Mainsail

[atrometer]

On my recent purchase of my CP 16, the original sail has NO reef points!  Was that an extra option, are they not needed, are they all like that??

[dontpanic]

Good question, on my CP-16 main, there are no reef points either.  My used boat came with two different mains, one with much lighter sailcloth than the other.  Not sure why that is.

Don't Panic

[nies]

Org. main sail on my 78' CP16 did not have reef points....when replaced sail maker wanted to know if I wanted some reef points, I said sure...............now have them but have never used except once to see how they would work...............if you get new sails have put in as they cost almost nothing when the sail is being made........nies

[mikew]

The early Cp-16's had built in roller reefing on the main sail boom. The boom gooseneck has a spring loaded rotating lock allowing you to pull the boom out , and rotate and wind the lower part of the mainsail onto the boom. This is also why the main sheet is attached to the end of the boom and can swivel. So to reef :

With main sail already up, reattach topping lift to the end of the boom.
Loosen and slack the main halyard and pull the boom towards the rear of the boat about 1" to unlock the goosenecks internal spring tensioned fitting. ( Keep pulling back and rotate.)
Rotate the boom and wrap the bottom of the main onto the boom, ( I wrap about a foot of sail for the first reef. ) You may want to remove the lower batten.
Release the boom to lock into position.
Tighten the main halyard
Remove topping lift.

Mike  

[Salty19]

The early Cp-16's had built in roller reefing on the main sail boom. The boom gooseneck has a spring loaded rotating lock allowing you to pull the boom out , and rotate and wind the lower part of the mainsail onto the boom. This is why the main sheet is attached to the end of the boom and can swivel. So to reef :

With main sail already up, reattach topping lift to the end of the boom.
Loosen and slack the main halyard and pull the boom towards the rear of the boat about 2"
Rotate the boom and wrap the bottom of the main onto the boom, ( I wrap about a foot of sail for the first reef. ) You may want to remove the lower batten.
Release the boom to lock into position.
Tighten the main halyard
Remove topping lift.


Mike  

Mike is correct, and why you won't find reef points in the sail.  I found that I had to push the boom forward after rolling the sail to lock the gooseneck back into position. 

Some find this method of reefing a pain to execute--seemed easy and quick to me.

Doesn't mean you cannot change to jiffy reefing. That would need another thread to discuss how to convert.

[mattman]

Roller reefing . I have an 85. Got new sails this spring with one set of slab points put in. Generally I tuck in at about 12kts. I am curious a lot of guys here seem to never reef the main, even in relatively heavy air. For those of you that don't reef, please tell us how you are trimming (bubble in the main etc...), how much heel you shoot for, how long do you sail on a beat, and are you guessing at the wind strength, going off an anemometer on the vessel-shore, or other method, and what the sea conditions are.  My personal experience is that the 16 is relatively tender compared to other boats I have sailed, and the rail easily goes into the water with a puff of 20 kts. I mainly singlehand Carlyle lake, which is shallow 6-12 ft, about 2.5 miles wide and 9 miles long. We get a steep 2.5 foot chop with no backs on the waves when the wind is over 15 for a few hours that can easily stop forward motion for a few moments with a slam and a shudder on a beat to windward.  Mac and Kickingbug what are you guys experiencing. Thanks everyone.

[atrometer]

The early Cp-16's had built in roller reefing on the main sail boom. The boom gooseneck has a spring loaded rotating lock allowing you to pull the boom out , and rotate and wind the lower part of the mainsail onto the boom. This is also why the main sheet is attached to the end of the boom and can swivel. So to reef :

With main sail already up, reattach topping lift to the end of the boom.
Loosen and slack the main halyard and pull the boom towards the rear of the boat about 2" -3" to unlock the goosenecks internal spring tensioned fitting.
Rotate the boom and wrap the bottom of the main onto the boom, ( I wrap about a foot of sail for the first reef. ) You may want to remove the lower batten.
Release the boom to lock into position.
Tighten the main halyard
Remove topping lift.

Mike  

Wow!  TYVM, that is so cool.  I'll check mine out and hopefully it is that way, I'd love it!  So glad I asked and got answers.  Thanks again!

[mikew]

OK -no problem. I just checked my gooseneck fitting and you only need to pull it back  about 1" against the spring and keep pulling as you rotate
the boom. It trys to lock every 90 degrees but will go in completely after each turn. It doesn't hurt to squirt some WD-40 in there once in awhile.

Mike

[nies]

My boat also has the roller reefing boom, works great on shore but I only tried to use it in 15-20 mph once and found trying to roll sail on the boom not a easy tasks...................but I have a lot of thumbs....nies

[kickingbug1]

    matt, have never reefed. i tried the roller reefing a couple of times to see if i could get it down. i concluded too much of a hassle. when i got a new main i didnt pay the extra for reef points and have never needed to reef. you are right on about the waves---when they are big its a bitch to beat to weather. as far as rate of heel after about 20 degrees i think the cp16 hardens up quite a bit. the foiled rudder does help quite a bit.

[atrometer]

Checked my boom today -COOL!  Can't wait to go sailing.  I wonder why I've never heard of something like that on other boats.  The newer in boom roller furling or in mast roller furling are so complicated and expensive, whereas this is so simple - can't wait to try it.

[mattman]

Kick' I think I try to sail her on her feet to minimize leeway, that means I am really working hard watching the yarn, and keeping the boat footing forward, I imagine if I were to  crack it off a little and let her heel more the ride would be easier but would loose that much more due to leeway. We will certainly get them out side by side next season to see where we are at. That is if you don't have something a little bigger, even then pacing each other would tell a lot. Thanks for the input. Matt.

[kickingbug1]

   even better we should get rich and john in on the experiment-----and maybe race for a beer or two.  they would be up for that im sure.