Hi Tom, I started with a block for the aft reefing lines, but realized it was definitely overkill. Like you, I had a Nor'Sea too and needed that extra leverage. But with a Monty it doesn't take anything to lift the boom and tighten it all down. My main halyard system has a swivel block at the base. No, it's not a stand-up springloaded one. It doesn't touch the cabin roof because there is always some tension. From the swivel block the halyard runs to a small turning block that is mounted on the coach top just between the forward starboard corner of the hatch and the hand rail. From there the halyard runs aft to the edge of the coach roof to a cam cleat. I use a Spinlock PXR Clamcleat. It opens and locks with a snap of the halyard. $34 from WM. As an aside, when I take the halyard off the head of the mainsail and clip it on the mast eye I pull all the slack out and cleat it off on the mast cleat, not the coach top mounted cam cleat. Then I take whatever is slack from the mast cleat through the swivel block and turning block and cleat it off in the coach top mounted cam cleat. This way I don't have a lot of unecessary pull on the coach top cleat and it keeps the halyard off the cabin roof. Joe ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Jenkins" <tjenk@gte.net> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Friday, December 11, 2009 3:04 PM Subject: M_Boats: more reefing stuff
Joe, Now, that is a thorough explanation! I had a "duh" moment after my last post, when I finally pictured reefing lines exiting the same bottom-mounted eye strap in opposite directions. That is indeed similar to what I am planning. Your aft setup is really simple, and I assume effective. I intended to mount blocks in the system (maybe because I still think like a heavy-boom Nor'Sea guy), but it takes no effort to raise such a light boom to the reef cringles, so your tactic gets the nod. I do have a final question on your main halyard setup; did you mount a standup (spring-loaded) swivel block on the mast base, or on the cabin roof? It seems as if the former might be a bit too high (i.e., above the mast step) to get a good angle with the cam cleat, unless the cleat is mounted on a canted base .
Thanks for all the good ideas. Tom
On Dec 11, 2009, at 9:49 AM, Joe Murphy wrote:
Tom, Let me try to clarify. Perhaps I will start from the cleat on the boom and go from there. I put two hollow bottom cleats , one on each side of the boom back from the gooseneck so that they are located above the drop boards. One will be used for reef #1 and the other will be used for reef #2. Let's start with the cleat on the starboard side. Tie a stopper knot and run the line through the hollow area beneath the horns on the cleat and forward to a block on the starboard side of the boom. The block needs to be mounted as close to the gooseneck as possible. Run the line thru the block and go up the starboard side of the mainsail luff to the first cringle. Run the line thru the cringle and down the port side of the mainsail luff. Put an eye strap on bottom of the boom as close to the goose neck as possible. Run the line through the eye strap. With the mainsail all the way up pull the line through the eyestrap just enough to pull out the slack. Using a magic marker, mark the line where it enters the eyestrap. Pull out the line and tie a stopper knot. Put the line back thru the eye strap and tie another stopper knot right next to the eye strap. These two knots, one on each side of the eye strap, should be big enough to keep the line from pulling through from either direction. We have just installed reef #1. Now to do reef #2, take the line which should have exited the eyestrap to starboard, run the line up the starboard luff of the mainsail and through the second cringle and back down the port side of the mainsail luff to the second block installed on the port side of the boom, again, mounted as close to the goose neck as possible. Run the line through the block and lead it aft along the portside of the boom to the port side mounted cleat. Run the line through the cleat and put in a stopper knot and cut off the remaining line. I arranged the lines that come through each cleat so that the stopper knots are on the bottom part of the cleat. This makes it real easy to just grab the stopper knot and pull down. I use a much simpler method of reefing the aft reefing points. No blocks. Just an eye strap and a hollow base cleat for each reefing point. The first reefing line starts by being tied off to an eyestrap and run up to the first cringle and back down the othe side of the sail to a cleat. Normally the location of the eyestrap and cleat would be slightly aft of a perpendicular line running down from the cringle to the boom. To take out the guess work of where to place the hardware reef down the first reefing point and pull the foot tight and mount the hardware a wee bit aft. Repeat the same thing for the 2nd reef. Since the two reefing lines running up and down are not right on top of one another you can put both cleats on the same side of the boom or put one on one side and one on the other to match the logic of the forward reefing lines. I have the main halyard running back to a camcleat at the aft edge of the cabin top. Make a practice run of using the reefing lines. Lower the mainsail and pull down on reef line #1. This is the one on the starboard side cleat. Get it all nice and tight the way you want it. Pull the halyard to take all the slack out of the now reefed down main. Where the halyard comes out of my clam cleat I whipped a contrastng colored line on the halyard a couple of inches out from the cam cleat. This little trick will now alow me to drop the main to a predetermined spot and cleat off the halyard and now focus on the reefing lines. I did this for both reefing points so that my halyard has two very obvious marks that I can see in the day time and feel in the dark. If you are cleating off at the mast you can do the same thing and mark the halyard where you would temporarily cleat off while you work on the reefing lines. Sorry to be so wordy. But I hope this clears things up. Again, this is just one way to do a reefing line. How you finally decide to do yours depends on what you are comfortable with and more importantly what method you actually use because it's just too easy not to. Good luck, Joe
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