Almost "all from the cockpit" reefing

First of all I have an E-32III, which has two reefing control lines that lead back to the cockpit. Both go through line breaks (in the cockpit), are then lead to the base of the mast, up to and through the boom to the back end and then through their own specific cringles that line up with the 1st and 2nd reefing points along the sail. When I need the reef I drop the sail to a point where I can put the cringle in the luff of the sail over the rams head at the front of the boom and then pull the head of the sail up again to tighten the luff with the cringle as the new tack. Then I pull in the reefing line (that goes back to the cockpit) to pull the leech down to the boom. Last step is to tie down the reefing points along the new "foot" of the sail.

(I know that many of you know this drill but I wanted to post it for those not a familiar with it.)

Now with a in-cock pit reefing system the reefing control line runs through the cringle in the leech and the luff (making it's way there with the help of two cheek blocks) eliminating the need to go forward and put the rams head through the reefing cringle (new tack point) in the luff. So it seems to me that I'm almost there as far as a total "from the cockpit" reefing system goes at least for the first reefing line. All I would need to do would be to add a cheek block at the back end of the boom so that instead of the reefing line stopping at the cringle in the leech it would then go down to the cheek block and forward to another new cheek block at the front end of the boom and the up to the cringle in the luff (that lined up with the reefing ties and was the "new tack point" when reefing the old way). Hope I explained that clearly and correctly!

The one thing I've noticed with the "all from the cockpit" single line reefing systems is that there is no mention is made about tying down the reefing points along the foot of the sail after the sail is in it's reefing position. Seems to me that you still need to go forward to do this to keep the sail flat in a big blow.

Has anyone done the sort of thing I've described to their boat? I realize that a 32 footer maybe a little too big for an "all from the cockpit" reefing system but maybe not and that's is why I'm asking the questions, what do you think? If you have in line reefing what do you do about the reef points along the foot? Is this modification I'm thinking about flawed in some way or has it been done before and I've just not seen it yet?

Sometimes when I come up with an idea, as it relates to sailing or anything else, and I've not seen it done yet I think that my idea is probably flawed is some way. Maybe it's the case here. Let me know!

We have a loose footed main. Thinking on the same theory, we use reef outhaul line to flatten the lower part of the main. From there we use the main sheet to flatten.

We only tie up the rest of cloth when it is flapping too much, collecting too much water, or if the reef will be in for a long time (looks nicer).

Typically the reefing points along the "foot" of the reefed sail are not designed with the same amount strength as the tacks or clews.

Just my two cents,

Single line reefing on 32

Have you tried the system you mention? The trouble with single line reefing is the loads and amount of friction generated are often hard to control on a boat of this size. And your point about tying the reef points is valid. They should be tied to prevent all of the already mentioned things. To make reefing easier or to be able to do it from the cockpit I would suggest a 2 line system one for the leech, oem, and one for the luff. You would need space in your organizers and clutches but it would probably work smoother than any single line set up. Yes you still need to leave the cockpit to tie in the reef points but you can probably reach enough or most from the cockpit, and get your wife to do the rest....

Single line reefing

Right-I am not sure if the original question was concerning single line reefing or adding a control and leading it aft.....If you are thinking about single line reefing and have plans to actually use it, think hard-these systems sound much better than they really are. They have a LOT of friction, and getting things set so the correct amounts of tension are applied in the right places is tough.

If you want to add a "second cunningham", led aft, to deal with the new luff location, this certainly adds clutter, but if you have your heart set on not leaving the cockpit, this is what I would suggest.

As for the mid boom reef points-these are not mandatory and cerrtainly not "structural" in terms of the reefing process. In fact, as has been mentioned, you must take care that these points carry ZERO load from the sail-all loads must be on the "new" clew and tack locations, or you will damage the sail. This part of the process is only needed if you are actually having a probelm with the reefed part of the sail making too much noise or catching waves. If a boat is reefed correctly at the tack and clew, this material should lay fairly quietly and not cause a problem. Personally I usually only tie down the body of the sail in very heavy seas and when down to the 2nd reef, and there is more material needing to be contained..

Enjoy!