Folkboats Around the World
IF drawing International Folkboat
Tech Tips

Time to Reef
Grace, Ken Kurlychek

photo of IF 377 in a blow
The above photo, was taken by John Riise, managing editor of Latitude 38, the San Francisco sailing monthly, used here with permission. It originally appeared in the June 1998 issue on pages 142-143. John took this photo in early May (around the 9th). He writes, "The wind was really honking. It was blowing at least 25 when I took the photo. I don't know the name of the IF, but the location is right outside the Golden Gate."

Our sincerest thanks to John for supplying the photo. IF 377, if you find this page, drop a line and identify yourself. We'd love to hear from you.

So when is it time to reef? IFs can stand up to a good deal of wind before the need to reduce sail arises. Most likely, when you start thinking it is time to reef, it is. Or perhaps 15 minutes earlier. It's much easier to shake out a reef than to put one in. Racers will have their own timetable for shortening sail but day-sailors and cruisers should think of the comfort of their crew and the strain on the rig. If your boat is not balanced for the conditions that have enveloped you, then you will not sail efficiently. And if the crew down below looks out the leeward port and sees a fish staring back, it is time to reef.

Generally, I tend to go on a sail diet if I am beating into an 18+/- kt. headwind with an ornery Chesapeake chop. If there are edgey crew members aboard, I would probably reef a bit sooner. Off the wind, I might go without the reef depending on if the weather conditions were stable or not. I enjoy speed but I'm no risk-taker.

My IF has what I believe to be the standard setup for slab reefing. This requires that I go forward to unstop the sail track so two lugs can fall out when I start dropping the main. I use a pig-tail hook attached to the gooseneck to hold the reef's luff clew. The reef line for the leech clew cleats forward near the mast in the neighborhood of the topping lift and the outhaul. Working amid-ship is not the best place for a single-hander. Some day I would like to lead all lines aft to the cockpit. I'd love to hear how other IF owners have set up their lines.

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