Mainsail reefing point

I am interested in having a reefing point sewn into my mainsail and am looking for peoples thoughts, experiences or knowledge about this. I know old boats used to have a reef fairly low on the sail but I am interested in placing one about a third of the way up the sail. I plan on using a cleat mounted on the mast to secure the halyard and know this is less than optimal. My wish is to have a way to sail the boat single handed in the event the wind pipes up as it frequently does around me. I enjoy heading out for longer day trips from home, say 30 to 50 mile round trips and would like a reefing option. Thanks.

Before I had the right halyard with 2 lock beads, I thought of using a line, tie one to the head of the sail and the other to the halyard shackle. The line would be the same length as the reef points are from the boom. That way you can still lock the sail as normal on top of the mast, which I hear is better than tying it to a cleat.

On the original sails with the reef points, they are in the middle of the 2nd panel from the bottom. That would be the lower orange panel on my sail.

A good loft can do anything and put them wherever you want. On larger boats, I've seen sails with multiple reef points.

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Marc...
1978 Hobie 16 Keoke, sail# 36 84

Thanks Marc, I am thinking of putting the reef somewhat further up than the original Hobie spec. What I am wondering about, before I spend the hundred dollars or so for the work and potentially change the shape of my sail for the worse, is if others had done it and what effect it had on their weather/lee helm, tacking, etc. Basically I am looking for a granny gear to drop into if conditions change for the worse while I'm sailing along the coast. I can release my halyard by pushing it forward with an oar and dropping it to my new reef point (to be determined) and just tie off the halyard on a cleat. That way I won't have to lower the entire mainsail.

Why not use one of the longer wire halyards from the older masts and add a new reef bead where you want it? It would be quite easy and then you wouldn't be putting the stress of the sail on a little plastic cleat- they can and do break.

Dustin

Couple of thoughts...

- Adding reef points isn't going to change the shape of your sail for the worse. All the loft is going to do is add some reinforcement patches and install the grommets wherever you want them. So there is very little risk in ruining the sail, the only risk is the cost.

- I would not support the halyard by only tieing off to the cleat. First off, the cleat isn't intended to support the full load from the mainsheet & downhaul. Also, your halyard is going to stretch like a rubber band meaning you won't be able to get sufficient downhaul or mainsheet tension, so your sail is going to be totally bagged out and possibly even more difficult to control than a fully hoisted sail that is properly tensioned. You need to engage the halyard in the fork at the top of the mast by either using a wire halyard with a second "slug" or adding an extension as suggested by a previous poster.

- If you have a comptip mast, then you're likely going to need to remove a section of the plastic luff track and add a piece of aluminum track at the point where the head of the sail ends up. Otherwise, it's very likely that the head of the sail will pull out of the plastic luff track.

- Maybe you should consider dousing the jib as an alternative way to reduce sail area in a breeze. You could either get roller furling hardware, or simply sail to the beach, drop the jib, roll it up and store it on the tramp. The nice thing about dousing the jib is that you completely eliminate one entire sail, so there is a lot less for a solo sailor to deal with.

sm

smf knows his stuff.

I remember seeing a picture of three guys on a H16 at the Worlds in Port Elizabeth South Africa, in about 30 knots of wind.....they took a piece of line and tied up/wrapped up the jib to the forestay...and they survived the blow.
Another good (but expensive option) is to install a furling jib.

Why not install an old style halyard?

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Thanks for the thoughts guys, I never realized the plastic luff track on my comp tip could rip out. That's a show stopper unless I make my reef point high enough to bring the head to just below the comptip which might be too low, have to look into it. I did not intend to use the cheezy plastic cleats but rather replace them with some metal ones and thru bolt to the one on the opposite side of the mast, I figure that will hold ok. About the line stretch, I don't think double braid has that much stretch and I am only going to be using this setup in a pinch. Sail trim will not be the foremost thing on my mind when reefed. Some new things to consider thanks to you though.

The plastic luff track won't rip out. The head of the sail will pull out of the luff track. Because the plastic is soft, it will spread open under load. Hobie sells an aluminum replacement track that is about 12" long. You would need to figure out where the head of your sail will end up when reefed and then cut out a section of plastic track and install the aluminum track at that location. Hopefully this clarifies things.

sm

It does.. perfectly, thanks.

look at this post

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=35626

and get a proper non comtip halyard....

where are u located???

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•Present boat -1998 Hobie 16 Solana Sails furling jib[/size]

From another post I just made...

The aluminum section was not designed for the H16. Not sure it would fit the CompTip. The 16 has a different track that all other models.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Doe's anyone have any practical experience installing the aluminum track section into a Hobie 16 comptip?
Perhaps getting a 'proper' non comptip mast and a custom halyard is my only solution to put a deep reef in.

what about a furling jib????
seems like a easier solution.

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•Present boat -1998 Hobie 16 Solana Sails furling jib[/size]

I am giving it thought but I want to lower and lessen the center of effort. My little monohull sails like a sweetheart with the main reefed (and the jib furled some) and I want to keep as much balance in the Hobie rig as I can. Makes tacking easier I would thiink?

Yes ... then get an older sail and cut it down... reefing the main with all that extra sail hanging about in high winds would be nerve racking... but then you will have to decide before you go out.... to go with the cut down sail or full....
the furling jib is really nice single handed ... you always know you can cut power....
just knowing is good...

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•Present boat -1998 Hobie 16 Solana Sails furling jib[/size]