Reefing Systems for a Gunter Rigged BR20

[Graham W]

Does anyone have a clever idea about what to do with the tail end of a modified jib outhaul on a BR20?  Jonathan's BRe modification has it leading over the top of the cabin roof into a rope clutch.  The BR20 doesn't have a roof and its spray hood would be in the way of similar positioning.

[Peter Cockerton]

Graham

This is my attempt to get the main halyard and the topping lift into the cockpit so I can drop the main without dropping the spray hood. I have routed the lines round a block secured at the bottom of the tabernacle and then through the small cutout in the spray hood. Yes the lines do rub a little on the spray hood and I will need to put some protectors on the coming but so far in garden sailing it does work. If the spray hood does show rubbing wear i will get it slightly modified to resolve it.

Peter C

[Peter Cockerton]

If it helps Graham this is how the yard routed my jib drum line to support reefing and furling without dropping the spray hood

[Graham W]

Clever!

I've just tried something a bit similar, using low friction eyes on strops, existing bullseye fairleads and jamming cleats (to avoid drilling any more holes).  The results were disappointing.  I don't know whether I've got too much friction in the experimental BRe type system but I found it much easier to get the back of the jib boom off the deck with the existing jib outhaul, without the benefit of mechanical advantage.

Back to the drawing board.

[Graham W]

I'm going to have a go at slab reefing the aft part of my gunter-rigged mainsail, using this and subsequent postings as a guide https://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,821.msg5030.html#msg5030.

Having read up on the subject (well, what else is there to do?), it seems that the reefing lines should be on the starboard side of the boom, so that you're on a starboard tack while you're fiddling about;  and the lines should be led forward to cleats near the mast.  The problem with my current system of hooking and unhooking the cringles at the aft end of the boom is that if you forget to pull in the mainsheet, you may find yourself catapulted over the side.

There was a complaint somewhere on the forum that reefing often resulted in dangling string misery.  I don't know how well it would work on a gunter BR20 but I came across a 1990's idea by Roger Barnes reprinted here https://woodenboat.org.au/rogers-reefing-refinement/.

[Graham W]

During lockdown I decided that I would try to install slab reefing on the leech of my gunter-rigged BR20 mainsail.  More than three years later, I have finally got around to doing something about it.  I have been spurred on by a near-MOB incident in the Hebrides when I was trying to secure a violently flapping clew while reefing down in a squall.  Those of you with the Bermudan rig are spared such dramas.

Jonathan Stuart mentioned a helpful article in the DCA magazine.  Written by Roy Downes in issue 219 (Summer 2013), it relates to bringing the lugsail into the 21st century.  As Jonathan said at the time, it is full of good ideas, particularly on reefing, that could equally be applied to other sails.

One of the ideas is to have a single reefing line running down the starboard side of the leech, instead of one line for each leech reefing point which runs down either side of the sail and under the boom and involves a spectacular amount of string.  As discussed here https://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,3581.msg19404.html#msg19404.

The top of the single reefing line would be tied permanently to the leech cringle at the second reefing point.  The attachment to the first reef leech cringle would be a temporary "Dutch shackle", or at least that's what Downes calls it. This will be easier to photograph (in due course) than describe but in summary a loop of the reefing line is passed through the cringle from starboard to port.  The top end of a short piece of thick rope is sewn on to the port side of the sail and the bottom end is passed through the loop, stopping it from pulling back out of the cringle.  If you want to do a second reef, pull the thick line out of the loop and the reefing line is then released from the first cringle, directly attaching it to the second.  The reefing line would then in either case pass down through a low friction eye or cheek block on the starboard side of the sprit boom and thence to a cleat of some sort at the forward end of the boom.

Can anyone think of any reason why this wouldn't work?  It might not be as tidy at the aft end of the sail compared to conventional slab reefing but would avoid the risk of sail leech MOB misery and would also mean that the outhaul at the sail clew could remain attached throughout.  If it worked really well, I might also try this Dutch shackle idea on the mainsail luff reefing points, although it would mean abandoning two of the luff parrel bead strops securing the sail to the mast.

The second idea in the Downes DCA article is probably worth considering by more than just owners of gunter-rigged boats.  There are many complaints on the forum about dangling string from the mainsail and boom, especially the bits associated with reefing.  Downes suggests a length of bungee cord wrapped around the boom several times at the forward end, to produce a long spiral.  Spare string can be tucked into this spiral once the reefing and outhaul lines are secured, thus keeping them out of the way.