Reefs: How Many and How Deep

Published Nov 26, 2014 46 comments Updated March 6, 2020

Sail Plan Orginal Mac scaled used sails 2.tcd

How many reefs should we have and where should they be positioned?

Generally, whenever this comes up the debate quickly centres on how many reefs are “best”. Two, three, or even four. But if you really think about it, that’s a backwards way to approach the decision. A better order is:

  1. What is the smallest amount of sail area we need for the type of boat we have and the sailing we plan to do?
  2. Only after we have answered that, can we think about how large we want each reduction to be (granularity).

To continue reading login (scroll down) or:

Learn About Membership

Or

CLICK HERE to get to know us for free.

Book Chapter Navigation:

<< Hoisting the Mainsail Made Easy—Simplicity in Action

Reefing Made Easy >>

Meet the Author

John

John was born and brought up in Bermuda and started sailing as a child, racing locally and offshore before turning to cruising. He has sailed over 100,000 miles, most of it on his McCurdy & Rhodes 56, Morgan's Cloud, including eight ocean races to Bermuda, culminating in winning his class twice in the Newport Bermuda Race. He has skippered a series of voyages in the North Atlantic, the majority of which have been to the high latitudes. John has been helping others go voyaging by sharing his experience for twenty years, first in yachting magazines and, for the last 12 years, as co-editor/publisher of AAC.

46 comments… add one

Contents of Currently Open Book

≡ Menu
© 2002 – 2020 Attainable Adventure Cruising Ltd and the authors, all rights are reserved.

Nothing on this website or in direct communications received from us, or in our articles in the media, should be construed to mean or imply that offshore voyaging is anything other than potentially hazardous. Dangers such as, but not limited to, extreme weather, cold, ice, lack of help or assistance, gear failure, grounding, and falling overboard could injure or kill you and wreck your boat.

Decisions such as, but not limited to, heading offshore, where you go, and how you equip your boat, are yours and yours alone. The information on this web site is based on what has worked for the authors in the past, but that does not mean it will work for you, or that it is the best, or even a good way for you to do things.