reefing

[Guest]

Does anyone know if there is a reefing arrangement for the Day sailor. I have been looking at photos and doing a little research and have not found any setups. Is this something that can (or should) be done for the O-day day sailor. Im thinking about doing it for mine but thought I might start by asking around. Thanks!




mark maier (markm-at-iceblast.net)

[Guest]

There are tons of comments and discussions on reefing the daysailer on this web site. I use roller reefing with a 3 ft. cloth to secure the main sheet at the center of the boom as discribed elsewhere. The boat is easy to control in heavy winds (even singlehanded) with this arrangement.

jim (jimb-at-dsouth.com)

[Guest]

The O'Day Day Sailer I did not have any provision for reefing as standard equipment as far as I know, It is possible that the DS I did have a roller-reefing gooseneck to allow the boom to be rotated to reef the sail, but to do so youy would need to modify the mainsheet set-up to allow use with the sail reefed. The later DS II and DS III models that had the mainsheet attached only at mid-boom could be roller-reefed by taking the mainsheet block off the boom, reefing the sail, then re-attaching the mainsheet to a reefing claw. The reefing claw was an aluminum item, it was "C" shaped and had plastic rollers on the ends, this claw would be slid over the reefed sail after attaching the mainsheet block, and it would hook over the boom at the mid-boom location. It is easier to use than describe. Some have used a cloth strip instead of the claw, they make it work...but I do not know how. The cloth strip will tend to cause the boom to twist and unreef the sail? Anyway, after describing all this.....I gave up on the roller-reefing on my boat and had a sailmaker add reefpoints to the sail. The roller-reefed sail had very poor shape, the boom sagged, the gooseneck would get jammed by the boltrope of the sail and thus could not be relied on to hold the reef. Plus, rolling the sail around the boom meant I could not use my boomvang while reefed, just when I really needed it. The reefpoints cost $67, added hardware and lines cost about another $10-$15, and boy was it worth it! I can now reef the sail easily, sail shape is maintained, and I can still use the boomvang! This style of reefing, refered to as "slab-reefing" or "Jiffy-reefing" may have been an option on the DS I, but no matter...it is very easy to add! SAILRITE Kits sells a do-it-yourself kit to add reefpoints for about $50 with all hardware, www.sailrite.com

Rod Johnson, "SUNBIRD" (rjohnson24-at-juno.com)