as foredeck work on the m15 isn't much fun i always reefed the main.  single handed in a blow i would have little motivation to get on the deck.   just before i sold my m15 i purchased a new main with double reefs.  NEVER used the sail.  my plan was always to reef twice then look at changing the headsail.  the standard 120ish-percent jib just isn't all that much sail.  i have read the potter 15 jib makes a good m15 (and m17) 'storm jib'.  if i had kept the m15 i would have gone for a p15 jib.   IMO the jib on the 15 is about airflow.  the main is where the horsepower is located.  for this reason my focus was on correctly setting the jib for the main, and reefing the main to decrease 'power'.  my m15 also had moveable jib sheet cars allowing me to 'dial in' the jib for best effect.  some pictures and discussion can be seen at SCRED's old www-site:   http://www.freewebs.com/m15-named-scred     dave scobie former M15 owner M17 #375 - SWEET PEA visit SWEET PEA's www-site: http://www.m17-375.webs.com   --- On Mon, 7/13/09, Blake Reimer <blkreimer@yahoo.com> wrote: Reading recent posts re: when to reef, change sails, etc.  leaves me wanting my two cents in the pool and hoping for feedback, so fire away.  Just a few weeks ago I received my new Elliot Pattison main and what everyone else must refer to as a 'storm jib' - I would call it an '85', as in percent, or #3.  I have only been out twice in the new sails and both days the wind was light and I didn't get to really get a good read on either - except that the new main seems to resist excessive healing much better than the old, blown out main I had before.  I ordered the 'storm jib' for two reasons: the first being that the bulk of my prior experience was racing in the Moore 24 fleet in Santa Cruz.  Most Moore 24s don't have reef points on the main and the jib is changed in response to the wind instead.  It seemed to work there and I wanted to work with what I know best on IOTA.  My experience w/ the M-15 with the full main and the 110/working/#2 sail is that weather helm is an issue over about 12kts. Putting in the first reef helped but the boats responsiveness went down the drain and a gust would still round me up without reefing the jib.  Reefing the jib left the boat handling like a garbage scow, hence my second reason for the small jib: Try to keep well cut sails in the air before wadding them halfway down on the boom.  Now my sailplan will work something like:             10-12kts   main and regular #2 jib.             10-15kts   main and 'storm'/#3/85%  jib.             15-20+     First reef and storm jib.             20++        I really gotta wonder, what am I doing out here in a 15ft boat? This plan has the added advantage of heading to the bow to change the foresail before it really pipes up; I figure this is a good idea on an M-15 - lifelines or not.  With typical summer weather upon Monterey Bay, I should be able to test my new plan soon and will report back.  Lemme know what you think..... Blake Reimer M-15 IOTA P.S. I'm hardly an expert, and I like the fit, finish and price of EP's OEM M-15 sails.