Thanks for the info/advice. After this weekend, the first thing that came to mind when on Superior was making sure I was wearing one of my old climbing harnesses with a line attached. I've been sailing mostly without a jib quite happily. I usually only put it up when the wind is extremely low to see if I can get a bit more power. Am I mistaken in this act? Several people have talked about having a storm jib up when the weather is rough - my educated guess on that would be that it gives the boat forward motion without the heeling effect that the main can.. yes? I believe I only have one set of reef points on my main - I'll have to look again. On Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 12:12 PM, John and DesAnne Hippe <jdhippe@gmail.com>wrote:
I would agree with David on the reefing schedule: 12-15 kts -- 1st reef; 15-20 -- 2nd reef; 20+ -- 2 reefs in main and storm jib.
I have gone under reefed main alone and made some progress but it is slooowww.... I have had to do this when the wind is upward to 25-30 kts.
I am considering a 3rd reef for these times. It doesn't happen often but when it does, I want to be able to have a jib and the main to ensure enough driving force -- especially with the larger waves produced at this time on Lake Michigan and Superior. Does anyone else have a third set of reef points?
Chris -- when I have been out in bad weather on Lake Michgan and Superior, I have always felt that the M-15 handles well -- if I am reefed properly. Reef early. Getting out on the bouncing foredeck is not that fun but it is doable. When I go out on the foredeck, I am always tethered. I also have a downhaul on the jib so I can douse it in a hurry if necessary.
John Hippe M-15 Jester _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
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