[Rhodes22-list] IMF

[Hank]

Slim,

What I did on my Islander 36 was to maintain the same point of sail and rely
on the jib to keep me moving.  I would then slack off on the mainsheet until
there was no pressure on the main, release the main halyard sufficiently for
the reefing point, tighten the reefing lines and then tighten the halyard.
Once that is done, I can then bring in the mainsheet and keep sailing.

Hank

On 2/17/07, Slim <stevenalm at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> My, my, my... Aren't we a chatty bunch today?  Ninety-some emails!
>
> Art brought up an important point about operating the IMF on a port
> tack.  I
> do this too but only slightly off the wind for best results.  I let the
> main
> sheet go so the sail is luffing and then it's a cinch to roll it up.
>
> Here's where I could use some help:  If the wind picks up and I decide to
> shorten sail, I usually discover that I'm overpowered when on a close
> reach.
> That's when you get heeled over too much.  That's when the wind has picked
> up and there's a lot of force on the sail.  I've found it to be quite
> difficult to reef in the mail on this point of sail even if it is a port
> tack and absolutely impossible on a starboard tack.
>
> So what maneuvers or what point of sail would be best to make this easier?
> Must I luff up?  I don't like doing that because it's so chaotic and
> sometimes I get blown over to the other tack anyway and the problem gets
> worse.  But if there's any wind in the sail at all then it's much harder
> to
> flatten out the sail because the lines are so stressed.  At least I've
> finally learned to cleat off my control lines on the cleats nearer the
> mast
> and not the ones at the end of the boom where I can't always reach
> them.  I
> think I've answered my own question.  You gotta luff up.  But has anyone
> discovered a better procedure?
>
> Reefing in the jib under these conditions is easier.  I usually wait until
> I
> tack and then keep the jib sheet on the now-windward side sort of like a
> heave to, backwinding the main.  Then I can ease the sheet out and take
> the
> reefing line while the jib is still full of air.
>
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