I first learned about “reefing” at Hoofers. When you’re sailing in heavy winds – heavy enough to be dangerous – you “reef” the sails. You’re reducing the sail area to more safely (and comfortably) sail when the winds are heavy. Reefing can be accomplished a couple of ways – you can lash the sail to the boom, for example. This is what we did at Hoofers.
Another method to reef is by using “reefing lines”. Calpurnia’s Love was delivered without reefing lines – we did not have them the first year. They were delivered for the second season. Yay! But then I decided to skip rigging them becuase I had no itention to sail in heavy winds. Bad decision.
Mid-season, we slipped the alternator belt – no engine. We raised the sails and had our fun. When it was time to head back to the mooring, the wind picked up and was very steady. I could not reef in order to make the trip comfortable for our six person crew. Instead, to reduce sail area, I only ran the jib. Because Calpurnia’s Love has dual rudders, there is little/no weather helm. We booked it West to the mooring, hitting 5.7 knots, the fastest speed I’d noted on Calpurnia’s Love to date.
Anyway, lesson learned. This season we’re rigging the reefing lines.
Calpurnia’s Love has two reefing lines for the mainsail, cleverly called “Reef 1″ and Reef 2”. Reef 1 is 16 meters; reef 2 is 20 meters.
One weekend, I strung the lines through the boom, along with a new outhaul. Yesterday, I installed two boom bails – using a rivet gun for the first time – and rigged the lines like this:
Here’s a time lapse of the install:
Calpurnia Republic 