Basically you want to have a depth to chord (distance direct between the tack and clew of the sail) ratio of 1:10. So put a mark on the boom for the back of the sail and write “Reef 1” or “Reef 2” beside it. Guide marks like this can save a lot of time and reduce the risk of making an error.
As discussed above – it might not be necessary to do the lacing at all.
Reef Lacing – the major simplification
Right image above.
As there is some urgency usually attached to reefing and simpler system . For most boats the reef lines are the important item. But often when there is some chance that the sail will be unreefed a bit later or there is not time to snug everything down racing sailors won’t bother at all with the reef point lacing in the body of the sail. It depends on the boat but often the untidiness is not great.
Additionally, the traditional solution of an individual tie at each of the eyelets is slow and awkward to put in and remove. Also it is a rigid system. If one of the reefing lines comes undone all the load will go on the first sail tie and risks ripping the reef point eyelet out of the sail.
I recommend the same method used on racing yachts. They use a thin shock (bungee) cord that spirals around the boom and will stretch and not damage the sail if a reefing line comes undone or breaks. Also the number of eyelets is minimised.
METHOD
(This is AFTER the front and rear main reef lines are set up and the reef is in but not tidied up)
Note that however you tidy up the sail – if the sail is loose footed, the intermediate ties go underneath the sail. If the sail is laced to the boom then the ties go underneath the boom.
- Bungee/shockcord is not large diameter. 4mm (next size up from 1/8″) is about perfect. Tie a 4″ (100mm) loop in one end with a bowline. Pull the knot tight tight as it needs to stay there permanently.
- Put the bight of the loop through the front reefing eye and stretch over the front of the boom.
- Grab the other end and go under the boom (if the sail is laced along the boom) or under the sail (if the sail is loose footed.
- Go through the first intermediate reefing eye.
- Go under the boom and sail again and through the next intermediate reefing eye … and so on.
- After going through the last intermediate eye go through the reef grommet/eyelet on the edge of the sail and then tie off the shockcord/bungee with a couple of half hitches.
It is also quicker than tying in several separate ties along the boom. Tying individual reef ties belongs on full crew square riggers doing Cape Horn!
To release:
- Untie the two half hitches at the back end.
- Pull some of the slack through untile only the tied in loop at the front is attached.
- Remove the loop from around the front of the boom
- For a lug rig, ease the downhaul
- Release the main reefing lines front and back
- Rehoist the sail.
- For lug rigs, retension downhaul
Note that with larger boats it is best to set up the main reefing lines before you go sailing. We recommend this with the forward end of the reef with small boats too as it keeps the crew in the bow for a much shorter time, whereas the aft end can be sorted out with a length of line in many boats rather than needing fittings on the boom.
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