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"the deeper you reef, the further it droops. Some of the way older boats had battens on the end of the boom so the leech had a larger area to roll around. Some people stuff towels in as they are rolling."
Charlie, you are right. On my S22 I had the opportunity to reef on several occasions. The first, and maybe the worst, was in a bad storm where I was faced with 40+ knot winds. I was prepared... I slugged the boom as I rolled with towels. It helped but by any standard the reefed sail was pretty ugly and didn't set well. After that experience, I had a reef point put into the sail. A reef point is a series of small ropes that hang on either side and a new tack and cringle on the sail allowing you to tie in the reef in the sail. This worked well but is not fast. On the new boat I have Jiffy Reefing, block that pulls the new tack and new clew to the right spot. This is the easiest and fastest way of reefing.
Joe McCary Aeolus II West River, MD
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