Can anyone offer guidance on the pros and cons of adding a reef point in the main sail? If pro, any directions on location of the reef points and rigging? We regularly sail in 15 knots wind, but in 17-18 knots I'd like the option to lower the main just a bit. I have a roller furling jib and that helps.

Thanks

Tad

I have raced Ensigns over 40 years. I sure wish we had reefs required in the class rules. There have been many occasions where racing was canceled due to high winds. Yet if we had a deep reef available in the main we could have safely sailed.  My take is rules should prescribe all sales to have the same size reef. And if the wind is too high the RC requires all boats to reef.  That way it's still one design .   It's a shame to travel to a regatta and even local  local races and loose time on the water to too much wind. Plus the huge benefit for day sailing .  Carrying 3 different sizes of jibs and the effort to change them is a pain in the arse. As well as being dangerous to do on the water in certain situations.  Reefing is a far better cost effective option to sail in heavy air

Thanks all this is very helpful. I'm a member of fleet, 84, established in 2020. We're on Little Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan where August winds kick up into the mid to upper teens and 1-3 ft waves regularly. Fantastic sailing conditions, but a reef in the main will make the pleasure sailing, sometimes with less experienced crew, easier for sure. (If and when (hopefully) we start racing, guess I'll just need to buy a new non-reefed main!)

For those who have installed the reef points, it is best placed at about 12 inches? 16 inches? above the foot of the sail?

Tad

I can relate to your inquiry. Several years ago I was introduced to reefing Ensign mains while crewing as a guest at the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center. They used a jiffy reef procedure. I was impressed with how well the reefed-main boats handled in really stiff breeze. 

Yet many of the mains in our fleet don’t even have reef points. I recently purchased a new main from a well-known national brand and specified reef points. The order was accepted without comment/modification, but the sail arrived without reef points. So, I asked a local rep/sailmaker to install them. He declined, stating (in short) the sail was optimized for racing, and that installing reef points would compromise some of its performance characteristics. I didn’t insist and now in high winds we generally sail with full main and #2 Genoa. 

Roughly two weeks ago our local winds kicked up to the 15-20 kt range, a SCA was issued, and sail racing was curtailed for our fleet. Rather than go home, we rigged and reefed an older mainsail, hanked on the #2 genoa, and went out to see what we could do sailing JAM. Despite the conditions, it was a very comfortable outing. Heel remained reasonable, the boat handled very well and was easy to manage. Boat speed was respectable both up and down wind, often at 5-6 kts. On many points of sail, I found I could release the tiller and have crew steer by sails alone. Maybe we just don’t have the right skill set, but we simply can’t do that (steer by sails alone under high wind conditions) with full main and # 2 genoa sail combination.

I’m a fan of reefed-main/#2 Genoa combination under high wind conditions. I suppose it’s not competitive for racing, yet it’s comfortable and safe for times when cruising with family, are out with inexperienced crew, or simply don’t want to get punished by extreme conditions.  

Steve

Ensign 947

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