Single Line 3rd Reefing Setup

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Over the past few months, I have made a number of comments on various threads about how I rig a single line 3rd reefing system.  So I thought I would pull them all together into one thread. 

Firstly, acknowledgements must go to Cindy's Island, owner of a 341/342, who first posted a thread on this idea way back on 18/10/2015 on page 25 of the 341/342.  If you dig deep, there is so much good information on this super forum.

My Selden boom has 4 pulleys at the aft end.  At the front end there are 2 pulleys on the topside for the 1st and 2nd reef and two pulleys on the bottom side, of which one is used for the outhaul.  I rig the third reef through the remaining pulley and then there is a turning pulley fastened under the gooseneck and the reefing line goes round this and then up to the third luff reefing point.  The ball bearing turning pulley with becket is secured by rope to the lower kicker mast fitting and held up by shockcord close to the gooseneck.  You can just see it in this photo.   I then added another pulley to the sail organiser and another clutch by the cockpit.

Hope these diagrams help a bit.
The
first diagram shows the overall layout of the third reef line (red line).  The rope is fastened to the boom, in a similar
manner to the other reefing lines, runs up to the leech 3rd reef point, back
down to the boom end through the pulley set and into the boom.  At the front of the boom, the rope then comes
out through a turning pulley on the bottom of the boom, round a new turning
block, then up to the luff 3^rd reefing point, down through a reefing
lead to the mast foot.

As I did not have a spare mast foot attachment point, I use
a block and fiddle pulley *, with the 1^st reef line going around the
main pulley and the 3^rd reef line going around the smaller
pulley.  You can just see it on the port side of the mast foot.  I do not use a double pulley, as
when it is only loaded on just one pulley, it twists and jams slightly.

(*Barton size 4/5 ball bearing sheave fiddle block, reverse
shackle)

Now looking in more detail. 
Under the reefing load, the turning pulley** by the front of the boom is
pulled upwards, so I have fastened its attachment rope to the mast kicker
fitting. (It is the white/blue rope you can see in the earlier picture.)  As the pulley would fall when it is not under
load, a piece of shock-cord is fastened to the becket loop, goes through a
micro-pulley fastened to the mast gooseneck fitting and the down to the mast
kicker fitting.  (This is the blue line
you can see in the picture.)
(** Barton 4/5 single block, ball bearing sheave, reverse
shackle with becket) 

As friction is a problem on single line reefing systems, I
have added blocks at all turning points.
For the 3 luff reefing points I used Barton swivel eye ball
bearing size 4 pulleys, as the pulleys wheels are covered on both sides.  With the pulley on one side of the sail and a
50mm stainless steel ring on the other, I fastened them together with thin
dyneema lines, one line from the ring, through the sail eye and then to the
block and another line from the ring, round the front of the luff rope and then
to the block.  The reefing lines now go
up and down on the same side of the sail, so the reefing lines will need
re-routing somewhere.  If your sail drops
in a fixed set of folds, then try to match in the pulleys with the folds.
For the 1^st and 2^nd reef leech pulleys
I used Harken T2 29mm blocks and fastened them to the leech eyes with loops of
dyneema about 20cm long.  For the 3^rd reef, I use a another  Harken block and attach it to the sail with a long soft shackle that I made up, so I can
disconnect the leech 3^rd reef line in light weather and so reduce the amount of rope dropping in the cokpit.
Whilst we are on general sail control topics, some people may also find this thread interesting.
http://www.myhanse.com/controlling-the-jib-downwind_topic10476.html

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Martin&Rene Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Vice Admiral Joined: 06 December 2009 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 805	Post Options Post Reply Quote Martin&Rene Report Post Thanks(2) Quote Reply Topic: Single Line 3rd Reefing Setup Posted: 01 December 2017 at 12:14
	Over the past few months, I have made a number of comments on various threads about how I rig a single line 3rd reefing system. So I thought I would pull them all together into one thread. Firstly, acknowledgements must go to Cindy's Island, owner of a 341/342, who first posted a thread on this idea way back on 18/10/2015 on page 25 of the 341/342. If you dig deep, there is so much good information on this super forum. My Selden boom has 4 pulleys at the aft end. At the front end there are 2 pulleys on the topside for the 1st and 2nd reef and two pulleys on the bottom side, of which one is used for the outhaul. I rig the third reef through the remaining pulley and then there is a turning pulley fastened under the gooseneck and the reefing line goes round this and then up to the third luff reefing point. The ball bearing turning pulley with becket is secured by rope to the lower kicker mast fitting and held up by shockcord close to the gooseneck. You can just see it in this photo. I then added another pulley to the sail organiser and another clutch by the cockpit. Hope these diagrams help a bit. The first diagram shows the overall layout of the third reef line (red line). The rope is fastened to the boom, in a similar manner to the other reefing lines, runs up to the leech 3rd reef point, back down to the boom end through the pulley set and into the boom. At the front of the boom, the rope then comes out through a turning pulley on the bottom of the boom, round a new turning block, then up to the luff 3^rd reefing point, down through a reefing lead to the mast foot. As I did not have a spare mast foot attachment point, I use a block and fiddle pulley , with the 1^st reef line going around the main pulley and the 3^rd reef line going around the smaller pulley. You can just see it on the port side of the mast foot. I do not use a double pulley, as when it is only loaded on just one pulley, it twists and jams slightly. (Barton size 4/5 ball bearing sheave fiddle block, reverse shackle) Now looking in more detail. Under the reefing load, the turning pulley by the front of the boom is pulled upwards, so I have fastened its attachment rope to the mast kicker fitting. (It is the white/blue rope you can see in the earlier picture.) As the pulley would fall when it is not under load, a piece of shock-cord is fastened to the becket loop, goes through a micro-pulley fastened to the mast gooseneck fitting and the down to the mast kicker fitting. (This is the blue line you can see in the picture.) ( Barton 4/5 single block, ball bearing sheave, reverse shackle with becket) As friction is a problem on single line reefing systems, I have added blocks at all turning points. For the 3 luff reefing points I used Barton swivel eye ball bearing size 4 pulleys, as the pulleys wheels are covered on both sides. With the pulley on one side of the sail and a 50mm stainless steel ring on the other, I fastened them together with thin dyneema lines, one line from the ring, through the sail eye and then to the block and another line from the ring, round the front of the luff rope and then to the block. The reefing lines now go up and down on the same side of the sail, so the reefing lines will need re-routing somewhere. If your sail drops in a fixed set of folds, then try to match in the pulleys with the folds. For the 1^st and 2^nd reef leech pulleys I used Harken T2 29mm blocks and fastened them to the leech eyes with loops of dyneema about 20cm long. For the 3^rd reef, I use a another Harken block and attach it to the sail with a long soft shackle that I made up, so I can disconnect the leech 3^rd reef line in light weather and so reduce the amount of rope dropping in the cokpit. Whilst we are on general sail control topics, some people may also find this thread interesting. http://www.myhanse.com/controlling-the-jib-downwind_topic10476.html
	Martin&Rene Hanse 341 Dipper Wheel steering, 3 cabin layout, normally based in Scotland

Martin&Rene Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Vice Admiral Joined: 06 December 2009 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 805	Post Options Post Reply Quote Martin&Rene Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 November 2019 at 17:56
	Since this thread has been referred to a few times, I thought I would update it. Since writing the thread, I have purchased a new mainsail. The sail has sewn in pulleys for the 3 luff reefing points, but only on the first 2 reefing points on the leech. For the 3^rd reefing point on the leech there is just an eye cringle. The 3^rd reefing line is fully set up threaded through the pulley and tied off onto the boom as described previously and when needed, I can just attach it to the mainsail with a long soft shackle that I made up. See www. https://www.animatedknots.com/soft-shackle The 3^rd reefing line spends most of its time just flaked out into the stack pack, tied off at the front of the boom, but I always put it on if there is a chance of a blow. It is not my intention to have to thread it up at sea. On our yacht the main sheet and the self tacker jib sheet are on opposite sides, so I can easily adjust both sails. Port side clutches Main sheet, boom outhaul, 1st and 3rd reef line, jib halyard and spinnaker halyard. Starboard side clutches Kicker, 2nd reef, main halyard, jib sheet and spinnaker halyard. We have dyneema halyards, so the main halyard is marked off by the clutch, where it will be for the 3 reefing points so that we are just not loading up on the mainsail mast sliders of the part of the main that is reefed. In addition, we have marks on the mast, where a batten car or sail slider will be when the sail is reefed (Thanks to Samuel for the latter idea.) So, having eased the kicker, we can just lower the main under control with one turn around the winch, whilst pulling in the reefing lines. Always pull the reefing lines in simultaneously, as otherwise the leech lines can tangle themselves. Having lowered the sail to the correct place, we clutch off the halyard and then pull the reefing lines in tight on the winch. Getting the leech and foot tension high is easier if you can either just push the boom up a bit so that it sits high on the rod kicker, or lift it slightly using the reefing line above the one you are actually tightening. (But don’t forget to ease it before pulling the kicker back on.) Having clutched off the active reefing line, we will then just tighten up on the main halyard the final couple of cms. If you need it, you can always ease the main halyard whilst it is wrapped around the genoa winch on the cockpit coaming, whilst using the cabin top winch for tensioning the reefing lines. If you want to put in or take out reefs whilst you are still in harbour, it helps if you make marks on the reefing lines, say at the boom end, so you know roughly how much rope to pull through. So it is worth spending some time in light winds on anchor or on a mooring and going through the various reefing practices. We put in the third reef, before we even start to think about reefing the jib. We have only done that a couple of times when beating to windward This thread shows how I control the self tacking jib. https://www.myhanse.com/controlling-the-jib-downwind_topic10476_post88083.html?KW=Barber#88083 In strong winds and with the wind forward of the beam, I have made good progress with just the self-tacking jib. Downwind, I will normally use 2 sails as long as possible. If there is a slight increase in wind, I will just furl the jib. Our yacht is certainly quite happy broad reaching with or without a jib, with either a full or reefed main. If you are really expecting a blow, you can consider dropping the main and just sailing under the self-tacking jib, as once the wind is around 20kts, you will have good boat speed.
	Martin&Rene Hanse 341 Dipper Wheel steering, 3 cabin layout, normally based in Scotland

Matt1 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Rear Admiral Joined: 10 March 2019 Location: Hamble, UK Status: Offline Points: 632	Post Options Post Reply Quote Matt1 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 November 2019 at 18:38
	Love that solution. Really neat solution. I shall steal that idea ;-)
	Hanse 418 #64 EmBer. Hamble, UK



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