Something got me thinking about the single line in-boom reefing setup on my previous boat. Why can’t we do the same thing on our Nonsuchs? Take the outer reefing line at the block on the base of the mast where it turns back over the cabin top to the cockpit and instead run it up to a block at the tack reefing cringle on the sail. From there run it back down to the tack turning block at the base of the mast and onward to the cockpit. Voila: single line reefing.
I realize that (especially for the second reef) you are trading two long reefing lines for one even longer reefing line; but apart from that; is there a good reason not to do this? I always liked the simplicity of turning the boat into the wind, cranking in on a single line, and you are done. As a single-handed sailor the simpler it is to do something when conditions are going to pot the better I like it.
In a perfect world, I imagine that your idea would work and I do remember you mentioning this to me. I’d rather a tack line and a separate clew line for several reasons.
We are dealing with one BIG sail with a loose foot. I’d much rather take an extra moment and be able to really fiddle with each reefing line - not be stuck with a line that you pull, ending up with the tack or clew “not snug enough but there’s so much friction that I can’t pull anymore”, etc. Perhaps, if both CLEW reef lines ran INSIDE the CURVED boom (minimising the friction) this idea would be a bit less daunting. I know that John Newell has had much success with running lines inside the boom. It sure reduces friction.
I’m simply sceptical of being able to achieve a nice, smooth and damn tight reef with one achingly long line. What do the rest of the folks say ??
I did a quick search under “reef lines” but could not find the thread with John’s comments. Any leads you can provide would be appreciated.
I think that once it is hardened the single reef line would not be significantly longer then the leech reef line on a double line system, since the distance from the block to the tack and back when reefed is fairly short. You will, however have effectively doubled the load on the line since it handles the pull at both the tack and the clue. This means the stretch will be double from what it would be on a two line system. If your you old leech line stretched 3% the new single line will stretch 6%. The leech reef line when hardened will be approximately 40 feet long, cock pit to mast, up a couple of feet, along the boom to the outside reef point up to the leech cringle and back to the boom. 6% stretch in 40 feet would amount to about 1.5 feet. This much stretch would give poor sail shape. The line will have to be very low stretch to avoid this problem.
When we reef, according to Botts, we pulled the tack reef point down hard and the leech reef point is pulled to a distance of about 1 to 1.5 feet above the boom. With two reef lines you can adjust those two points independently but with a single line you are stuck with what the line gives. The single line would need to be rigged so that it pulled the luff down before the leech. My suspicion is that rigged the way you suggest, the leech would pull down before the luff with the result that when the leech cringles is at the correct point the luff will not be pulled down far enough. Even if you can get the two points at the correct setting I suspect that as you sail the line/sail will gradually shift until the luff and leech cringles are equidistant from the tie down points.
Hopefully someone has already tried the single line and can provide actual results rather then my mere speculation.
John Newell, it would be great if you could provide some more detail as there are some points you make which I confess that I don’t understand, and I’d like to!
To pull the tack reefing grommet to one side do you attach a block through the grommet with a hook? Is the hook secured? How?
I was wondering if it mattered if this fore tack reefing grommet is pulled down the side or stacked on top of the other cars. Wasn’t sure of the right answer or why. Seems like going to one side is jut a deeper reef, and might ultimately change the boom pitch angle a few degrees, as the clew/leach reefing grommet would necessarily go lower by the same amount.
“Failure to keep the halyard taught will result in track being pulled off”
Is this because with the halyard slack, all choker tension will be only opposed by those few cars directly opposite the clew?
On the idea of a single line reef, I find that I put a lot more tension on the outer/aft/clew/leach reefline than on the tack reef. I think this is because the tack reef grommet only deals with keeping the halyard tight, while the outer reefline is acting as a form of outhaul, opposing the fore/aft forces seen along the entire luff track as well as having less direct geometry (245 degrees vs 290 degrees), and also has a lot more friction. So I suspect the tack reef would be fully tensioned before I had the clew reef as tight as I wanted it.
One other thought. While reefing I’ve had issues with jammed/wrapped lines or caught-up sail or batten at one end or the other where I’ve been glad to only slack one of the two reeflines to fix my mistake..a single reefing line might work better ideally, but in practice I’m not so sure…!
We had single reef lines, but they are old and I have new line to replace them this spring. I am changing to separate tack and clew lines, the clutches are already there. I found that a single reef line was messy to use singlehanded because of all the turns it made and trying to snug up the right line at the mast while keeping a secure grip to a boat bouncing around in lumpy waters and higher winds. Hopefully separate lines will mean that I can stay in the cockpit. BTW, running the tack lines through the tack cringles and back down to the mast will cut the line tension in half, because the halyard is larger than the reef line.
As for a line doing double duty with tack and clew, tension is tension, regardless of path. However, the tack and clew must inherently have the same tension, no diferential adjustment allowed.
Tracy & Alan
“Corvus” NS30C Toronto
The 354’s came with a single line reef system, but it uses a floating block in the wishbone to tension the aft pennant. Both ends of the aft pennant are made fast at the aft end of the wishbone. The forward pennant pulls the floating block forward, which tensions the aft pennant. The tack cringle gets two-blocked before taking up on the aft pennant. First reef runs through port wishbone and second reef runs through starboard. Both lines come aft on port side of doghouse, inboard of halyard.
When we first purchased the boat, the reefing system was rigged like you suggest and, frankly, it was a nightmare. Nearly impossible to get proper clew tension. Changed it back to the original design and it works well. Keep choker loose and topping lift over tight until reef lines are set.
Although a single reef line is only one long line to haul away at, it never gets tight because it takes so many twists and turns through the tack and clew. Two lines each with half the hauling distance is simpler and more effective.
We have that floating block system on our club’s Catalina and it is always trouble. The block catches on anything and everything inside the boom. Worse, I can’t see any mechanical advantage to the Catalina’s floating block with single sheaves on both halves. What am I missing?Alan, “Corvus” NS30C Toronto
The twists and turns through the tack are eliminated because of the floating block. The tack comes tight fairly quickly, then all effort goes to the clew. Our wishbone is carbon fiber, so no screws protrude inside. Most double braids won’t work because they’ll impart twist. I’m using an eight strand plait that seems to work well. The floating block doesn’t add any mechanical advantage, it just eliminates all the clew pennant passing through the tack cringle. It also maintains tack tension with choker adjustments. Only the clew gets slacked or tensioned. The system works surprisingly well.
Thanks for all the replies guys. My previous boat had a conventional boom, so all the reefing lines had to do was hold the sail down. No adjustment required. It makes sense that a nonsuch might require a bit of additional tweaking, and hauling on two lines doesn't require much extra effort - especially since I installed stoppers for all my lines.
I have read several references here to reducing fiction in the lines that run down the boom by running then internally. How is that done? There seems to be great reluctance among Nonsuch owners to putting holes in the mast for fear of weakening it - surely the same concerns would apply to the boom? I'd love to see an explanation of how this is done if anyone can post it. It seems like an elegant solution to the friction problem, and a great way to improve the appearance of the Rigging as well.