Neil...can you please weigh in on how you rigged your reefing?

I had two reef points put in my lug sail and, like you, I need specific examples of jiffy reefing so I'll give you some links i found...

Here's a single reef from Neil Calore

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyOO-qrFSF8

And I think this one is a double reef:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGTnauBC3Dw&feature=player_detailpage%20-%20t=112

There also is a lot to study about the halyard and/or a line to keep the lug from blowing out when setting the reef and a line around the boom and mast too, same reason

Curt 830/997-8120

I swear Curt, we're going to end up with identical boats when we're done. I've been looking into the same problem, and here's the best video I saw showing how to set one up with a single reef point and minimal hardware.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E35-enwImJw

-colin

Colin,

I know, that's funny and there are other dory builders right now (and likely are all of the time).

Thanks for the link.  I like that he just used fairleads and small line.  Couple things i wonder about...1) How does he cleat off the jiffy lines to provide outhaul tension on the reef?  2) What does he do with the extra jifffy reef line when it's reefed?  (I assume it's just bundled up in the reefed sail on the boom)

Here's one more of Neil's boat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyK3TYNEs1w

Note at the 25 second  (I captured it here)

https://picasaweb.google.com/114717787929554738224/BuildingWoodenBoatCLCNortheasterDory?authkey=Gv1sRgCKCBzczm_aKs2wE#5979722243804949762

It appears in some pictures he has a single reef sail, but in other ones it's clear he has two reef points...anyway, it looks like he feeds the reef lines THROUGH holes in the boom, not through fairleads?

Anyone else done reefing on lug sails that can contribute how they rigged them?

Curt 830/997-8120

I don't see any reason why you couldnt drill straight through the boom. A few small diameter holes on the centerline wouldn't have any effect on it's structural strength. You could even use some kind of metal insert (basically just a short piece of stainless tube with rounded edges to take care of any abrasion problems, though I kind of doubt that's even worth worrying about.

I don't think there were any cleats for the lines in the clip of the Phoenix III. It looked like one of the jiffy reef lines was tied to the other with a variation of a prusik knot--you can slide the knot along the rope it's tied as long as you hold the body of the knot, but when you pull on the ends of the rope it cinches tight and grabs.

The way the knots are put together, the line from the outhaul end has a loop tied in it, and the line from the downhaul end passes through that loop. The configuration works almost like having a block and gives some mechanical advantage in pulling everything tight. It would probably take some practice to get it working smoothly and get the tension adjusted properly, but it's simple.

Running the jiffy lines:  
Agree going thru the boom with 4 higly epoxied (to be slippery) reefing line holes (if double reef) should be OK.  I would think the load on boom would be in an accidental jibe more in the middle of the boom in the area of the main sheet block not at the ends.

Outhaul:  
I wonder if a sliding cleat on the end of one of the lines would work, or even on the boom, in order to ensure outhaul tension...would like to know how Neil secured his jiffy lines.

Sail reef nettle lines:
If used at all, I'm guessing these would be tied around the foot of the sail not around the boom?

Would like to hear from the gurus at CLC how they run reef lines on a lug rig too.

Anyone else have lug rig reefing ideas or suggestions?

Curt

I have the balanced lug rig on my Passagemaker Dinghy. The sail has one reef point. Though I have never found it necessary to reef my PMD, (in up to 25 knots of wind on a smallish lake) I very much like the Phoenix III setup.

Having worked with a number of jiffy reefing systems on other boats, I can say that what's important here is that the reef line fairleads (attached or thru boom) be far enough aft (and forward respectively) that there is sufficient tension for a taut foot once reefed without the need for another outhaul. In depowering the sail, you'd want less draft.

Furthermore, you want to make sure that the point where the halyard is attached to the yard remain in close contact with the mast. There are a number of solutions of how to accomplish this. A simply loop around the mast with the longer bitter end of the halyard would do the trick. This is less important when the sail is not reefed but becomes critical in this situation. My initial solution (below) was overkill and I no longer loop underneath the yard.

On my lug rig, the sail is tied with loops all along the foot of the boom, i.e. not lose-footed. Therefore the reef can be tied around the boom OR just to foot of the sail itself. I would opt for the tie around boom because I suspect that you would end up with a better sail shape with smoother airflow over the working sail.

In order to maintain good sailing characteristics when reefed, you want best possible sail shape while maintaining the center of effort in relation to the daggerboard.

Cheers from frosty Western PA

Chris

My PMD blog

This last post was from me... not sure why I was logged off in mid-stream but still permitted posting... perhaps a cold blast of ice was the culprit.

Chris,

Thanks much for the great information!

So, do I have this right for the line colors on your last picture?

Red=Downhaul with what appears to be a 3 to 1 purchase?  On the bottom end is it connected to the boat so as to provide downward force to hold the mast in?

White=Halyard

Blue= Is it performing 3 functions?  A tackline that the downhaul pulls downward on plus acting as a preventer for the foreward end of the boom to not rise up plus acting as a parre to keep the boom close to the mast?

Question...I've read comments that to remove the sail rig and start rowing, some of the comments indicate they put the mast on one side of the rower and the yards and sail on the other side. I cant picture how that works.   Especially with your rigging to take the sail and mast out, do you just undo the lower end of the downhaul, let the halyard go free and drop the yard, raise the aft end of the boom, and grab the whole mess and lay it down together on one side?

thanks!

Curt 830/997-8120

Just found this site....there are a lot of sites on this topic but this one looks quite extensive:

http://www.storerboatplans.com/GIS/GISRigging.html

Curt - here some brief responses.

So, for the halyard I actually used the line intended in the lug kit for the lashings of the sail to yard and boom. For those I used thinner line. Check my blog on that specific subject.

For the downhaul I wanted purchase and access while at the tiller.

As you can see in this picture, the lower block (pointing up) is attached to a short red line which runs through the deck and secured underneath with a figure 8 knot. A much longer red line is attached with a bowline to the upper block, runs down and around the lower block, comes back up and around the lower block and then leads down through a deck apparature into a cam cleat. As the line is long enough, I have it losely tossed back so that I can reach it from the tiller and readily ease or tension the downhaul. The upper block is loosely attached around to the boom so that I can adjust the exact location of attachment when the downhaul is uncleated. You can zoom in on the picture for a closer look.

The designated location of the block for the mainsheet at the boom is such that when the boom is hauled in for a close reach, there is a slight forward pressure on the boom. The simple purpose of the blue line is to counteract that pressure so that the sail does not push forward thereby moving the center of effort forward as well. Clearly this is a nuance only noticed by a racer. A taut downhaul will pretty much accomplish this all of its own. As you can see from the two video links below, I no longer rig the blue line as depicted above but simply run it from the forward end of the boom down to the lower horn cleat at the mast. It is a personal perference and not an essential part of the lug rig.

Here are two links to brief videos of my lug rig which should answer some questions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZXJdK9H3Hg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMg1TkUORLE

When I get ready to dowse the sail and switch to rowing, I uncleat the blue line, ease the downhaul and lower the yard. No need to detach the downhaul completely. It stays attached while loosely flaking or rolling the sail on the port side. I detach the lower block of the mainsheet and wrap it around the sail to keep it from opening in a breeze. The halyard is long enough that you don't need to remove it from the top fairlead in the mast while unstepping the mast and laying it down on the starboard side. Snug up the halyard so that it does not become an obstacle. There is more than one way to secure the mast to the boat without it becoming a flying or rolling object. Use your ingenuity.

Then start to row. - Hope this is useful!

Chris