Thanks for the response, Dave. I am still digesting the responses to my other two questions (kiting at anchor and jib sheet length) and was getting ready to re-post this one since so far I wasn't aware of any responses. I have been able to comfortably sail with stronger winds without reefing but am aware that will only work to a point. I also appreciate the reminder the boat may be faster once sail area is reduced. My ignorance about reefing will show as I say I am not sure what the boat's reefing method is. I have only used it once. It now consists of two horizontal rows of grommet cringles on the main with larger grommets at the luff and leach to act as the tack and clew of the sail when reefed. At the leach is a line that is anchored to the boom runs up through the lower large grommet, back to a block on the boom and then to a cleat. To use the second reef it appears this line will need to be rerouted through the upper large grommet. This may be a single line reefing method, but I don't know. If the boat is not stable enough to reef when hove to, I assume it would be best to reef when going to windward, perhaps even pinched a little, so he clew is as close to the center line of the boat as possible. I wonder about lowering the main to allow the boom down into the cockpit to get the reef secured, but wonder how the main and the boat would behave while doing this in building wind. I would be very interested to hear what procedure others in the group use to reef when underway and why, particularly on a Montgomery 15. David Grah Bishop California Montgomery 15 Serial 369 "Sky" ________________________________ From: Dave Scobie <scoobscobie@gmail.com> To: David Grah <d_b_grah@yahoo.com>; For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, May 1, 2014 8:18 AM Subject: Re: M_Boats: Reefing While Hove Too David: your email ended up in my spam folder so sorry for coming late to this discussion. first, the M15 can be a challenge to hove too. this isn't because the boat will not hove too, it is because the crew is a large percentage of the boat's weight. this means once you hove too, and then move, the boat's center of effort is changed and the boat will round up or fall off. play around some to find out what your M15 will do when you move around. for the M15, if you are using the standard headsail (120-someting-percent) you first want to put in both mainsail reefs before going to a smaller headsail with two reefs in the main the M15 will do well up to 18-20kts. it is very important to keep mainsail sheet tension applied when sailing the M15. if you luff the main the boat will heal more! this is because the main sheet is the boat's backstay (it applies backward force to the mast along the main). if the main is luffed excessively (in contrast to some backwinding from the jib) the mast rotates forward and the jib begins to bag ... resulting in poor sail shape and increased healing force. reefing the M15's main means she will sail better as you keep on that mainsheet tension. each person has his/her comfort level as the wind and heeling increases. i found that putting in the first reef as you approach 13-15 kts made the boat sail faster (remember, once the boat is heeling more than 15 or 20 degrees you are slowing down). as the wind approaches 18-20 put in a second reef. as you get above 23 or so knots then consider a smaller headsail. remember - the M15 _does_not_ sail well under main or jib alone! what reefing method is on the boat? two line? single line? other? On Wed, Apr 23, 2014 at 6:53 PM, David Grah <d_b_grah@yahoo.com> wrote: 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"
-- :: Dave Scobie :: former M15 owner - www.freewebs.com/m15-named-scred :: M17 #375 SWEET PEA - www.m17-375.webs.com