| Are you looking for a way to make sail reefing faster | | | | off the halyard. |
| and easier than before? How can you cut down the | | | | 3. Mark the halyard where it touches the sailboat mast |
| amount of time you spend forward at the sailboat | | | | cleat. Make a single, thick circle with your permanent |
| mast in howling wind and blowing sea spray? Here's a | | | | marker or wrap a strip of ripstop nylon tape around |
| tip that's guaranteed to save you lots of time and | | | | the halyard near the cleat. Make your circle easy to |
| frustration down the road. | | | | see during the day, night, or in foul weather. |
| The Secret of Marked Halyards | | | | 4. Lower the mainsail halyard until your second tack |
| Most of us don't look for heavy winds, but if you sail | | | | reef gets to the boom; cleat off the halyard. Make two |
| long enough, you can expect to have to deal with | | | | thick circles where the halyard just touches the cleat |
| them one day. And many small cruising sailboats have | | | | or wrap two strips of tape around the halyard. If your |
| small sailing crews. In heavy weather sailing, this might | | | | mainsail has a third set of reef points, repeat the |
| leave one person at the sailboat tiller or wheel and | | | | procedure and use three thick circles or three wraps |
| another to handle all of the sail reefing duties. Reefing | | | | of tape. |
| the mainsail alone can be a handful! | | | | Put Your New Sail Reefing System into Action |
| Mark the mainsail halyard to show the settings for the | | | | When it's time to reef the mainsail, set the topping lift |
| first and second tack reef points. This will take the | | | | and ease the boom vang and mainsheet. Lower the |
| guesswork out of how far you need to lower the | | | | halyard to the desired tack reef point indicated by your |
| halyard for reefing. Do this at the marina dock in light | | | | circles. Cleat off the halyard at that point. Haul down |
| wind during the early morning or late afternoon. Bring a | | | | on the tack reef line and cleat it off. Raise the mainsail |
| friend along to help you out. You will need a permanent | | | | and set proper luff tension. Then go to the end of the |
| ink marker or sticky-back ripstop nylon tape. | | | | boom and set the mainsail clew reef. |
| Four Easy Steps to Simplify Sail Reefing | | | | Make sail reefing easier for all hands aboard your small |
| 1. Raise the mainsail all the way to the top of the | | | | cruising or racing sailboat. These simple tips will keep |
| sailboat mast. | | | | your sailing crew safer, dryer, and happier when the |
| 2. Lower the mainsail halyard until your first tack reef | | | | winds and seas pipe up. |
| gets to the proper position at the sailboat boom. Cleat | | | | |