Awesome, thank you! Good luck with your class. Feel free to contact me at any time if I can be of any assistance.

Thanks JayBee, I'm delighted that I could help. What boat do you have?

Thanks Mike. I appreciate the convenience of a furling main but I love my regular old mainsail.

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you for the kind comment Blake. Glad you enjoyed it

Excellent! Thanks for the great feedback StCroixSunfish. I'm delighted this is working for youo

Thank you for the great comment. I appreciate it.

You got this!

Our pleasure! Glad you found it useful

Thank you for the great comment Sven. Glad you enjoyed it. Happy sailing.

Thank you so much for the kind comment. I’m delighted that you are finding the videos helpful.

Glad you enjoyed it

Yes. I agree and have been planning to add one for some time. Great idea.

Glad you like them! Thank you Francis

Thanks for the comment Richard. Glad the tip is helping.

You're very welcome!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks Montana Dan, I really appreciate your support. Funny enough my boat came from the factory with single line reefing (which I hate almost as much as in mast roller furling). I added the two extra lines. I would also like my topping lift led aft then all my lines will be in the cockpit and I will have no reason to go forward.

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine can I ask why you hate in mast roller furlongs?

@@kleitosaliagas5668 Why wouldn't you? In-mast furling forces a much thicker, heavier and stiffer mast, giving you a lot more weight aloft, and even with the main fully rolled in, the entire weight of the sail is still up there. The furling mechanism is also high up, with the bottom part being hard to access for maintenance on a larger boat, and the top part almost impossible (requires climbing the mast). If it gets stuck, you'll have a right miserable time with the sail partially out until you (hopefully) can fix the mechanism. It may not even be possible to get down in a bad situation. It's much harder to make a mainsail with vertical battens that also holds the shape well. Horizontal battens aren't an option for in-mast furling (there are rollable battens but they don't work well and wear out very quickly). Roller furling is fine, but it has to be in-boom furling in that case. Keeps the weight low, both for the larger boom, the furling mechanism and the sail. It's also a lot more accessible for maintenance or repair and requires no climbing. You can also use normal sails, perhaps with minor tweaks to suit the roller furling mechanism. You can use horizontal battens for better sail shape. And finally, if the furling mechanism fails, you can still reef or completely lower the sail in the normal way.

@@mytube001 agree with your arguments, but it's a fact that the vast majority of the boats in the charter-sector use mastin- furlingsystems. And of course they are a big help for the not so experienced charter-crew. And of course you have to know some tricks to work with them in all conditions.

Thanks for watching!

I was reading something the other day, as soon as you think "Hmm, should I reef?" the answer is already yes.

Thanks for the support. Glad you’re learning from my videos

Awesome, thank you! I appreciate it.

Glad it was helpful! Thank you

Glad you like them!

You're welcome!

Thank you too. Glad you like it

Thanks for the comment. The only problem with that is in order to safely get to the topping lift you have to sheet the mainsail all the way in. For me I don't always want to have to do that. Ultimatley the best solution, as suggested by a viewer is a rigid boomvang. I will be installing one and doing a video on it. theriggingco.com/2017/04/03/the-vang/

Yes this is important and for me my topping lift always on but just slack when close hauled so when I lower the sail the booms comes down a bit but not all the way. Having said that having the topping lift on before lowering the sail is best practice and definitely makes tying in the Leeds reefing lube much easier. In April I’m upgrading to a Boom Kicker an alternative to a rigid boom bang but this will do away with my topping lift. Once installed I’m going to reshoot the video

Thanks Mark. Glad you enjoyed it

I’m not a fan of single line reefing as it adds way too much friction. In fact my boat came out of the factory with single line reefing and I changed it to two lines for each reef.

Thank you for the kind comment Robert. As for your question, it’s not that straightforward. Sometimes trimmings the main sheet tight can actually stall it making it less powerful. Also a lot will depend on your particular boat. The only reason I say too harden the main sheet in my video is because my toppling lift is at the mast and I was always taught to harden the mainsail anytime crew are going forward or coming back. Once the crew are clear the main is eased, Hardening the main while hove to is not dangerous. In a perfect world my topping lift would be led back like all my other lines and then I would not have to harden the main. Hope this clears things up.

Thanks Chris, that’s very kind of you 😊

Thank you Jakob, for your kind comment. I'm delighted that you found the video helpful. Yes, I spent 7 years in the Canadian army

Yes

Thank you for the comment David. You might have missed it but I have mentioned a few times in various videos my intention to do just that. I really need to lead that topping lift aft. I love your checklist. Thanks fir watching.

P

there are pro's and con's for leading the toppinglift to the cockpit. -the pro's are mentioned in the video - the con's are the following. There is the risk that the boom falls down completely into the cockpit or hitting a crewmember when the toplift- clutch is freed unwillingly in a hurry or by an incompetent crewmember. You can of course install a boomvang, which holds up the boom.

I mention that traditionally the excess sail is tied around the boom with reef points but like you say that is not my preferred practice.

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine Yes I recall that. What I am saying is that Wallace Ross says "Do Not" tie around the boom at the reef points so the tied sail is free to move away from the boom. I actually like your method better because it keeps the clew down to the boom while still allowing the sail to take a natural shape and it reminds me of a short loop that I use on my Laser to keep the clew tight to the boom. Tying around the boom forces the sail to form to a linear foot. Appreciate your work to put together the videos...keep them coming!

@@go4itpc I know exactly what you mean. I just started sailing Lasers again and have been using a little velcro strap to hold the clew to the boom. Thanks for the support. I am just in the process of editing several videos to include Single Handed Gybing, Lowering the Mainsail, Basic Plotting Part 2 and Mooring Buoy Part 2

Yes. If I understand you correctly you would ease the topping lift when your sail is fully reefed and before hardening the main sheet. It’s not do much the strain on the topping lift that’s the problem, it’s not being able to properly tension the mainsail especially the leech twist

Thanks for the kind comment Phil. I used to heave to but now prefer to continue sailing close hauled or close reach with the wind forward of the beam. The boat sails fine with just the headsail and I ease out the main to reef. You could use the engine after having lowered or furled the headsail but that seems very counter productive to me.

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine I saw ome fellow that claims to be able to use single line reef on the main while on a broad reach. Might be dependant on wind and sea state.

@@philwinner1806 I have never been a fan of single line reefing. My boat came from the factory with single line reefing but I quickly changed it. Like you I am very skeptical of single line reefing downwind. To answer your question, yes you would have to harden the line into the clew first which flies in the face of proper safe mainsail reefing, another reason I'm not a fan. As with in mast roller furling this is just another attempt at building a better mousetrap but doesn't really work.

I wanted to ask or make a similar point. The video is very instructive and all is shown not in a hurry. But " in a real world" at sea reefing is often necessary in not so convenient conditions(in the night, rising strong wind, waves). But you answered my question already. I would also sail further on the headsail and reefing the main instead of starting the engine after getting down or furl in the headsail.

Thank you for the comment. The video was shot on Bowen Island near Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It was late August and the "mist" you see is actually forest fire smoke. My accent is from eastern Canada. Thanks for watching.

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine How far East?

@@harbourdogNL Not east, west coast. Near Vancouver, BC

Glad to hear it Deb. Thanks for the comment

When two sailing vessels meet on collision course starboard stands on. Port tack must give way. Thanks for subbing.

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine Ah yes, being the stand-on vessel, thanks for clarifying!

Thank you

Thanks for the question and for watching the video Ronan. Closing the hatch is a safety measure so that there is no way that someone can fall down through it when walking around on deck. I have always encouraged this habit with my students even if the boat is equipped with a dodger. It's just a good habit to get into to prevent potential serious injury.

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine I'll remember that..

Sure, you could do that 👍

Thank you for the comment. I get your point but the reality is that on my boat the only thing happening at the mast is the lowering and raising of the topping lift. On some boats the entire reefing process is at the mast. If I had the topping lift led aft or better yet, a rigid boom vang, I would not have to go to the mast at all. Every boat is different and what's important is to understand the sequence.

Thanks for the comment

You're not the only one to have this opinion. Frankly I'm surprised that some people don't see the benefits of learning to reef in calm conditions at the dock. It is certainly not meant to represent real life conditions, it is simply a starting point to make it easier for people new to the sport to understand and get the steps and the flow of the manoeuvre in a controlled setting. I have recently filmed "reefing in real life conditions" and this will be a follow up to my first video on reefing.

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine in my sailing club here in Chicago, we reef at the dock depending on wind conditions. We can make sure the correct points are set. The sail is set when the main goes up. I been watching your videos for awhile now, and sometimes more than once to get better understanding after being out on the water. My club is a teaching club and I am teaching skills I learned while still learning myself. I am working on trying to explain sail shape, lift, and tell tales etc. Thanks for your explanations

@@nealrosenholtz7116 always good preparing your boat as good as possible for the sea- and windstate when leaving harbour. But on a longer trip- perhaps even through the night- you will experience various conditions- so you have to change your " sailcloth" in relation. Having said this- also rather near your harbour on a nice afternoon-sail the weather can change rapidly so you have to reef your sails on the ocean.

Thank you for your comment and support, I appreciate the feedback. It is an ongoing challenge. I try to balance the content for beginners and more experienced alike but the Learn to Sail series is aimed at beginners. I do try to repeat procedures from a couple of perspectives. In my last video I had not shot any of those scenes you mention but luckily found some B roll to add in when detailing a specific task. I also try to zoom in and use slow motion to isolate certain parts of the skill. I know I speak fast and I will make an effort to slow down and explain more clearly in the future. Thanks again.

I appreciate the use of specific terms. They were developed for a reason, to avoid ambiguity, and we beginners should force ourselves to learn and communicate with others in the trade. Even if that means watching the same video a few times and Googling a few words.

@@giulianog67 Thank you for the kind and positive feedback. I appreciate it.

Not sure I agree with you but thanks for watching and sharing your comment.

Already covered in great detail in a previous video kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qs95dqVltr2cpmw.html