Reefing Headsails

[ack]

Ian/Brion,

I'm reading one of Lin and Larry Pardy's early books and they talk about reefing head sails rather than changing to another sail to account for different wind conditions. I've pondered this idea before reading the book and now I'm really intrigued. Brion, if you remember, I'm rerigging my 45' Bruce Roberts in Biloxi, MS and I'm seriously considering staying with my hank on sails. Before my current boat I owned a 38' Morgan 383 that had roller furling. It was convenient, but it could hang up at some inconvenient times, added extra windage, bad sail shape when partially furled, worrying about storms unfurling and ripping the sail up, etc. Ian, I printed and kept your idea on modifying head sail bags to make bagging them easy. If I can modify a headsail or two so they reef and make them easy to bag, I see no reason to put on a roller furler. I actually purchased one serveral years ago and was waiting to rerig to install it. Maybe I'll just sell it instead.

My only reservation is comparitive boat size. The Pardy's boats and sails are are a good deal smaller than what I sail and use, but will that make a difference in headsail reefing principals? Thanks, guys.

Eric Peterson
Biloxi, MS

[Ian McColgin]

A jib that's not set on a bowsprit and has no boom or that's loose-footed is easily reefed if your boat can heave-to with the jib down.

Just stuff it against the leeward lifelines and work back, moving the tack, tying in each reefing nettle reasonably snug, and moving the sheets to the new clew. Unlike reefing a sail to a boom, you don't have issues of exact reef-point strain to worry about.

All the work can be done sitting on deck with feet firmly on the leeward toe rail so it's very safe and stabile. You'll want a tether to the weather jack line just incase your boat does a wave plunge and green water sweeps the deck.

A handy trick for bagging jibs is to put a hole in the bottom of the bag big enough to get a fist through. Outside the bag at the bottom, attached to the bottom loop handle if you have that, is a bit of line maybe 3' long.

Once the sail is down, held down by the downhaul, and laid along the leeward rail, reach from the outside through the hole in the bag with the end of that line in hand. Pull the opening of the bag back over your forearm, get your arm around the jib about midway from tack to clew, pass the line around the sail and back to your fist, and withdraw your arm, pulling the line which can then be secured as tightly as is convenient.

Bagging the sail becomes just shoving the bag over the sail and stuffing till you get to the point where the clew and the luff are all that's exposed. When you unhank, everything stays about in order.

Your other jib was bagged the same way so just haul the bag to the stay, find the tack, and start hanking on in order. Get the sheets attached, untie that line through the bottom hole and pull it out, and just whip the bag off when ready to hoist.

I've done this in the proverbial dark and stormy with (relative) ease, (a bit less) comfort and perfect safety.

G'luck

[ack]

Thanks, Ian. I don't have a jib boom or a bowsprit so I think I'm good.

Yes, I remember your jib bag tips from one of your posts a good while ago. I printed it out and put it in my binder of important sailing ideas and improvements. I used your lazy jack tips also. Well, I think I'm pretty convinced now and I'll just keep my hank ons and sell the furler I never used.