Reefing Systems for a Gunter Rigged BR20

[Matthew P]

Garden sailing is the best course during the Covid-19 doldrums so I’m setting sail to discover improved reefing systems for my gunter rigged BR20.

Reefing reliably and quickly is important for cruising and competition.  Reefing generally is an old topic but maybe with more experience it's time for a re-fresh. The optimum reefing system is a combination of a robust procedure and equipment – I’m looking to improve both. 

Bearing in mind the need to reef single handed, tired, in a rising wind and pitching boat my criteria for a good system are, numbered for reference but not in priority order:

1.   Reliable to operate – tired idiot crew proof
2.   No possibility of unsecured ropes, sails or other gear blowing out of control and out of reach,
        such as unattached halyards
3.   No small parts to drop or lose, such as shackle pins
4.   Reliable in use - doesn't come undone
5.   Maintain good sail shape
6.   Simple, easy to use and easy to understand
7.   Fast, especially reefing down
8.   One-handed operation i.e with one hand "for the ship" and one for the rope/control.
 Attempting to marry a flapping sail clew with a loosely attached outhaul shackle is a recipe for a nasty fall or even  a person-over-board.
9.   Single person operation

My BR20 Glady’s gunter rig has served her well for cruising-camping and performed well in raids.  So the answer is not to completely replace it with a Bermuda, junk or other rig! Has anyone good ideas for a) alternative criteria, b) reefing procedure and c) reefing equipment specifically for gunter rigs?

Matthew
BR20 Gladys

[garethrow]

Matthew
Have you looked at / considered Steve Jones' system for gunter reefing = double halyard. The main modification being an extra block at the mast head. This removes the need for dropping the spa to alter halyard attachment point. The downside is more string and the need for additional cleat at mast base to take the second halyard. If making from new one would have a double sheave in the mast head. If adapting existing wooden mast - I am not sure how you would add that extra bolck / sheave.

Happy thinking

Regards
Gareth

[Graham W]

Matthew,

It’s been a while since I had to reef my gunter mainsail or indeed do any sailing at all but this works quite well for me when sailing solo:
•   A double topping lift allows me to drop the mainsail and yard horizontally on to the top of the sprit boom without undue flapping.  The sprit boom is then sheeted in amidships, which gives me a stable horizontal platform to brace myself against for further fiddling about
•.  The parrel bead strops that secure each mainsail luff cringle against the mast have a bead at one end and a small loop at the other.  Undoing a strop to reef down one stop involves feeding the strop’s end bead back through the loop, which is nice and quick
•   An open hook on the downhaul is detached from the mainsail tack and attached to the next cringle up on the luff
•   A snaphook on the outhaul is detached from the mainsail clew and attached to the next cringle up along the mainsail leech.  To stop the sprit boom from drooping when reefed, a Dyneema shackle keeps the outhaul snaphook snug against the sprit boom
•   Attaching hooks to the actual metal cringles is fiddly.  Attaching them to small Dyneema loops spliced through each cringle is much easier
•   The main halyard is permanently fixed to the gunter yard at the unreefed position.  When reefing, I use a permanently attached tie further up the yard to secure the halyard and yard together at the next position up.  This stops the yard from being raised higher than the correct reefing position
•   Finally, I tidy up the foot of the sail with the three reefing pennants.  Or not, depending on how much else I have to deal with

Not a single metal shackle involved!

When reefing or unreefing solo, I weathercock the boat by furling the jib, sheeting the mizzen in hard amidships and securing the tiller amidships.  The boat then drifts slowly backwards while automatically facing into the wind.

The attached shows Turaco double-reefed and cracking along on a reach off Corfu.

It's time I got the boat out and did a bit of garden sailing myself.

[Matthew P]

Thank you Gareth and Graham     

Double-halyards - in principle this is a good idea to enable the yard to be lowered or raised without dropping it into the boat and reattaching or moving  single halyard. I set this up on Gladys with 6mm cruising-Dynema halyards attached to the yard at the full sail and 3rd (deepest) reef positions. You are right Gareth, it needs at least a double block in the mast head. Despite careful routing and filing a double groove in the mast head to separate the halyards they insisted on fighting each other.  A masthead jam-up is not good news in a blow.  I haven't the courage to cut a slot big enough to accommodate two blocks in the mast head. It's already a highly stressed and busy place.  So I've reverted to a single halyard but kept the 6mm cruising-Dynema for light weight and stiffness. 

Graham's solution is close to my current system but with equipment refinements.  If you have an opportunity Graham, would you mind posting some photos of your Dynema loops, out-haul, down-haul and other bits of string please?  No hurry.

Any ideas for jib roller reefing without having to tidy up either the roller reef line or the outhaul after anyone? 

Matthew
BR20 Gladys



 

[Graham W]

Matthew,

To answer your last question first, Jonathan published in the library some suggested modifications to the jib boom strings, specifically for a BRe but they would work on a BR20 too. See https://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/?page_id=319. The problem on the BRe was that the height of the cabin made it difficult to reach the strings, so the modifications were designed to lead them safely back inside the cockpit.

I’m not convinced that on a BR20 any modification to the jib drum furling line is necessary - with the jib unfurled, there is only a small amount of string left trailing at the aft end of the jib boom. The jib outhaul is a different matter - unless tidied away by conscientious crew, the excess can drop over the side, tangle up in the cleats on the front of the mast and generally make a nuisance of itself. Jonathan’s modification to the outhaul leads it from the jib clew to the front of the boom and then back to the cockpit, and in addition provides a bit of mechanical advantage to the outhaul process. If installed on a BR20, you would need to fix a new jamming cleat on the foredeck somewhere to replace the one on the jib boom.

As for photos of the other modifications, I’ll get my boat out for some garden sailing in the next few days.

[Ged]

I cut a new 'dumb sheave' into the top of my mast and then capped it off with a piece of bronze, with the intention of using a double halyard system but I have found it so straightforward just to heave to and drop the yard into the boat, retie the halyard and rehoist that I've never used it.

I use these clips on the clew and tack which I was nervous about to start with but have been fine in all sorts of conditions over the last 6 years, just cheap ones off ebay.  The only problem I've had is that one shook its self apart on a journey up to Scotland.  I tend to use them all over the boat for bailers etc so there will always be a spare available if a crucial one gives up.

https://www.gsproducts.co.uk/52mm-stainless-steel-fixed-snap-shackle/

I've added a 'tail' of thin line onto my halyard to make it easier to thread through the hole on the yard.

I was worried about the difficulty of reefing a gunter but feel now that the simple solution really isn't that much of a bother and wouldn't consider changing it.
 
Judging by the mess that I've seen people making of reefing afloat ,a simple system and plenty of practice is hard to beat.

[Graham W]

Here's a photo of my modified mainsail outhaul.  It uses three Dyneema shackles - the one on the left attaches a tie-on block to the snap hook; the middle one holds the snap hook close to the boom when reefed (otherwise the boom tends to droop); and the right hand one is what the snap hook is attached to on the sail, rather than to the cringle itself, which can be a bit fiddly.  The low friction eye above it all is part of the double topping lift.

[Graham W]

This is my modified downhaul.  I can't remember what the standard arrangement was but I think it only used one block and you tightened the downhaul by pulling the string upwards.  This uses two blocks and you pull the string, with quite a lot of mechanical advantage, downwards.  The apparatus hooks through the cringle on the tack with an open hook - I found a snap hook unnecessary and a bit of a fiddle, tending to slow things down.  The reefing cringles higher up the luff are quite heavily occupied by parrel bead strops, so they have permanently attached Dyneema shackles to hook on to rather than on to the cringle itself - much less fiddly. The slide on the aft side of the mast is much longer than the original standard one, allowing more room for adjustment without the car popping out of the top.

[Graham W]

Here's a typical Dyneema shackle through a cringle, in this case on the mainsail leech.  It's much easier to hook on to these than on to the cringle itself.

[Graham W]

This is my gunter yard jaws arrangement.  I noticed that the original system using a metal shackle made large gouges in my mast, so substituted parrel beads on a strop terminating in a small loop.  It's also much quicker and easier to tie and untie.  Each mainsail leech cringle up the mast has a similar arrangement.

[Graham W]

Here is the system that I use to shorten the mainsail halyard when reefing - a simple tie permanently attached to the yard that is used to secure the halyard against the yard at the appropriate reefing position.  Like Ged, I have permanently attached the end of my halyard to the yard, threaded through a hole in the yard in the unreefed position.

[Graham W]

Finally, here are the jib strings that Matthew would like to tame.  The jib furling line (blue, right foreground) isn't much of a problem when the jib is unfurled but the tail of the jib outhaul (white coil in the foreground) is much more problematic.

[Matthew P]

Thank you Graham. 

It's great to see Turaco back on the scene, looking good and with a charming crew (seen in "Sailing in the End of Days").

Gladys's reefing system is similar but I shall "pinch with pride" some of your refinements when I next launch Gladys for some garden sailing.

Matthew

BR20 Gladys   

[Graham W]

Matthew,

I think I may already have enough spare hardware to try Jonathan’s jib outhaul modification.  If the jib is under a lot of pressure, it can be difficult for crew to release the outhaul from the Clamcleat on the end of the jib boom.  With the extra mechanical advantage, the modification would solve this problem too.

[Matthew P]

Here's Gladys's rapid reefing spinnaker

Matthew
Gladys BR20