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E26-2 : Reefing line setup

vasuvius

Member II
Here's a couple pics of how the reefing line is setup on my boat (by previous owner).
The lines are tied off at the reefing point clew and go in to the aft end of the boom. There are clutches at the mast end of the boom.
The 2 issues I am facing are:
1. There is no way to get the reefing point clew all the way down to the boom unless I am missing something. As a result the foot luffs a lot.
2. The line is 1/2" I think or maybe heavier. Pulling it through the clutches is a pain in the ass.

Any ideas on how to change this? For 1 above, I was thinking I could just use a bunch of ties through the cringles and tie off around the boom when reefed. But this is only possible when I have the second reef in.
For 2, How thin a line can I get away with?

Any other ways to rig the reefing line?

Pardon any terminology errors - I'm a newbie sailor.

ThanksIMG_0200.jpgIMG_0201.jpg
 

shepherdsond

Member I
I think tying the sail to the boom through the cringles would risk tearing the sail. I would only use the cringles to tie the sail to itself.

You could definitely use 3/8 line (what I use on my 33), maybe thinner even as long as it meets the strength requirement and works in the clutch...
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Yep, the UK diagram is it, and smaller line for sure.

The clutches are fine for your boat, but bear in mind that the reef lines need to be very tight in order to haul the sail not only down to the boom, but also aft toward the end of the boom. That keeps the reefed sail flat, which is important when it's breezy.

Here's the reefing sequence. My boat has reef downhauls, so everything can be done from the cockpit. You'll be going to the mast to attach the new tack to the reef horns and tension the reef line. (If you don't yet have "dog bones," put them on. Makes attaching tack to horn much easier.)

dog bones.jpg

Turn on YouTube Closed Captions (cc] for clarity:

 

vasuvius

Member II
Thank you Alan and Christian.

The UK sail pic looks perfect and straightforward.
I'll have to check the clutch to see if it will hold a smaller line or allow it to slip through.
I do have dog bones but no downhauls.
My sequence is almost the same as in the video except that I have to run to mast to get the dog bone rings on the ram horn
Do you all leave the reefing lines ready all the time? It's not that windy here in the NY/NJ area most of the time.

Sheperdsond -- On my previous clubs J29 boats we always used sail ties through cringles and tied the sail to itself and not around the boom. Thanks for the reminder :)
 

Roger Janeway

Member II
On our little E-26s it could get needlessly crowded to run reefing downhauls to the cockpit. I don't miss them. It's just a short couple of steps for us to the mast to slip the reef cringle over the ram's horn. You can simultaneously control the halyard by running it around the aft side of the winch on the starboard cabintop (for me, the winch I use for the mainsail and the halyard), then take the halyard with you as you go forward, releasing tension to pull the reef cringle down with your hand, then tensioning the halyard to keep the cringle in place until you can get back to the winch and haul the main up taut. (This is the kind of thing you can do on a small boat!)

The E-26 factory specs specify 3/8" lines of 45' for the leech reef lines. We can get them tight enough by hand with the clutches on the gooseneck, as long as you luff the main while doing this. (I recall reading that Kenyon provided upgraded clutches, because there were problems with early clutches slipping. My reef lines clutches are metal and seem to be the upgraded ones. They hold fine.)
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Couldn't agree more. Lines led back to the cockpit are at best a necessary evil, they mostly just make the cockpit crowded. And luff downhauls are a singlehander thing to be avoided if possible.

The less of everything the better, technique trumps gear.
 

Brad Johnson

Member III
On my 26-2 I bring the line from sheave up to sail cringe then to the boom loops built into the bottom of boom , I do bring it to the cockpit thru a clutch so I can use the cabin top winch to bring the sail down and back for outhaul tension. getting it tight with the factory set up is very difficult. Your only doing one thing at a time and your going to tighten the main halyard from the same position so I see zero negatives having the reef brought back to cockpit.
 

Alan Gomes

Sustaining Partner
On our little E-26s it could get needlessly crowded to run reefing downhauls to the cockpit. I don't miss them. It's just a short couple of steps for us to the mast to slip the reef cringle over the ram's horn. You can simultaneously control the halyard by running it around the aft side of the winch on the starboard cabintop (for me, the winch I use for the mainsail and the halyard), then take the halyard with you as you go forward, releasing tension to pull the reef cringle down with your hand, then tensioning the halyard to keep the cringle in place until you can get back to the winch and haul the main up taut. (This is the kind of thing you can do on a small boat!)

The E-26 factory specs specify 3/8" lines of 45' for the leech reef lines. We can get them tight enough by hand with the clutches on the gooseneck, as long as you luff the main while doing this. (I recall reading that Kenyon provided upgraded clutches, because there were problems with early clutches slipping. My reef lines clutches are metal and seem to be the upgraded ones. They hold fine.)
As I mentioned in this thread, you can easily fabricate a piece of shockcord to keep the dog bone ring in place while you get back to your winch to tighten the main halyard. I think this is better than running the halyard around the winch and leading it forward just to keep tension on the dog bone ring so it doesn't fall out. Think about the conditions in which you are often reefing and ask yourself whether you might put that hand to better use.

All you have to do is drop the halyard to a pre-defined mark, pop in the ring, fix the shockcord in place, and then go back to the cockpit to tension. Another advantage (which is something Loren had mentioned) is that if you know you want to set a reef right from the start, you can set the tack ring on the tack horn even before raising the sail and keep it in place with the shockcord. Then, you would not need to go forward at all.

As for the leech lines, I do run those back to the cockpit. I doubt that under all conditions you would find those gooseneck clutches satisfactory. I don't even bother with mine. Having a winch to add a bit of additional purchase is a good thing. You do want to get the sail flat.
 

vasuvius

Member II
On our little E-26s it could get needlessly crowded to run reefing downhauls to the cockpit. I don't miss them. It's just a short couple of steps for us to the mast to slip the reef cringle over the ram's horn. You can simultaneously control the halyard by running it around the aft side of the winch on the starboard cabintop (for me, the winch I use for the mainsail and the halyard), then take the halyard with you as you go forward, releasing tension to pull the reef cringle down with your hand, then tensioning the halyard to keep the cringle in place until you can get back to the winch and haul the main up taut. (This is the kind of thing you can do on a small boat!)

The E-26 factory specs specify 3/8" lines of 45' for the leech reef lines. We can get them tight enough by hand with the clutches on the gooseneck, as long as you luff the main while doing this. (I recall reading that Kenyon provided upgraded clutches, because there were problems with early clutches slipping. My reef lines clutches are metal and seem to be the upgraded ones. They hold fine.)
I agree. The boat and main sail are small enough to be able to easily raise the main and drop it to reef. Where can I find all the official specs for the boat? I have some spare 3/8" line - guess I can use that for replacing the reefing lines. I have the metal clutches - the hold a little too well.
I don't want to lead any more lines to the cockpit. Just 3 - main sheet and the jib sheets are enough.
 

vasuvius

Member II
I replaced the 1st reef line and it was fairly straightforward. I led line down from the gooseneck clutch to a block at the bottom of the mast - this makes it a lot easy to tension the foot. I can then cleat it off either closer to the cockpit or on the mast so I don't have to depend on the gooseneck clutch.
It was a timely fix as I took my wife out later in the afternoon that day and we need to reef down.
Will do the second reef line soon as i cut a piece of line. I think the first reef just need 35' and the second 45'.
 
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