This is my second "dumb wheel" question for the group this evening.
I don't have much experience reefing, even after a couple decades of sailing on the San Francisco Bay, including a couple of outings on my Montgomery 15 when all the other boats - all a lot bigger than me - were reefed. Although not always the perfect solution, I have always dealt with stronger winds by moving ballast around and letting the boat round up when it wants to and not by reducing sail area. Now I have a second reef point in my main and a couple of smaller jibs for the Montgomery 15 that I would like to use and I wonder what is the best way to reduce sail area while on the water in building conditions.
I have hank on jibs so I would guess I just need to deal with getting up front and changing the jib to reduce area up front. I am figuring out a harness and jack point system for the boat so, even though far from ideal, once I have that figured out I can at least stay attached to the boat during the jib changing process.
I think I remember something on here or somewhere about what seemed to be a good process to reef the main while hove (heaved?) to. The one time I reefed the Montgomery I did it while underway. Although this worked, it did not seem ideal. Could someone detail a good process to reef the main on a Montgomery 15 while underway, presumably while hove/heaved (which is it??) to?
David Grah
Bishop California
Montgomery 15 Serial 369 "Sky"
