Hello NS36’ers -
I am curious if anyone has 3 reef points set up on their Nonsuch 36? I was reading the manual and saw that option. Considering the 740 sf sail area, it sounds like it might be a good option.
Thanks!
Bob Gehrman
NS36 #52 “Fortunate”
Warwick, Rhode Island
I haven’t found it to be necessary as of yet, I have had my 36 out in over forty, and 2 reefs seemed to handle it fine. I have rarely needed the second reef in fact. Of course that is your decision to make, you need to be comfortable with your choice.
Steve Currier
N 36 #41 Caper
Old Lyme, Ct.
For what it’s worth, I had two reefs put in my 765sf sail. The boat is only rigged for one, which seems to be fine even in the 35+kt blows we get in the Bay.
Often I don’t reef at all and just let it out when I’m beating upwind or broad reaching to keep ‘er at around 15-20° of heel. And I much prefer a tight, fully choked mainsail to the always not-quite-properly-shaped reefed sail. But that’s just me…
Now understand, on the Bay we don’t get big swells, only wind and tidal current waves, so I can’t speak to whether a second or third reef would be advisable in big ocean swells, or confused seas in the Atlantic.
Michael Jabara
Hobbes II 1995 NS 354
San Rafael, California
I have the 3rd reef points in my sail and all the necessary hardware. Just missing the lines. I find it hard enough to get good sail shape with 1 or 2 reefs with my older, blown out sail, that I haven’t explored the 3rd reef. I end up feathering and/or sheeting out when I get overpowered.
I find with all the windage from the wishbone and gathered sail in the slings when reefed, in gusty, shifty conditions and short chop, she can be a handful, especially before getting back up to speed after a tack.
Still learning what makes her tick!
Michael
NS 36 #29 Grande Dame
Kingston ON
Here's a great article. Although written for Bermuda rigged sloops, much is
applicable to our cat-rigged Nonsuches...
Staying In Control In Breeze
https://www.quantumsails.com/en/resources-and-expertise/articles/how-to-maintain-control-in-breeze
*Michael Jabara*
Hobbes II 1995 NS 354
San Rafael, California
By the time you’ve gotten to a third reef on an N36, you’ve collected a lot of loose sail in your jackline cradle or sailcover. Having been on a boat making 2.5 kts sideways in 26 kts of wind, I’m not sure I’d want to be on a N36 in 35-40 kts with that much windage underneath the reef points.
I find myself wondering if at that point, one might be happier with the superior strength and shape of a storm sail.
I personally would be a lot happier not being out in conditions that require a third reef in the first place. With modern forecasting capabilities, there are not that many places in the world where winds of that strength are going to catch you by surprise. So, it’s more a choice than a necessity.
That said, other folks aren’t entitled to have different senses of what’s fun than I do.
– Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch 26U #233
Bob -
Is your last line a Freudian slip ??
I would not have a 3rd set of reef points with all of that line, more rope clutches, whatever on an NS36 (which is a bit smaller than a battleship … but only a bit). You sum up the reasons perfectly. Most of the bigger Nonsuches that I have any knowledge of have almost never even put in a 1st reef, let alone a 3rd.
Two reefs are plenty, IMHO.
Ernie A. in Toronto
To avoid lots of windage when reefed, I use “Bunt lines”.
bunt·line
NOUN
a line for restraining the loose center of a sail while it is furled.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Love reading experience Nonsuch owner
Thanks
Jean
N30C 224
Berthierville
Envoyé de mon iPhone
Joe, re bunt lines. Fully agree, that’s the right thing to do to make the best of a bad situation. A big bundle tied up is smaller than a big bundle loose.
But it’s still a big bundle.
I was raised on the old saying that, “A skillful seaman avoids situations that require skillful seamanship.” So, I stick with the position that, if you need a third reef – what’re you doing there? And if you’re there because you want to be, is a third reef the best preparation for being there?
There are some excellent documents on the INA web site with recommendations from the factory on how to modify a Nonsuch for offshore sailing. I’d argue that folks expecting/intending to get into third reef situations would do well to review those. Especially since, by the time a N36 needs a third reef, you’re not likely sailing in calm seas. So, there’s additional conditions to consider, not just wind speed.
Ernie, re was, “other folks aren’t entitled to have different senses,” a Freudian slip. Um, well…hmmm…yep. Busted.
– Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch 26U #233
Joe -
In theory, a bunt line makes perfect sense. That piece of line would sit roughly halfway between the (second ???) clew reef point of the sale and the mast, right ?? This means that you have to go forward to tie it up, further forward than you can reach from the cockpit.
I’ll assume that you do not have a 3rd reef point. I already got into trouble for suggesting, a while ago, that “one shouldn’t go forward in a Nonsuch” yadda yadda. It was suggested that I was a bit of a 
.
Well, I’m not really a chicken at all but I don’t like fighting with a madly flapping load of sail as the boat points into the wind (and I’m alone and the tillerpilot is driving) so I’d rather put up with the windage !!
I know that our boats can actually be reefed while sailing (not fun, that, mind you - I’ve done it) but that puts the boom out over the side so no bunt line.
But, as always, good to know the name.
Ernie A. in Toronto
Don’t have a third reef, Bob. When the need arises for a reef, we roll the sail up and hold it rolled with the bunt lines that live in the cringles. Very little windage then.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
The only time I use the bunt lines is when racing to reduce the crabbing. Because they live there, they’re easy to use.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Obviously, English not being my native tongue, I googled “bunt line” and hit “show me images”… You must be an American Joe, to come up with a gun to tie up a problem.
Just kidding Joe…
Keep 'm coming. I’m following this thread with interest.
mark h
n36#25 Rollercoaster
The Netherlands, Europe
That Buntline is used to discourage Orcas from playing with your rudder.
Mike Jennings.
NSC005 Chancy.
Port Moody, BC.
Mark,
As a Canadian, raised in a place where the war of 1812 was fought and sailing where our border with good friends south of us is often within view, and taking your google expertise into account, “ik voel nattigheid”.
(love that dutch expression; I first heard it decades ago when living/working there; my first thought was “they feel dampness??” I thought they were talking about potential issues with some construction plans. Then the penny dropped (using an expression my dutch colleagues had a hard time with!))
Good googling, interesting use of words, learning something every day.
JohnS NS26C 046, Bath, Ontario.
Yes, this way I don’t have to leave the cockpit. I just shoot the lines on.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
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[/details]That’s quite true about the Orca use and for some strange reason, they’ve become more popular lately!!
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
If you try using those buntlines on Orcas they will just become very angry and rip your rudder off. I think that is how the whole problem started in the first place. The Orcas came over for a friendly chat and someone pulled a buntline on them.
When you advance past 65 or are in a boat “ik vole nattygheid” can lead to “ongeluk”
Mark Powers
op de lenspomp