Reefing Staysail .. How?

[Scare_Rab]

attached photo of my staysail, not rigged properly, simply to give you an eyeball of it.
I'm thinking the reefing process could be ....
1. lower halyard.
2. tie a newline from the shackle on deck up to the ( reefed ) luff cringle.
3. untie the old ( unreefed ) luff line
4. undo the Bowline attaching the inactive / windward sheet from its' current (unreefed ) leech cringle. Then tie that sheet with a bowline into the reefed cringle.
5. do the same with the active sheet.
6. raise halyard.

I'm thinking if I do this in anything other heading downwind, there will be slapping and shaking and noise and my swearing and other such difficulties.

I'm looking for suggestions / questions / comments that will make the whole process simpler and certain for an ( in effect ) singlehander.

[JPA Cate]

The big problem we've had with reefing headsails is that the sail material does not want to stay tightly rolled up, the waves bash on it and the wind tears at it, and pretty soon the bunt is in a mess. Also, it's fiddly on the foredeck to do.

Your basic approach will work, lower the halyard till you can tie the tack down. Work your way aft furling the sail to the first nettles (the reefing lines), and tie it in sequentially to the next to last one. Then take the line from the clew you are abandoning [yes, it WILL be flogging] and tie it up on the new clew. Fold the old clew forward before making your last tie in on the reef, so that the whole foot of the sail is tightly rolled. Finally, re-tension the halyard. Honestly, you'll have earned a cuppa by the time you're done.

Or, see if you can get a sailmaker to make you a reefing system you can pull in while you're at the tack, that fan-folds the sail tightly, with a system also to secure it. Or maybe you could figure it out and do it yourself. You'll need to be able to set grommets.

Ann

[cal40john]

I think every time I've reefed a jib I've just dropped it on deck to do all steps, then re-raised it. Significantly less flogging involved.

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by cal40john

I think every time I've reefed a jib I've just dropped it on deck to do all steps, then re-raised it. Significantly less flogging involved.

Thats the way ive done it when shorthanded. I guess you could use a lazy sheet to the new clew, to stop it flogging, but it's so easy to drop the small staysail that I wouldn't bother. Second Ann's warning about the bunt flogging out. Definately use a tight reef knot and really lash the clew part tightly. Put in permenant reef netles rather than a lacing.

[Blue Stocking]

Sailed on a Tahiti that basically had the sheet attached to the full sail, and the reefed clew. Lower the halyard, hook the new tack, release the full clew attach point, and tighten the halyard. Sheet in. Sit on deck and secure the bunt.