Simple sail handling
In theory, today’s deck gear should make easy sail handling attainable, without compromising on sail shape. However, in practice many boats have outdated gear or deck layouts that mimic those of raceboats that are sailed with eight crew. Even new boats may be far from perfect as decent deck gear is expensive,
Setting a boat up with efficient sails and handling systems therefore isn’t always straightforward. We tend to think of mainsails as being fairly standardised, with two or three slab reefs, but even then there are many options to consider.
MAINSAILS
It should be possible to reef the mainsail of any boat of up to around 45ft within around 90 seconds with only one person – suitably practiced and experienced – on deck. However, few boats are set up to achieve this.
Traditionally halyards and mainsail reefing were handled at the mast. In many ways this was a good arrangement, with minimal friction, and so could be quite efficient. It’s still what I have on Ammos, my 30ft Discovery 3000 in Greece. Even if I’m sailing single-handed without an autopilot I simply heave to on starboard tack (conveniently that’s the side with the mainsheet winch) and it’s then a fairly easy one-person task.
The downside of course is the need to go forward in order to reef and it can be difficult to hook the luff
