[Rhodes22-list] Shortening Sail

Thu Aug 7 09:13:11 EDT 2025

Roger,

I also have a standard mainsail. None of my mains have reef points (I have
3). One is a brand new- never used sail without reef points.

This may be a stupid, not thought out question, but:
If I took or sent the new main to a sail loft to get 2 reef points added,
would they know where they will need to be? ...meaning is  distance from
the foot up to each of the reef points a mathematical function of sail
shape, luff or foot length or total sail area etc?? Or is it just
preference?

I also noticed from your pictures that the reef points are not parallel to
the boom. I'd assume this is to keep the leech tight since you are above
any leech line adjustability...but I also remember you saying you purposely
had your mainsail made extra roachy. Any input or expert suggestions, (or
actual measurements) would be greatly appreciated.

Todd T.

On Thu, Aug 7, 2025, 3:00 AM ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com> wrote:

> Hi Paul,
>
> Enclosed are 3 photos of my boat.  The 1st shows the mainsail laid out on
> the ground.  As you can see, I have 3 jiffy reef points.  To use reef
> points 2 & 3, I have to remove the lower batten.
>
>
> [cid:c51d757e-0988-4112-95f0-2deaf1e2c252]
>
> The second picture shows my boat on a light air spinnaker reach.  As you
> can see, I fly my triradial spinnaker with a spinnaker furling sock.  You
> can see it in the photo all bunched up on top of the sail.  There is also a
> spinnaker pole vang.  But, on this light air day, it wasn't necessary to
> keep the spinnaker pole level.  As you can see from the nearly calm water,
> we are still moving in almost no wind.
>
> [cid:e2b8eaa0-d8d4-43de-817c-ed360ebda0a3]
> The 3rd picture shows some of the details of my foredeck.  My boat is
> rigged to fly a triradial spinnaker as well as a cruising spinnaker.  As
> you can see, I have a bimini top as well.
>
> [cid:2f9b051a-685d-4d1d-9127-35332d9ace5f]
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> 1976  Sanford, MI
> ________________________________
> From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> on behalf of
> Paul Rhodes <plrhodes29 at gmail.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 6, 2025 11:44 PM
> To: The Rhodes Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Shortening Sail
>
> Hello All,
>
> I’ve finally gotten our new-to-us 1990 Rhodes 22 out on the water, and it
> was a blast!  Two separate days on Lake Murray near Columbia SC, both with
> forecasted winds of 8-10, yet very different actual strengths.  First day
> out, my elder son and I discovered that “New Mercies” moves very well in
> light to moderate air.  Second day out, a friend of his and I discovered
> that her full rig is way too much for whatever we had, which I would guess
> at 12-15 mph, if the first day’s 8-10 was accurate.  However, the flared
> gunwale held firm and we flew!  Our rails are well washed.
>
> Given that our two sailboats for the last 4 decades were a heavy wooden
> 22ft gaff fractional sloop and a 40 ft yawl of a more classic Phil Rhodes
> design, I found the Rhodes 22 to be much more responsive both to me and the
> weather, for better and for worse.  She’ll make me a better sailor too.
> And I have some questions:
>
> First, I’m curious to know if the sail numbers relate to the order of
> construction, as they do in many classes.  “New Mercies” wears #444, and we
> don’t have any evidence of a different number or previous name.
>
> More importantly, when the Commodore comes aboard for a cruise, I’m pretty
> confident that she will prefer a more level boat.  For those of you like us
> still using a non-furling main, how do you shorten sail?  As we needed to
> on our second day, we simply rolled in the jib a bit.  It worked, but was
> pretty sloppy. Any thoughts on keeping the jib shaped when it’s partially
> furled?  Our jib furler is very simple: just the sail track with a disk on
> the bottom that for the most part keeps the furling line off the deck.  Not
> sure whether this is what other boats have, but so far it works.
>
> As for the main, there is a second grommet that could serve as the tack
> for a first reef, but no reef points.  However, the fittings on the boom
> are only at the ends.  It seems like I could reef to any amount (at least
> up to the first batten) by simply taking the boom out of the mast track and
> rolling it to take on the sail.  I like the concept - similar to what was
> on our yawl.  Yet with the boom detached unlike on the yawl, I could see
> that this might become a very lively operation if we didn’t reef early
> enough.  Does anyone have experience or thoughts about this?
>
> Finally, we’re in the market for a Boom Room, Bimini, and boat cover.
> I’ve left a few messages and sent a few emails about them with no replies.
> It seems likely that we’ll need to have them made.  Does anyone have plans
> or patterns we could use?
>
> Thanks so much.
>
> Glad to be part of the Rhodie band,
> Paul and Nancy Rhodes
> S/V New Mercies
> Chapin, SC and Savannah, GA
>
> Sent from my iPhone
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