Reefing points on the main

[G30ff0]

Has anyone tried reefing points on the main to help depowering the rig? Or would this upset the sail balance too much?

Thanks

[jimc]

The trouble with reefing mainsails is not so much balance, but that modern rigs are all about gust response and depowering the rig. If you reef the mainsail then you lose all the top mast bend and control, so what you have gained from reducing sail area to a large extent is lost again because the boat is so much harder to handle with a non responsive rig.

[G30ff0]

Thanks,

Makes sense, there is no way I would put a small windsurfing sail on a much larger mast because of the bend characteristic’s & the effects here would be somewhat exacerbated being a stayed mast