SINGLE LINE REEFING YOUTUBE

[@terrulian]

I'm a fan of the simplest system, the one described last, particularly for blue water passages--just when most folks would rather stay in the cockpit. (Sailors will argue about anything, of course; but I'm a longtime Cunliffe fan and seldom hold a different view.) With three reefs in the main, you have a lot of line running through the boom; there's a lot of friction which has to be dealt with by bigger winches, or worse yet, blocks at the tack before the line is led into the boom. I know that there is a school of thought, quite a reasonable one, that one should stay safe in the cockpit. But this is definitely not always possible, for example in a difficult situation in bad weather when one must go forward to deal with a problem. I prefer putting the best arrangement on the boat so that going forward is as routine and as safe as possible, and keeping the reefing simple. A trip forward is also a chance to inspect things for chafe or wear, things often kept out of sight from the cockpit. I also prefer lazy jacks as opposed to the stack pack shown, for the reason that I like to be able to see the foot of the sail, and again, to keep an eye on issues. I'm sure my comments are of no never-mind to Tom, who, I trust, will keep entertaining and instructing us with his videos and writing.

[@Misteribel]

I headed to the comment section to write a story like yours, and there it is already. Single line reef systems have their downsides. Likewise, I would never toss the lines in the sails there. Done that, got entangled at the worst possible moment in a storm, since then I go for "nice and tidy", and little risk. Sure, it's more work when hoisting, but that's a small price to pay for safety.

[@harbourdogNL]

I've never criticised one of Tom's videos before, but I wish the person shooting this had had a better idea of what was going on, they seemed a bit lost following Tom's narration.

[@filmingandfettling]

I get lost so easily these days :-D

[@tedb.5707]

Slab or one-line reefing is safer than climbing out onto the coach-roof to tie reefs. Never liked doing that at-sea.

[@stevehartley621]

Tom mentioned that "the topping lift was already on" a couple of times but didn't show the sequence of when that happened. Indeed at the end his crew mate was tensioning the vang and sheet with the topping lift still on, which is putting downward stress on the front of the boom and upward stress on the back of the boom. Once the sail is raised and the halyard has been tensioned the topping lift should be eased, followed by tension on the vang and sheet, otherwise you'll get fatigue in the boom with the chance that it eventually breaks in two pieces.

[@SP-wg5pn]

Wonderful I was just looking at a vessel with Selden single line reefing. I think you did a much better job than the vendor did on their video.

[@fernandopratesi5378]

You’re a gifted teacher Tom, thank you!

[@johnwaga3702]

Get another excellent video, thank you.

[@reloadncharge9907]

Good episode! Hope you are well! Great time to be in Hamble…..ok, ok, the Jolly Sailor!

[@Happ465]

To bad you never showed how the single line reefing is really setup. You described it but no details.

[@stephenmcelwee3129]

Thank you Tom I always love your films.

[@rolandstockham1905]

I have used all 4 options and each one has it's place but I was surprised at what is NOT in this video, I am surprised Tom did not include some cautions. The big issue with single line reefing is whats in the boom. Each reef has 2 lines running around sheaves in the boom. Neat simple and convenient when it works and if you are coastal sailing no much problem if it doesn't, drop the main and motor! For blue water sailing its different. If the reefing gear jams or a line breaks (usually followed by a jam as well) you are unlikely to be able to fix it until you get a flat calm because you will have to get the boom caps off, sort the jam and re-rig the lines including threading them through the boom. If you are doing a trade wind passage chances are you are stuck with the mess until you get there. What's your plan? Can you set up a simple external slab system? The same issue is true for 2 line reefs led to the cockpit but because only one line for each reef goes through the boom with no internal sheaves it is less likely to jam and way easier to set up an external line if needed. In boom reefing generally if it fails to come down just make sure you have a plan for setting a slab reef in an emergency that you can do with a reasonable sea running. In mast!!! only solution I have hear of involves a big knife and a new sail. Furling head sails have similar same issues. Do you have headsail cringles fitted so that if the gear fails you can lower the halyard and lash the cringle to put a reef in? Whatever the shop told you all these systems can and do fail, the difference is do they fail safe or dangerously??? Think about this scenario. You are powering along in a F5 at night with a few turns in the genoa. Suddenly you get hit by a 40kn squall and the boat is layed well down and over pressed. You try to reef and the main comes down fine but the gear on the genoa is jammed and still blasting through green water. The rig is really unbalance with all that sail up front so she won't luff up and the pressure is driving the bow down making it take on lots of green water. After 30min the squall passes but now you have a wind shift and steady 30kn in the new wind. It is still nearly impossible and super dangerous to work on the gear up front as you would continuously get dunked. Because you already had some wraps you can't lower the sail. Your boat is in serious danger, Whats your plan. As I said this is about OFFSHORE sailing but it's the sort of thing you have to consider if preparing a boat to go offshore for passages longer than the reliable weather forecast covers.

[@TomCunliffeYachtsandYarns]

Thanks Roland for a really valuable comment. Anyone going further offshore who watches this vid should read what you say. Tom

[@jeffmack4995]

Thanks Tom!! On our old Westsail 32, we've got the latter, slab reefing. Would it be possible, without too much trouble to modify our system to single line reefing? Appreciate your thoughts. Jeff and Julie Mack Westsail 32 # 81 OoLaLa

[@ende421]

With the systems I know there always is a block inside the boom so the tension on clew and tack is equal. Selden has two generations of single line reefing: the first has flying blocks in the boom, the second has the blocks attached to cars which run inside the boom. The first has some issues with the blocks jamming each other. For the second the boom has to be made for. I had the first generation Selden single line reef and recently replaced the flying blocks with low friction rings and the lines with dyneema. It solved the in-boom jamming issue, but instead has others. Dyneema isn't comfy on the hands, a thicker line can't be spliced to it because then it gets stuck in the low friction rings, pure dyneema doesn't work in the jammers. I added a small cleat instead. My changes made it better than before. There still are small issues. I would not consider retrofitting worth the effort. If you absolutely want to stay in the cockpit while reefing you could try to run an additional line down from the tack, back into the cockpit. You will need a block or an LFR where now the hook is at the front of the boom.

[@mattwatson7106]

"steering like an old shoe". Haha! nice video, very enjoyable 😀

[@terrydickinson7252]

Very clear even for a newbie like me!

[@buzzofftoxicblog791]

Thank you 🌎

[@914va]

Well done my friend!

[@ScratchesInmygelcoat]

Thanks for sharing your wisdom Tom. I am new to sailing but thanks to your videos and books I have gained a significant amount of information and confidence that has built on the practical instruction I have received elsewhere. I have a question, at 7:40 Toby is lowering the main halyard, but why does he seem to tighten it first with the winch? Toby's winch and clutch handling is a fine lesson in itself.

[@ScratchesInmygelcoat]

I think I get it now. After thinking about it I realised he had to take the tension off the jammer and transfer it on to the winch. I have even done this myself on reflection.

[@DrCrabfingers]

@@ScratchesInmygelcoat Haha I love it when people answer their own question..😆

[@SoItGoesCAL34]

I love Tom Cunliffe but... This video did not show reefing, just some guy cranking on a winch and voila it was reefed. Rellay? The sail bag hid everything. Then with the telling of other methods, a diagram or example of each would have been useful. Sorry but not an informative video. Certainly not up to your usual standards.

[@arnekj]

I have a problem with sail getting squeezed between the kringle and the boom when using the one line reefing. The laminated and quite expensive sail gets damaged. How can this be avoided?

[@alanfarnworth5991]

I have got 2 rope slab reefing. One line for the luff and one for the back of the sail. Both ropes are adjusted from the cockpit.

[@saltybuster946]

Very clear and concise Tom. No sailing for me last weekend, I went to the Falmouth International Sea shanty Festival, wet my whistle and belted out a few tuneless tunes. Yours Aye, Buster.

[@ende421]

When under way single handed and there's a need to reef I am heaving to for it (no auto pilot). Works great. One thing to look out for: the angle of the main is quite big. So for tensioning the luff I start sailing again and when the boat has gained some speed I shortly go into the wind for that.

[@parkerssafes]

Thank you Tom

[@Larrimors]

Well done🎉