Pros and cons of leading halyard and reef lines to cockpit?

[StuM]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Why do you guys go forward to attach the tack? I simply lower the sail, tension the tack reef line, tension the clew reef line.

1. Because some don't have tack reef lines?
2. Because some use the topping lift to raise the boom when reefing?

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by StuM

1. Because some don't have tack reef lines?
2. Because some use the topping lift to raise the boom when reefing?

OK.

As the say mileage may vary ... and so it does.

Reading this thread is an eye opener to me as to how very different cruisers' layout can get from the racing one.

I bump into this now and then. I came to cruising from racing so I tend to keep things simple and effective.

b.

[Schooner Chandlery]

Several posts have noted one of the issues of lines led to cockpit is dealing with the back and forth runabout from mast to cockpit for shaking out a reef (sometimes). In our case, I already mentioned that the halyards from the foremast that we've led to the cockpit turn adjusting our peak halyard or raising sail into a two person (or extra winch needed) activity. OK, next... One the ways to have your cake and eat it too would be to use a constrictor rope clutch at the top of the mast. I can envision several ways to allow it to be used from the base of the mast as well as the cockpit -- as operation can be remote. One of these types of rope clutches, Ronstan, is discussed here CONSTRICTOR | Ronstan Sailboat Hardware US

[Snowpetrel]

Good idea SC, have been thinking along similar lines, maybe put the constrictor clutch within easy reach from the deck, not sure if I am ready to trust one as a halyard lock. My brother broke one on a racing yacht a while back, after two years of hard use, so maybe UV is a bit of an issue? I have also heard about the odd slight slippage while engaging remotely, easily cured by milking the cover on by hand. Probably not an issue on our less highly loaded cruising setups.

I have only used single line reefing once and it was a complete nightmare. It took about four of us to put in a reef, it wasn't the best setup, but it completly put me off the concept, just too slow, and too much friction.

One thing that I have been pondering, In my experience two line reefing can work ok, at least for putting in a reef, with separate luff and leech lines, but most people put a two to one purchase on the luff and leech, running through the cringle and back to the boom.

It certainly seems than a 1:1 for the luff line would be fine. Just led through a fairlead at the gooseneck and up to the luff reef cringle and tied off there. We used a 1:1 cunninham to pull down and secure the luff on a 68 foot ex british steel challenge yacht I sailed on across the Tasman with no issues.

Doing this would significantly reduce the friction and tangle issues when shaking out a reef and the amount of line needed, as its the luff lines that cause the most problems. The leech reef pendants usually shake themselves out ok, or sometimes can be overhauled from the cockpit by reaching up to the boom and pulling some slack into them.

There is no real reason why the leech reef pendants cant be 1:1 as well.