Reefing lines

[Tayana42]

I'm trying to overcome friction resistance in my reefing system which makes raising the main difficult as well as making reefing difficult.

I have a 616 square foot loose footed main on a 28,000 lb boat. Each reefing line leads from the boom through a grommet in the sail, then to the sheave in the boom end, then through the boom (Isomat) to a rope clutch in the forward end of the boom served by a winch on the mast below the gooseneck. The tack reef grommets go onto horns on the forward end of the boom. The halyard and reef-lines are handled at the mast.

I've ordered new metal sheaves. The old ones were 28 year old plastic. My question is what rope to use for the reefing lines. The old ones were 1/2" Sta Set. They may have been up sized by a PO. I'd like to have adequate strength but reduced friction and still have the clutches get a good grip. Of course I want an economical solution for costal cruising and occasional offshore trips.


Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[Paul L]

The line size is dictated by the rope clutches in your case. You can get dyneema core with a braid cover line that will be plenty strong enough,. You just need it thick enough for your particular clutches.

[JPA Cate]

Go down to 10 mm. spectra cored line, but first find the specifications for the rope clutches, to be sure it's not too small for them. 12 mm would probably work, and is a little smaller than 1/2". But still check the specs: I wouldn't want to lead you astray.

Ann

[admiralslater]

On my Pdq 36 I lashed a harken block to the gromet and run the reeling line through that ,it really reduced the effort

[NakedCity]

We use 7/16 Sta-set on our Freedom 40. Works fine, no need for designer line.Most of our reefing friction was from the mast groove and our mainsail slugs. Tides Marine Strong track fixed that right up ! Now we can pull in and shake out reefs without even luffing the main .

[Stumble]

I highly doubt that your boom sheaves are large enough to take 1/2 line, if they are that is the absolute maximum they would be sized for. My normal recommendation is to use the absolute smallest line that will work, not the largest that will fit. This has a massive effect on chaff of the line and reducing friction.

[Tayana42]

Thanks Paul, Ann, admiralslater and NakedCity. I appreciate the quick and thoughtful replies.

I do have a Harken T track and bat-slides on the mast and I replaced the masthead halyard sheave with a Garhauer ball bearing sheave last year. They work fine, so it's now just the reefing lines and boom end sheaves to worry about. Will something like 10mm Spectra cored line be more slippery and not stiffer than the sta-set? Does it make sense to consider stripping the cover off and just having the core go through the the sail?

[Paul L]

If you strip the cover to the dyneema core it will be slippery through the sail tack and the blocks. I'd check that the 10mm will hold in your clutches.

[thinwater]

The problem may be an internal reef. If the blocks become twisted they lock up. The cause is turning block and winch orientation.

Sail Delmarva: Internal Reefing and Friction

[Suijin]

I have essentially the same set up as you but my reefing lines down to the deck and back to the dodger, so I have even more opportunity for friction. I'm going to guess that your sheaves are not running freely. I don't have any problem at all with mine.

I don't know that you need high tech lines, and in fact your more likely to part the cover on them with a clutch if you gybe unexpectedly and shock load them. What kind of clutches do you have for them?

[sandy stone]

It just so happens that the main on my boat is about the same size as yours, and I also have an Isomat boom rigged just as you describe. If yours really is like mine, you actually have sheet stoppers on the reef lines, not clutches. I use 3/8 sta-set for my reel lines with no problems, and I'm pretty sure it will work for you, too.

[Emerald Sea]

To reduce friction in our single line reefing system (1st and 2nd only) Ive installed Harken 75 blocks to the each main sail (leech and luff) reef point. This has had a significant effect. Further, rather than pull in the reef lines when the main is down, most of the time I just fold then into the sailbag prior to zipping it up. Then there is no friction issue when the main is raised next time.

[CAELESTIS]

I got this idea from SV Totem.

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

Thanks Paul, Ann, admiralslater and NakedCity. I appreciate the quick and thoughtful replies.

I do have a Harken T track and bat-slides on the mast and I replaced the masthead halyard sheave with a Garhauer ball bearing sheave last year. They work fine, so it's now just the reefing lines and boom end sheaves to worry about. Will something like 10mm Spectra cored line be more slippery and not stiffer than the sta-set? Does it make sense to consider stripping the cover off and just having the core go through the the sail?

You really need to figure out what size the clutches are, and my general recommendation is to use the smallest dyneema cored line that will work. Strength wise it will still be outrageously strong, but it keeps you from needing to replace deck hardware.

As for stripping the line, yes you absolutly can and I would recommend doing so. Strip it so that the clutch only grabs the cover even when fully pulled in. This will again decrease the working size of the line, reduce friction in the system, and the dyneema is substantially slipperier than any polyester. It is slick enough that using friction rings like posted above work exceedingly well.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by CAELESTIS

I got this idea from SV Totem.

Those low-friction rings are great. Why doesn't one of the lines in your pic go down to dead-end on the boom under the reef?