Reefing horns are a nice simple way to secure the tack when reefed, but they can also foul the sail when hoisting. A PITA, particularly on boats with the halyard led aft to the cockpit.
This simple hack using a piece of fuel hose with the same ID as the horn OD, that I had in stock, solved the problem.
Transparent reinforced water hose would look nicer, but hey, the black matches the carbon sails that came with the boat!
Hi John,
I love it and will immediately implement it. I’m also a bit annoyed that I didn’t think of it… 🙂
Hi Stein,
Don’t feel bad. I can’t remember where I saw it first, but definitely not my idea so I had to learn it too.
Hi John,
This is a very clever hack that I am going to have to try.
I also wonder whether it wouldn’t be a temporary stopgap for all the boats made with the horrible system of a reefing horn for the tack and halyards at the cockpit which often results in the ring falling off the horn before you get back to the cockpit to crank up the halyard. Of course, the right long-term solution is to make the horns captive and I have done that but it is a pain in the neck.
Eric
Hi Eric,
Yes, I think it would work to hold the ring on, in that case.
How did you make the reefing horns captive on your boat? Sounds like a very good modification.
Hi John,
I have tried 2 ways to retrofit a reefing horn. One on our prior boat was to cut it short and weld on a stainless biner which worked reasonably well but wasn’t so pretty. The other was a homemade small plate that bolted on towards the bottom with a spring loaded gate mounted to it which closed the normal hook. The implementation of this one was a bit crude and I worried that it could damage the sail. I have been debating what to do on our CS36T to improve it and have been debating whether to set up double line reefing or fix the reefing horns. If I come up with something good I will share it.
I have also seen people put a more captive attachment on the mast itself. A friend has short strop with a biner but you need to get the geometry right and it can bang around if you are not careful.
This is a subject I would love to hear more about if people have solutions that are easy to retrofit. This is an example where it would have been much better to get it right from the factory.
Eric
Hi Erik,
The J/109 comes with everything required on the mast and boom for single line continues, double line, and single and horns. Not sure why, but it’s fun to play with. Given that all the lines are run aft to the pit, double line is by far the easiest and most functional (we reef often), so that’s what I would do on any boat where the lines run aft. Of course, if reefing at the mast, single line and horn works great.