Head sail with the true reef ties in it?

Interesting head sail with the true reef ties in it. I wonder how that works. Could a sail maker do that with my 140?

This a photo from friends of mine's Baba 30 on a recent crossing from Ventura to Hawaii. You can see the rest of the photos at this link. It took them 28 days. Love the name of their cat, "Doppler".

http://picasaweb.google.com/svmaggieb/PacificCrossingInMaggieB?

Ah yes, the Good Old Days

Wow, it's been a long time since I even thought about a slab-reefed jib. The lapper on our former '81 Niagara 26 (hank-on, of course) came with a row of reef points. We tried this several times in big winds and waves and decided that it was not very practical for us. (Admittedly, this might work a little better on a large heavy boat.)

Comes the moment to reduce sail: You have to deal with a flogging sail on the heaving foredeck. Untie / retie the sheets without losing them over the side. Secure the new tack way up at the pointy and wettest end of the boat whilst repeatedly going up 4', 3' to the left, and 5' down... The 20 degrees of heel will not help one darned bit, either, since you have the main still driving you on at least a close reach to keep the boat under control. The safety of the cockpit will seem like it's miles away in the howl of the wind and smacking of waves against the hull. The driver will be slacking off the halyard to your mark while you haul stubborn dacron down -- while trying to keep the boat on course and avoiding an unplanned tack

Finally, tie in the reef ties to the rolled-up sail, including the old tack and dragging clew with its heavy ss ring (or cloth and bits will hang up on the lifelines and stanchions when tacking. That waving clew ring may give you a whack just to get your attention, too.

It works, yes. After a fashion. For any significant time in heavy air, it would be easier, IMHO, to pull the jib down and hank on a smaller jib. You could, like traditional cruisers do, leave the old jib hanked on in a bunch at the base of the forestay and roll up and lash the "sausage" to a lower lifeline. Perhaps.

It's been a long time, so this "advice" is worth even less than the usual two cents.

Regards,
Loren

Very interesting Loren. Thank you for identifying the "slab-reefed jib". After reading your "How To" explanation, I think I would just hank on a smaller jib as you suggest. The "slab-reefed jib" must be a strictly hank on sail, no roller furler would accommodate that slab-reef.

This couple are actually friend's of my Father and they live in Olympia, Wa. I will try to get a hold of Mike & Diane and ask them if they use this system. A couple years ago they sailed from Olympia to Baja. They are really starting to put some miles behind them.

Jeff

Hey Jeff
I had the same system on my Ranger 22 on the 110% jib. We had extra blocks on the jib tracks, extra sheets and a downhall to pull the sail down. We could do it all from the cockpit when things were rough. Put it in upwind and shake it out downwind. It worked pretty well on the small boat. Not so sure how it would work on a larger boat though. Fun little boat to sail, it was kind of scary on a windy day under spinnaker though.

Cheers
Greg

I'm willing to bet that slab reefing jibs are intended to be reefed BEFORE it gets nasty. It would certainly extend the utility of one sail and I'm guessing the shape is vastly superior to a partially rolled furling sail. Someone once said "Everything is a compromise"

RT