Reefing E39

[Sam Clemens]

Hello :

Wanting some advise on setting up my reefing.

I have two reef points in the main, roller reefing on the headsail thats not a problem.

The main is loose footed , has a outhaul on a track at the back of the boom controled from the front of the boom with a small winch.
This works great and the rig is easy to handle.

#1
What are my options for rigging to reef, I don't mind going on deck , this boat has a good deck to work off of and a good ride and I plan on reefing early and tieing off.

#2
I sail in 20 knts of wind with the main and 140 gen. up now at about 20-25 degrees.
Do you guys think I need to set up the second reef point, it makes the main really small and this boat seems really stable.
For now we are sailing in the Washington sound, won't blue water for a year of so.

Any diagrams would be helpful , I have 30yrs of commercial power boating and dingy sailing but havn't worked with this type of rigging.

Sam

 

[evm]

Hi Sam,

I have 2 reefs in our main. Currently we are not loose footed. There are turning blocks mounted on the boom outboard of the respective reef cringle by a few inches.
On the opposite side of the boom is an eye. The reef line is tied to the eye and run up to the cringle, through the sail and back down to the turning block. From there it goes forward through some fairleads to a winch and cleat. Of course there are matching cringles on the luff and reef points between the 2 cringles.

To reef we slack that halyard and lower the main until the luff reef cringle is at the boom. A rope strap is used to tie the new tack to the boom (more or less a cuningham). The halyard is tightened to give the desired luff tension. The respective line from the leach reef cringle is winched in until the desired foot tension is reached. Lastly the cunningham is tightened if needed.

I find that my E39 sails better with a first reef in winds over 18 knots or so. This keeps the boat on her feet and minimizes weather helm. I reef the furler down to around 100-110% in winds over 25kt for the same reason.

The second reef goes in around 30kt. Again the goal being to keep her on her feet. Most boats are designed to sail their best at 15 degrees of heal if I remember correctly. Plus the sail areas are set so that a 14kt wind will be optimum for full sails and 15% heal.(do I remember correctly?)

All this work is done from the mast. If you have a solid vang (I assume that you do!) remember not to lean on the boom when reefing. The load on the vang from your weight would be enougn to bend/break something. It is just a big lever.

Reef early and avoid problems is a good thing.

I'll see if I can get a picture with the main up next time I'm out to the boat.

--Ethan
Plus my wife does not like excessive heal angles. I have never put the rail under even with a full main and

 

[Seth]

reefing

It is generally good to reef or shorten sail earler than later, with heel angle and/or weather helm as your guide.

Also, you will find that if you are reaching in big air, the boat handles better and may be faster with a reefed main and full or partially furled Genoa, and when beating try to keep the main full as long as you can and go to a smaller headsail first. This will help you point higher...

The good news is you need nothing on the boom. Assuming the reef line(s) exit and the end of the boom, take the tail of the reef line directly up to the reef clew cringle and then down and around the boom. You can use a "reef" knot or even a bowline. The beauty of this (instead of hardware on the boom) is that the reef line self adjusts-with the angle of the reef line exiting the end of the boom and then going down, it automatically gets the proper blend of aft and down tension. This is how all the modern offshore boats do it nowdays.
Allways lower the luff first, set the tack, and re-tension the luff before doing anything at the clew. When unreefing, ease the clew first and then do the luff.

You can contact me directly if you want to chat more.

Seth Morrell
Doyle Sails Midwest/Ex-Ericson Factory

 

[Loren Beach]

I Second that Reef (Idea)...

"The good news is you need nothing on the boom. Assuming the reef line(s) exit and the end of the boom, take the tail of the reef line directly up to the reef clew cringle and then down and around the boom. You can use a "reef" knot or even a bowline. The beauty of this (instead of hardware on the boom) is that the reef line self adjusts-with the angle of the reef line exiting the end of the boom and then going down, it automatically gets the proper blend of aft and down tension."
_________________
I must add my vote to this method. I learned how to do this when I re-rigged the boom on our prior boat -- and on that boat we cut slots in the foot of the main to thread the reef lines through.
BTW, once you take the line "down and around the boom" you bring it back and tie it to itself with a shortened bowline, on our boat.

After acquiring the Olson, I found that I needed to remove the boom and rebuild it anyway, and so I took off the factory track on the side and plugged the holes. Then I went to the system that Seth describes.
It is simple and it works just as he sez it does. Nowadays I have a loose-foot main so it's even easier.

Best,
Loren in PDX
Olson 34 #8

 

[Seth]

reefing

Thanks Loren-well put! And thanks for clarifying the part about tying the reef line to itself-around the boom. That is of course what I meant to say.
CHEERS!

 

[Sam Clemens]

Thanks all for the response just what I was hoping for.

Evm: sounds like our boats are doing about the same and I'll need the second reef at about 30 knts.
Gotta love the way these boats sail closehauled , I must look like a grinning fool when I sail it. Thanks for the info you gave me before I bought it.

I'm hoping Seth may be able to send me a diagram of the reefing process he and Loren describes, sounds real simple and almost hardware free.

Hardware free would be good , everytime I add something or upgrade I have to drill holes , tap, chaulk ect.

Thanks again Sam

 

[Martin King]

My boat is also set up this way with the reef lines
tied around the boom however, what Sam describes
sound like a rock stock 39 boom. The only internal
lines were for the outhaul car. There are no sheeves
at the ends of the boom, and all the hardware is
external and fixed in place. This "method" won't work
without modifying the boom.

Most, if not all 39's came with a sliding gooseneck feature that was fashionable at the time, but complicated reefing since the boom wants to crash down to the stop the second the
halyard was ease -unless the boat had a solid vang. If this is a problem for you, I recommend you fix the gooseneck in place on the mast.

Martin