Learn to Sail in Heavy Weather – Do You Know the #1 Secret to Proper Mainsail Reefing?

Did you know that your mainsail luff and leech come under enormous loads when reefed. In heavy sailing weather, you want to make sure that your mainsail keeps in one piece without the worry of rips, tears, or hardware failure. Learn to sail like a pro with these five easy steps to make sure this doesn’t happen to you!

Concentrate on the mainsail luff to insure that your sail has enough tension to avoid damage. Think of the luff like the front part of a button up shirt. Reach behind you, grab a handful of shirt, and pull back and down.

This simulates the tension the leech places on those mainsail luff slides or slugs. In this example, those buttons will either pop off the shirt, and/or the shirt will rip or tear. Follow these easy steps to get your mainsail reefed the right way:

1. Set the topping lift (if needed) to keep the boom up off the deck. Slack off on the mainsheet and boom vang to allow the mainsail to flutter and enable you to hoist it again after reefing.

2. Release the mainsail halyard. Pull the sail down to the first or second luff reef cringle with the luff reef line. Or, if you have a reef hook on your gooseneck (also called a “rams horn”}, slide the grommet (ring) in the luff reef cringle over the horn.

3. Haul around on the mainsail halyard and raise the sail as far as possible by hand. Place 3 to 4 wraps around the mainsail halyard winch and grind to get good luff tension. You want the mainsail luff to take the most of the load, so take your time to get this right.

4. Pull the leech reef cringle line down to the boom. Larger boats may use a boom mounted winch to do this. Get the leech reef cringle grommet as close the top of the boom as possible. If necessary, use extra line as a downhaul. This will insure that your reefed mainsail has good foot tension.

5. Haul in on the mainsheet and set the vang for reaching. Keep an eye on the luff and seams for any signs of excessive strain. If needed, add a bit more tension to the luff. Remember, the luff needs to take most of the load any time you reef your sails.

Follow these five simple steps to get just the right tension when sail reefing your mainsail. That way, you will avoid costly sail repairs and gain more life from your sailboat sails for many sailing seasons to come.