I did an almost complete redo of my running rigging, deck organizers, and rope clutches since last season. When I re-built the boom last year (new sheaves, new internal lines), I considered pulling all the existing internal tackle that was installed for single line reefing. In the end, I decided to give SLR another chance for the first reef, and to convert the second reef to separate down-haul and out-haul lines--all of which are led aft to the cockpit.
The in-boom rigging for the SLR consists of a shuttle-block that equalizes the tension on the outhaul and downhaul lines. The outhaul line is a fixed length of rope that gets "shortened" 50:50 as the downhaul line is brought in. It looks something like this:

I did a dry-run yesterday, and was pretty pleased with the lay of the lines, and how easy the system was to use: Lower the halyard, haul in the reef line, and it's done. I added sail ties, but with the Dutchman system, they're not really necessary to keep the reefed part of the sail bundled.

Haven't tried it in a real blow yet, but the first look seems promising.....
The in-boom rigging for the SLR consists of a shuttle-block that equalizes the tension on the outhaul and downhaul lines. The outhaul line is a fixed length of rope that gets "shortened" 50:50 as the downhaul line is brought in. It looks something like this:


I did a dry-run yesterday, and was pretty pleased with the lay of the lines, and how easy the system was to use: Lower the halyard, haul in the reef line, and it's done. I added sail ties, but with the Dutchman system, they're not really necessary to keep the reefed part of the sail bundled.


Haven't tried it in a real blow yet, but the first look seems promising.....
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