I have a gunter sloop rigged Skerry which I believe has the same sails as the Passagemaker. I had some reef points added to my sail and with the sail reefed, the top of the yard tends to fall away from the mast, creating a large crease in the sail. Adding a second parrel line further up the yard made the crease go away. As for sailing performance with a reefed main alone, I can still go to windward, although probably not as efficiently. Going downwind, the reef helps reduce weather helm and makes jibes safer.