My leech reefing lines run inside of the wishbone, but are otherwise pretty similar to how you’ve described it. My line exits the boom using an exit block rather than a cheek block like on yours, so that’s different. And I don’t get any chafe there. BobN has published some photos of his setup and you might want to look at them to see how he deals with this problem. He likes those low-friction rings. Discourse might offer a link to his post, but if not you can search for it easy enough.
I’m not sure why you would need a fairlead on the opposite leg of the wishbone (“leg” or “wing”?). On my boat there is just a fairly light-duty screwed on padeye to keep the line from slipping out of place when not reefed. The tension when reefed is taken by the line being tied around the boom with a bowline as you have described yours. But I am not the ultimate Nonsuch rigger! This is just how the boat came to me. Though it does seem right and matches the manual.
Thank you Brian,
What I described as a fair lead is exactly what you called a light padeye.
We are speaking of the same thing.
The exit block usage as you described would work perfectly.
Possibly if the cheek block were mounted 50degrees below the C/L of the wishbone it might work.
When your leech is reefed the line goes from the block on one side of the wishbone, up through the eye, and then back down to the other side of the wishbone. But that height/angle is variable, depending on your reefing procedure. And there is only one correct exit angle from your cheek block on the first side of the wishbone. Any other angle will result in chafe. So is it possible that you’ve got the reef set wrong? Maybe the eye is too high or too low compared to the wishbone? Or a better way to say it would be maybe the wishbone is too high or too low in relation to the eye, since adjusting the wishbone is how you would adjust this angle.
There is a reefing procedure published somewhere around here. I’m sorry that I don’t have a handy link, but if it doesn’t appear soon or via the AI, I’ll try and hunt it up. But basically, you need to raise the end of the boom using the topping lift before you actually reef the leech. (And reefing the forward/luff end comes before the leech.) Once you’ve raised the boom and taken in the leech reefing line you let the boom back down until the leech reefing line is supporting it. At this point, look at how the line exits your cheek block and analyze whether you need to set the boom higher or lower in relation to the eye in the sail so that the line will exit the block at the correct, non-chafing, angle. Once you’ve figured out exactly how high to put the boom, you can make a mark on your leech reefing line, making it easier to set it next time. I wish I could remember to do this on mine! But I really don’t reef enough to worry about it.
Again, I’m not an expert at this! I’ve only done it a few times, plus just replaced all of my running rigging which made me look at and understand all of the parts.
I didn’t actually mean to suggest a particular angle. Just that raising or lowering the boom will change the angle of the line leading out from the cheek block. So you can adjust it for the optimum non-chafing angle or for the optimum sailing angle of the line. If those are different, then you might need to change how the block sits on the boom. Sounds difficult to me. So I hope the low friction rings work. Good luck!
Looking at the picture you posted, I think the rotational position of the cheek blocks is not a factor. The only two things I can think of as possibile factors are:
Playing with the angle of the boom relative to the reefing clew might help. Over the years, I’ve seen varying advice on this topic. Some of it has said that the clew should be in line with the boom, while other advice has said it should ride about a foot above.
The clew should be ending up a bit forward of the corresponding turning block. If you’re seeing chafing, it sounds like the line’s running over the back edge of the outer plate. Is it possible that your clew is coming in a bit too far back?
Here’s a picture of my clew with the first reef in. The turning blocks are in about the same rotational position on the mast as yours. The clew’s forward of the block. No chafe’s going on. You can see that I took the advice of the “reef clew in line with the boom” Nonsuch sailing articles, but you can also see that there’d be no chafe if the clew were above the boom. The key is that the clew has to be forward of the turning block.
(In case anyone following the thread on line size is interested, the green reef line is 5/16” New England Sta-Set.)
Problem 1 can be addressed by playing a bit with the topping lift adjustment.
Problem 2 could happen under a couple of different circumstances. If your choker is completely loose, rather than just slack enough to avoid friction raising/lowering the sail, the boom could swing enough forward that the sail clew ends up beside or behind the turning block.
Also, there could be an issue with the way the sail’s positioned relatively to the boom. Where the choker was set at the time the sail clew was attached to the end of the boom can have a lot of effect on where the clews fall relative to the turning blocks.
This next picture shows the aft end of the sail with green aft first reef line and red aft second reef line both angling slightly forward. I consider that an indicator that the sail and the boom are oriented sufficiently with respect to each other.
Honestly, I’m not finished fiddling with my own set-up, though. I’d really like to tweak my arrangement so the boom end stays further back from the helmsman’s head.
Caveat: I offer no guarantees that mine is the correct analysis. Key words above were, “the only two things I can think of.”
Can you tell where the chafing is occurring? Just sort of eyeballing it looks to me that if the reefing line is pulled so tight that it runs almost straight across, it could chafe on the side of that cheek block. It would also exert a very strong force pulling the sides of the wishbone together. If the boom is lower than the eye, then the line would angle upwards from the cheek block and might exit from it more cleanly. That’show mine is setup, though it looks like Bob’s is the opposite. You might experiment with different boom heights relative to the reef eye and look very critically at the whole line to achieve the best angle.
I wonder if you could find a NS30 owner who doesn’t experience reef line chafe and compare your sail to theirs. If they are identical, I’d check the length of the wishbone hangers, because they also impact sail shape…. which may be why you have chafe and other NS30 owners do not.
A couple comments earlier in the thread hinted that maybe there is something unique about your sail that is leading to chafe on Southpaw’s reefing line. You mention angles of the reef line that have to be a certain way to allow you to flatten Southpaw’s sail with choker.
I’m NOT a sailmaker, but it seems moving the leach reef point up a few inches would change the angle of your reef line ( reduce chafe ) and give you more adjustment room for the choker. I wouldn’t make any changes without some positive evidence your sail is different from other NS 30 sails.
Even though I’ve had Soave for two seasons I still catch myself thinking of her wishbone as a boom, and sometimes I use my previous sailing experiences to understand ( or misunderstand) Nonsuch sail shape. The thing I most often confuse is that I think of the choker as just a flattening tool ( like an outhaul ). The wishbone is not perpendicular to the mast and it bisects the sail into an upper and lower sections ( above and below the wishbone ). I’ve started to see the choker as both an outhaul and a vang in a single control. The ratio of vang force and outhaul force isn’t something we control, it’s determined by the cut of our sails, length of our wishbone hangers, somewhat by our topping lift ( which rarely use while sailing ) and also our mainsheet which adds some vang-like force while we’re close-hauled.
I’m finding….
Nonsuch = easy boat to sail, but takes experience to sail well…. acquiring experience = fun.
I think sailing a Nonsuch is quite different in many respects than sailing a sloop. For example, a vang isn’t a basic necessity in a sloop or other Marconi rigged boat. It’s a fix for a drawback in the design. An expert like Ron can turn it into a tool on a sloop, but it’s one that we don’t have or need. I have been using the choker more and more and I do think it makes sense to think of it as a sail power controlling tool. Our sails (mine anyway) tend to form a really clean shape. With the wishbone passing below, but close to the C/E of the sail, it can be used to add or remove power without changing that optimum shape. I have been experimenting with that out in the ocean in fairly constant winds and I can often see half a knot or more difference in my speed within seconds after an adjustment.
I have been using this regularly to get me through the 1/4 mile or so zone where Point Loma accelerates the wind. Last week we were in that zone, paralleling the Californian (130’ schooner that could easily leave us in their wake if not carrying tourists). My friend wanted video of the schooner, but another boat was between us. I asked him to ease the choker quite a bit and we shot from 7.2kts to 7.8kts (GPS). Once ahead of the other boat he tightened back up and we slowed to a more comfortable 7.2kts and he got a nice bit of video.
Edit: the 8kts in my original post was a typo due to cut/paste error on my little phone screen. It was 7.8kts as I’ve corrected. But we did hit 8.2 kts twice that day and spent most of our 6 hours over 7kts. That friend is more energetic than the usual “crew" who go out with me, but I have hit 8.2kts on a couple of other occasions. That seems to be my top speed as I have never exceeded it.
My first reaction to your suggestion was incorrect.
YES
There is only one correct angle that will avoid chafe.
My reaction was based on how I reefed my sloop.
It had to be tight because it was acted as the outhaul
So
I tightened the reef line until it ran almost straight.
I ignored the choker and topping lift
Thank you Bob N
Your picture showed the angle created by a slacker reefing line.
I do believe the Choker/Topping lift positions will work with my cheek blocks.
SO
I’ll be fooling with that during the next blow
BUT
I still think juggling these three controls to set one corner of the sail is a bit fussy.
SO
Next year I’ll do some fooling with a single low friction ring on each reef.
NOW THAT WAS FUN!
Fran Cichowski
Southpaw N30U #300
Spicers Marina Noank CT
NS233
(Bob Neches, Me Gusta, Nonsuch e26U #233)
14
I’d hope this is something that can become a pretty routine process, once you’ve worked out what’s needed for your boat.
People have varying preferences in how they like their lines run back to the cockpit. I have mine set up so that halyard and forward reefs are all together on one side. Aft reefs, choker, and topping lift adjuster are on the other. That gives me one place to do the drill for a forward reef, and another to do the drill for the aft.
