I like the sequence proposed by Bob Neeches, Me Gusta.
I was sailing across Lake Ontario in our N30U with my son who is a very experienced sailor and racer but not on the Nonsuch. We had to prepare for a line squall and preferred to sail through it rather than go barebones. The seas were starting to come from every direction and I find in those conditions the boat feels unstable without canvass. We took in both reefs but did not tighten the halyard after the tack reefs. We hit 9.6 kts down waves before the squall hit fully. The result was that the second clew reef may not have come in tight enough. Winds were gusting in the mid-40 kts. We flogged the sail a little in gusts on a medium to broad reach and the second reefing line chafed against the grommet. On inspection when we docked, the chafing had taken the cover off the reef and we replaced the line. Three points: first, following Bob’s sequence I believe would have allowed a tighter clew reef, 2. avoid squalls if at all possible but even with heavy winds and big lake waves the Nonsuch is very seaworthy, 3. put your heavy weather gear on before it hits even in warm weather or you will get very, very wet.
Another trick which can be helpful for reefing is to lash small blocks to the reefing clews, and run the reef lines through those blocks rather than the cringles in the sail. This lets the reefing lines run a tad more smoothly and chafe less.
That said, the highest wind I’ve ever seen here in Southern California was low 30’s. I was in 45 once in the Caribbean, but that was a couple dozen years ago. My experience with second reefing is strictly theoretical.
Not sure how you attach the blocks. If the reefing line doesn’t go through the cringle/gromet how does it bring the sail down? Line squalls are a hazard on the Great Lakes. Sailors need to know how to sail or motor through them if they are going to cruise or race any distance. Still, avoidance is best.
Bob is correct about using blocks at the reef clews. I also do that. It makes it easer to get tension when reefing. You can use shackles, soft shackles or lashing to attach them.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Nick - agree with the avoiding squalls; however, when transiting from Toronto to the Niagara area, sometimes you just get stuck and sigh.
With our 26, first time my partner Deb and our dog YoYo had crossed the lake, we got hit with one about 2 or 3 miles outside of Port Dalhousie.
When you know one is coming (we had a line of them go from Oakville to Mississauga but then the westerlies chimed in) I just kept the sail tied down, AIS transmit on (we were in a shipping lane from Welland Canal to Hamilton, and those ships go fast) and motor with just enough oomph to keep steering. Visibility was zero, but the chart plotter showed my position relative to the shore, and to other AIS transmitters. Waves, well, the Bimini and Dodger did well, but water still got us a bit wet as the water went up and under and over the dodger, but not as bad as I had thought.
Before we knew it, the sparkling sunshine was back, and we moored in Port Dalhousie none the worse for wear.
IMHO, my racing days are over, so slow and steady now wins…
My brother uses low friction rings attached to the clew with lashings. I bought small blocks about 15 years ago. They are still in the tool box waiting to be installed.if I had installed them the second reef block might have been used twice and the first reef block maybe 10 times. I like the idea of the low friction rings because they are lighter.
Here’s a picture of a block lashed on to a reefing cringle with the reefing line running through it rather than the cringle. A block is less chafe on the reefing line because the line doesn’t have to make a sharp bend over a narrow surface.
Lashing or webbing is preferable to just shackling it because a metal shackle jiggling around would be more likely to chafe the sail.
Depending on how much money you want to spend, you can either get a new-style block designed for lashing or a more traditional small fixed-shackle block. Although that affects how the lashing line’s connected to the block, the basic idea remains that you loop the line several times through the cringle and tie off the loops with some knot. (There are fancier knots, but a series of half hitches is probably sufficient.)
This particular sail is obviously not being presented as a role model – it’s in the process of being replaced.
