Reefing System in Action - Shaking Out the Reef

I will have more posts with details of the reefing system I installed. But we had a nice day in late October so I took the boat out and resurrected my GoPro Hero 2014 (lots of putzing around to get the GoPro back up and running). 

I must apologize for the location of the camera. No really bad for this purpose, but it is mounted too low in the boat to get a good view of the surroundings.

Shaking out the reef video

 Rigging Details - Spar and Boom

The designer, Ross Lillistone is a fan of simplicity attaching a halyard to the spar. He advocates tying it directly using a clove hitch. This works well, and is very simple. However the spar can pull away from the mast. It can pull away from the mast even more when any reef is put in the sail. Ross recommends a 'snotter.' Here is the snotter design from Ross -

I tried this approach with the boat on a trailer in my driveway. The only difference is I used a bowline knot instead of an eye with a thimble as is shown. It worked, but required a little more effort when lowering the sail as you had to loosen the snotter first before easing the halyard.

I found another method that small boat designer Michael Storer (designer of the Goat Island Skiff and the OZ Goose). Details from Michael are here 

Michael Storer Rigging Details

While this is a little more complicated to rig, it does keep the spar against the mast no matter where the spar is on the mast. I attached a ring to the spar using a dyneema loop.

The halyard comes down from the top of the spar, through the ring and forward around the mast and attaches to a loop on the forward end of the boom.

To keep the boom near the mast I used a small dyneema line with an eye at both ends. One end goes around the boom (and through the first eye) to form a loop around the boom. The line is led forward around the boom - 

And attached to the front of the boom -

I have been using this setup for a while and I find it is easy to rig and keeps the spar and boom close to the mast. 

 First Impressions

My first sail was an eye opening experience to say the least. My previous two dinghy / small boats had broad flat bottoms (Laser) or were hard chined (Snipe). I was surprised by how sensitive the Phoenix is to weight changes, especially in light air. 

My first sail was out of Waukegan Harbor in Illinois. The launch ramp is almost 100% powerboats, so I made sure to arrive in the early afternoon after the morning fishermen had hauled their boats and the evening fishermen had not arrived.

It was a good thing I picked the time that I did - backing the trailer into to launch ramp must have been very entertaining for any casual viewers! Rigging was pretty straightforward as I had practiced in my driveway. I still managed to forget to rig the traveler.

I am very familiar with this small harbor / jetty as I had kept my three keel boats (Pacific Seacraft 31, Colvin Gazelle 42, and Tartan 34C) at Larsen Marine, which is at the far end of the working harbor. For my first sail I stayed in between Larsens and the ramp =>

The wind was very light, probably around 8 knots. There are some buildings on the east side of the harbor that cause some wind deflection and calm spots. I rigged the boat the way the original owner Cameron Metcalfe rigged it. This was the way that the boat designer suggested. Below is a Phoenix with the designer's suggested rigging -

The main halyard tied directly on the yard. The mainsheet tied to the end of the boom, went down to a block on the traveler (a line across the transom) and back up to a second block on the boom about two inches forward of the first block, then forward to a third block on the boom about midship. There was a wooden cleat on the aft of the centerboard trunk. 

What Went Wrong / Issues

• Mainsheet is way to heavy. While this made it easy to handle, in light air the sheet would drag in the water.
• Trimming the main sheet by pulling down, or by hooking it around the cleat is unfamiliar to me. I am used to trimming the main by pulling upward after the mainsheet exits a block on the cockpit floor.
• Oars seemed to be getting in the way when stowed in the boat.
• My trailer backing skills are nonexistent!

What Went Right

• Boat is very quick to rig and easy to launch.
• Very easy to row.
• Perfect weather for a first sail on a day with little traffic at the boat ramp.
• Even with imperfect sail trim the Phoenix was faster than I expected in light winds.