Reefing a Small Sailboat. Catalina 22 - Jim's Little Boat - Single Line Reefing vs Double Line

Jim and Marland reef Jim's Catalina 22, Bootstrap. Jim demonstrates the difference between single and double line reefing.
Jim's Little Boat is dedicated to helping beginning sailors and providing a video reference for work on their own boats. There are more than 50 videos in the Jim's Little Boat archives of You Tube. While some of the videos are very specific to Catalina 22 sailboats, most are general and apply to all small mono-hull sailboats.
You can reach Jim directly at: [e-mail]
You can reach Jim directly at: [e-mail]
Reefing is an important skill for single-handed sailing: • Single-hand Your Small...

[@markgardner8542]

First one here! Yay!

[@genglandoh]

Thanks for the ending recap about the slug.

[@rexnicious]

I recently bought a Capri 25, and didn’t realize until my third time out on the bay that my boat has one of those thumb screws in the mast. I totally missed it the first two trips, and I was kicking myself because it’s a royal pain to hoist the main without that screw to prevent the slugs from falling out.

[@jedlankitus3577]

I did the same with my cal 25-2 and suffered for a year! The little things make all the difference

[@teach1644]

Question Jim: my daughter 17 and me 65 both sail. We are moving to the NW Seattle/Spokane and want to buy a sailboat, a smaller one. We want to sail the San Juan’s and Puget Sound all over… should we get a Cat 22? Thanks very much!!!

[@jimslittleboat4388]

There is a lot to recommend the Catalina 22. They made a lot of them so there are many to buy. They are easy to fix: Lots of used parts and lots of parts support through Catalina Direct. Not the snappiest tacker in the small boat fleet but great on a broad reach, stable. I considered an O'Day also a great boat and a San Juan 21 and settled on a C22.

[@teach1644]

Should I look for retract keel, a winged fixed keel or a twin keel on the C 22?

[@jimslittleboat4388]

@@teach1644 I almost bought a fixed keel. But I am glad I didn't. The keel bolts had already been sistered up and all the bolts were a little corroded. And you either have to sling it in and out of the water or you need a hellatious long tongue extender. If a person is going to go to all that trouble, just buy a bigger boat. I really don't know anything about the wing keels. They have less maintenance, but some people say, they don't point quite as high. And they can have their own issues with keel bolts (since the bolts are located in the bilge). The swing keel needs more maintenance but it is easy to do once you figure out how to get the boat off the trailer. The swing keel model seems to be easier to find. I lift my boat off the trailer every fall; once you are set up, it is pretty easy to do---I made a couple of videos about that. So, I guess that is my non-advice. Good luck in your search.

[@daveopincarne3718]

Another well done video. I'd love to run across you in the inlet some time. Another benefit of two line reefing is separate control of outhaul trim. When I rigged my two line system, rather than run the forward reef down the mast and aft along the cabin top, I ran it along the boom on the opposite side of the aft reef line. Both run to horn cleats mounted on the boom located at the forward end of the cockpit. This allows me to reef from one position and with the horn cleats, I can put a turn on and sweat the line for extra leverage.

[@kerry9125]

I'm not very experienced at reefing, probably done it twice in my life, but I don't understand why friction points matter. As long as you keep the boat pointed into the wind the luff sail shouldn't be difficult to reef.

[@jimslittleboat4388]

If the wind is blowing even a little bit all that extra friction makes it really difficult to reef. Even though the boat is headed into the wind, the main will flog a bit. When I broke the system down into two parts, I could reef while we continued sailing, there was usually no need to go head to wind.

[@morbidfollower]

Great video. I think I might switch over to your 2 line arrangement

[@jimslittleboat4388]

I found it was far easier to use than the single line and I still didn't need to get out of the cockpit.

[@mathewdavis-adventuresandd6643]

Thanks Jim. I've been off playing with other hobbies, but I intend to do much more sailing this year and wanted a little refresher.

[@petethewrist]

Why is every one makeing single line reefing so hard with so much friction. I have just worked out a single line reefing system for my small boat, it has only two points of friction and takes all of about four seconds to reef. Watch my Chanel for more on it soon.

[@vintagesimpilot2623]

Thanks Jim. I am installing a double line reef system on my Santana 2023. I'm wondering how far aft on the boom I should install the first turning block for reef #1 (I'll worry about installing reef lines for second reef later). Should I mount the turning block slightly aft of where reef clew will reach the boom, or right in line with where the first reef clew will meet boom? I do have a 3:1 outhaul already. In other words, is the placement of the aft turning block critical? Thanks. I enjoy your tutorials.

[@jimslittleboat4388]

I went just a tad aft of the clue to keep the sail's foot tight along the boom.

[@vintagesimpilot2623]

@@jimslittleboat4388 Thanks!

[@Misteribel]

Great, clear explanation. On larger boats, you won't have the first line attached to a flat on the boom, but to the mast, or brought aft. I'd like to add that a common, third option is to have one reefline that goes all the way to the back, and a hook at the mast instead of a line. Maybe that's more common on larger boats, if you have three reefs, it would lead to 6 lines aft otherwise.

[@lizmccafferty-seanachai3694]

Thanks for the video, Jim. We also went back to a two line system for the same reason. And glad you pointed out the need to lower that stop! We like that idea of using the stop to keep the slugs from catching when raising the mast, but I probably would have missed it when reefing.

[@lavatiger9915]

I like all of your labels (line names, compass deviation, etc). I am definitely going to do that. Helps me and any new crew.

[@skeetcouper]

Great video. Complete newbie here. Just bought a Catalina 22 with a double line jiffy reefing setup, no mastgate. I plan on buying one. Trying to figure all this stuff out! Could you explain why you have both the stopper and the mastgate in? I figured once I installed a mastgate, I wouldn't really need the stopper. From Liz's below comment I gather its because the slugs can catch more easily through the mastgate, so for general raising/lowering the main (not reefing) I'd rather keep all the slugs above the mastgate?

[@jimslittleboat4388]

I have tried about four different mast gates. On all of them the slugs have a tendency to hang up at the bottom of the mast gate so I use the stopper to keep them all above the gate before I raise the main. The problem is that once we are sailing I frequently forget to drop it. The gates I am currently using came from mastgates.com and they work the least badly.

[@karlsawesomeadventures9608]

Great video! I have an O'day 25 I want to single hand soon, and I have not reefed it yet while out sailing. I was going to use two lines,also. I like your idea of running the second line back to the cockpit.

[@jimslittleboat4388]

I have been very happy with this set-up. I have been able to reef by myself except in the most windy weather, and I wouldn't go out by myself on 20+ knot days anyway--although I have been caught out there when it got a little crazy.

[@AgainstTheWindMO]

Very clear instructions

[@burchardisbasement2671]

Very helpfull, thank you

[@JonathanVanVuren]

Ha! great timing. I decided to just get sailing once I got the boat back in the water and put new sails on her this summer(she was half sunk and rats had eaten a bunch inside including the sails before I got her “free” in 2018). Your guidance here rings true to me, the Catalina 22 is small enough to stand in one spot and quickly pull the 2 reefing lines. Even though she looks and acts a lot like a big boat, I don’t need to rig her like my old San Juan 28! Less friction means my crew can reef, or I can do it quick when Im alone. Glad I saw this before I rigged the single line reefing I had planned!

[@jimslittleboat4388]

Some knowledgeable folks don't agree with me, but it seems better for me. Glad to help. jim

[@beachstreet5970]

Great video Jim. Thank you for all of the time you put into these. We just purchased a 1987 Catalina 22 after taking a 4 day sailing class on the 22's. The class and your videos gave me the confidence I could buy this "big" to me boat and handle all the maintenance and be safe with our young children on the water. We are "leveling up" from a Catalina 14.2 that we have enjoyed, learning on. Keep the videos coming!

[@jimslittleboat4388]

Thank you. That's what this video thing is all about. In a few minutes I will be posting the final episode of the Barn Boat. The Webers start sailing on their own, and the real learning begins.

[@davePNW]

Jim do you feel that those cam cleats you have are sufficient as rope clutches? any signs that they may be pulling up or stressing? How long have they been in place?

[@jimslittleboat4388]

I put them on six years ago. They seem fine, I didn't even install backing plates, but I did use large washers. In this application, I just wanted cleats I could operate with one hand.

[@benjones8304]

Another very nice video.

[@BrianKlesmith]

Fantastic. Thank you

[@jimslittleboat4388]

Happy to help, Brian.