Sail Tie Preferences

[Filkee]

Five years in, some of the things that came with the boat are less nice than they once were and I think it’s time to up my game on sail ties.

The existing ones are basic web straps and they’ve gotten a little crunchy. I’ve poked around the interwebs and there appear to be a wide range of methodologies and pricing. Are there strong opinions amongst the gang?

Also, I’ve noticed out in the world that some people appear to have lines dangling from their reefing grommets. Is this varsity or excessive?

 

[Pete the Cat]

I have a roll of tubular (not flat) webbing I bought some time ago on Amazon for ties that is soft and nice--can't find it now. not sure if they would fit through the grommets for reefing. I have found that a sail tie around the end of the boom on a sail with full battens secures it for the kind of coastal sailing I do now. I think sailing around with ties in the reef grommets looks like just a step above dragging your fenders in the water, but I am sure someone feels it is the right thing to do for safety. I am rarely in a reefed condition where I can't endure a little sloppiness along the boom and fold the excess into the loose foot. But some sails might not be as easy. I think it depends on how you sail and your preference.

 

[Filkee]

My sail is as soft as a bedsheet and I think I share your sentiment about fenders.

 

[Christian Williams]

Cheap 1-inch poly webbing and tie a bowline at one end. Or skip the bowline.

Reefing ties on your tanbark sail? Yeah, if you're really old.

Slab reefing and loose foots did away with them, the folds nowadays just hang there minding their own business.



Or lazyjacks.

 

[Frank Langer]

Sorry, guys! I still sail with short 1/4 inch lines hanging from my reef cringles. The sails and lines are both white, so the lines are not noticeable, but they sure help to clean up my reef and keep the wind from trying to open that part of the sail in a blow. I have a loose footed mainsail, and only tie the bottom of the sail, not around the boom. I have been sailing most of my life, owned my own sailboats for 30 years, an considered a very experienced and good sailor by my yacht club colleagues, but still like my reef cringle lines. But I never sail with fenders down!!
Frank

 

[Loren Beach]

What Frank Said...

 

[G Kiba]

I have crew on the boat for some races and am surprised how many of them don't know how to properly tie a sail tie. I get all kinds of knots and see all manner of ties, clips, bungees and bought products on other boats. I guess this is one of my pet-peeves. Once I see or discover that the person knows-not how to tie, i know that I can't use the term gasket. That would confuse the heck out of them! Gone the way of floppy disks, modems, and pay phones I guess. There are some sailing schools that still teach this?

 

[tenders]

PSA: the lines used at the reef points of the sail are properly called NETTLES. Yes, permanently-attached nettles are old-school, but if you reef often, their convenience easily overcomes their ugliness. If you don’t reef often, you certainly won’t miss them.

In use, nettles should NOT be tied around the boom. They either pass between the mainsail’s slides in the foot track, or there should be reinforced slits cut in the foot just above the bolt rope for the nettles to pass through. There should not be a lot of pressure on these whatsoever: the reefed sail should be taut at the clew and the tack, with very little tension along the foot.

I use the same sail ties as reefing nettles that I use to secure the mainsail to the boom after sailing. They’re relatively thin nylon webbing that was originally used as neck nametags for a conference. In fact, they still have the conference name on them. Each sail tie is two of these, elegantly sewn together with a box stitch using the precise sewing skills I learned as an apprentice in English butler school. They are more than up to the task and are thin enough to easily pass through the reefing cringle, when called to nettle duty.

What I’ve found not that helpful:
* elastic sail ties, usually with toggles - not tight enough for most purposes, and the elastic wears out after a season or two
* sail ties with loops in the end, or made from Velcro - more expensive and not better than a simple square knot
* one-piece sail tie rigs with cross-ties in a “Christmas tree” shape that get placed over a completely flaked sail - they get tangled and are too hard to put on as the sail comes down. I haven’t seen these in years, perhaps they were some entrepreneur’s big idea that faded into obscurity

 

[Christian Williams]

Nettles, very good, did not know that term.

But in my world, if you reef often such nettles are just unnecessary complication.

Also, I like sewn loops on sail ties, which UK sails provides to customers and was new to me. They allow cinching, which helps with my bulky cloth.

I believe nettles used to be important because in the olden days, mainsails typically got baggy. Tying up every reef used to be standard practice, and kept the shape better. Long nettles were common, but I can't remember if we tied them around the boom. With cotton sails all sorts of such practices were necessary, and that extended to the dawn of Nylon sails, too, which also got stretched. Today's sail materials are another world.

 

[Gaviate]

Well my main has a bolt roped foot and no slots for nettles tho I haven't perceived of a need whilst reefed, tho its probable 'cause I don't know any better! Sail ties are as Christian's, flat web with loop sewn to one end. For stowing the main, I always cinch around the boom and tie with a slippery hitch, which can be untied with one hand. I have no idea whether this is the correct way to do it...I may have been daydreaming in class that day

 

[Frank Langer]

Hey guys,
Although this is interesting, if our greatest concern is whether or not to reef with nettles, either our various maintenance and repair items are incredibly up to date, or we are neglecting and procrastinating. Hmmm...
Frank

 

[klb67pgh]

I used to just clip a 3/16 line at the end of my E25's boom, and tie a hitch far enough forward to capture the first batten, a second to capture the next batten, and a third just behind the mast to hold down the head, and then run the line through the spinnaker ring and back and tie a hitch.

I just purchased sail ties with a loop in one end and much prefer the sail ties. It's easy to cinch the sail down and tie a hitch with a loop that can easily be undone with a quick tug. Plus with one sail tie on, my main is much smaller and more manageable to flake properly even when the wind is up. I should have switched to sail ties sooner. I think I had a bungie cord mainsail contraption that came with the boat and I never liked using that.

 

[Filkee]

Cheap 1-inch poly webbing and tie a bowline at one end. Or skip the bowline.

Reefing ties on your tanbark sail? Yeah, if you're really old.

Slab reefing and loose foots did away with them, the folds nowadays just hang there minding their own business.

View attachment 47490

Or lazyjacks.

I think I had this notion that everything would just fly away without them.

 

[Filkee]

I used to just clip a 3/16 line at the end of my E25's boom, and tie a hitch far enough forward to capture the first batten, a second to capture the next batten, and a third just behind the mast to hold down the head, and then run the line through the spinnaker ring and back and tie a hitch.

I just purchased sail ties with a loop in one end and much prefer the sail ties. It's easy to cinch the sail down and tie a hitch with a loop that can easily be undone with a quick tug. Plus with one sail tie on, my main is much smaller and more manageable to flake properly even when the wind is up. I should have switched to sail ties sooner. I think I had a bungie cord mainsail contraption that came with the boat and I never liked using that.

What came with the boat is always a good place to start but over time things come into focus.