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Knot for reefing lines

Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 11:41 am
by lee
Just redid all my reefing lines and outhaul. I currently have two hooks I purchased for reefing lines at the luff grommet of the sail. It is clunky and the hooks can pull out when the sail comes down.. am I OK just feeding the line thru the grommet and tying a figure 8 knot in it? Will this be strong enough or is there a better knot?

Re: Knot for reefing lines

Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 9:37 am
by Paul Langevin
Lee, I use a small bowline at the luff on the two reefing lines on our 40/40. Never had a problem

Re: Knot for reefing lines

Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 10:09 am
by Salacia
I use a figure 8 and add a large washer between the knot and the sail to ensure that the knot doesn't pull thru.

Re: Knot for reefing lines

Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 9:17 am
by bad
A knot will tend to pull the gromet into the horizontal plane and depending on the loads that may be an issue for your sail or sail track. The purpose of the hook is to keep the loads in the vertical plane. You can also run your line through the gromet and attach it low to the mast on the opposite side. That is similar to what it's done on leech reef points.

Erik

Re: Knot for reefing lines

Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 6:32 pm
by lee
Thanks for the responses. I can see the issue in keeping the stresses on the horizontal plane to avoid stressing the sliders and track. I’m going to try and rig them back to the boom and see how it goes. Thanks everyone for your responses.