Reefing before you have to

When to reef: reading the signs before the wind decides for you

The question of when to reef is rarely answered by the instruments. The boat tells you sooner: she lies right over in each gust, the lee rail goes under, the tiller or wheel keeps pulling to windward and the crew sit braced on the high side. Once several of those signs turn up together, she is no longer sailing faster, only wetter.

Watch your point of sailing in particular. Running or broad reaching, the wind feels gentle because you are travelling with it. Come up onto the wind and the apparent wind rises sharply, and a pleasant sail turns into an overpressed scramble within seconds. Hence the rule of thumb: reef before you harden up, not after.

Dusk is another good moment. Tucking in a reef for the night, even before the breeze asks for it, spares the watch a job on deck in the dark. The same goes for the approach to a harbour or a narrow passage where you will want both hands free for boat handling.

Slab reefing the mainsail, one calm step at a time

With slab reefing the main is lowered part way and made fast again at two points: forward at the tack with a cringle on a hook or ram's horn, aft at the clew with the reef pennant. What remains is a smaller sail that is flat again. Many yachts use single line reefing, where one line pulls down tack and clew together from the cockpit. That saves a trip to the mast but needs free running blocks and little friction.

The key is to take the load off the sail first, and that is easiest close hauled or hove to. Running before the wind, the main lies against the spreaders and shrouds, the halyard will not come down freely and the cloth chafes. If you are running, come up first, then reef.

1. Come onto the wind or heave to, letting the headsail steady the boat.
2. Ease the mainsheet and kicker so the leech is free.
3. Take up the topping lift, or otherwise support the boom so it cannot drop.
4. Lower the halyard to its mark and hook the tack cringle on.
5. Tension the halyard again until the creases along the luff disappear.
6. Haul the reef pennant tight until the clew sits firmly on the boom.
7. Ease the topping lift, set the kicker and sheet, and bear away onto course.

Roller reefing headsails and furling mains

Roller reefing winds the sail round a foil or a stay. On a genoa it is quick and comfortable: ease the sheet a little, wind in on the furling line and keep some tension on the sheet so the sail rolls tightly. A loose roll flogs in the wind and in a blow can unwind itself.

A partly furled genoa loses its shape. The draft moves up and aft and the sail becomes fuller than it should be in strong wind. Remember to move the sheet lead forward, or the upper leech will twist and flutter while the foot is sheeted too hard. Boats that often sail in a breeze are better served by a smaller staysail on an inner forestay than by a genoa rolled half away.

In mast or in boom furling mains should be handled as the maker describes, usually with the sheet slightly eased and the outhaul under load as the sail rolls in. If it jams, more force on the winch rarely helps. Unroll a little and try again with less pressure in the cloth.

Which sail to reef first

The order depends on the boat. On many sloops with a large main, the main is what causes heavy weather helm, so the first reef goes there. A boat with a big overlapping genoa can behave the other way round. Find out by trying both on a moderate day and feeling what happens on the helm.

The aim is a balanced sail plan. The boat should have a little weather helm, enough to round up gently if you let go, but not so much that you are fighting her all the time. A well balanced yacht can be steered with two fingers even in a fresh breeze.

Before a longer passage, agree what the sail plan looks like at each wind strength: perhaps first reef in the main, then a smaller headsail, then second reef. With that sequence settled in advance, nobody has to think when the wind arrives. You simply work through the list.

Reef points, chafe and keeping the reefing gear in order

The bunt of cloth along the boom is gathered with reef points or a lacing line. Tie them round the loose sail only, never round the boom, or the sail ends up carrying load at single points instead of through the clew and may tear. Tie them last, once tack and clew are made fast.

Reef pennants and furling lines run over tight turns and chafe there first. Check cringles, hooks and blocks at the start of the season, and pull every reef down once in harbour so you know they work before you need them at sea. Marks on the halyard help you find the right spot at night without a torch.

Write in the log when you reefed and in what wind. Over a season that becomes a reefing chart for your own boat, and it is more reliable than any general table.

Frequently asked questions