Westerly 22 slab reefing for Gunter rig

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Cliff making a hole.jpeg

Cliff making a hole for the cleat. He could have drilled it straighter. The black sticky tape shows how far the gooseneck extends inside the boom.


We built the boom up dry, disassembled it, mixed up some epoxy, carefully anointed the holes, the bolts and screws and reassembled it all. The fairleads and cleats were intended for a flat surface but a bit of epoxy in the gap filled it up.

The alignment of the eyebolts is significant. On the “anchor” side the eye should point straight for the reef clew, on the fairlead side the eye should bisect the angle between the reef clew and the boom. I think we got ours somewhere near.

More pictures Closeup 1.jpeg Closeup 2.jpeg Closeup 4.jpeg Closeup 5.jpeg Closeup 6.jpeg Closeup 7.jpeg Closeup 8.jpeg Closeup 9.jpeg Closeup 10.jpeg


Shakedown Cruise This took place on the May bank holiday and the weather was near perfect. The wind got up for a while and we had to put a reef in the main and later furl the jib (our boat is cutter rigged, we kept the staysail set). We were almost becalmed for a time and the wind did a full 360 degree shift then settled back to the southerly we started off with.

Sail shape Fairly early on it was obvious the 1st reef tack roband was too tight and was pulling the sail very flat at this point. It took a couple of adjustments to get it right. We used an 8mm rope loop with the two ends tied together with a fisherman's bend, more secure than a reef knot.

One of the characteristics of the gunter rig is that the spars bend as the wind builds, much more than a masthead rig which is held fairly solidly at both the masthead and at spreader height. The gaff and mast are designed to flex in much the same way as a fractional dinghy mast and pull some of the draught out of the sail to depower it . As we approached the point where it was time to put the first reef in it was clear the mast was bending as designed and the roband for the first reef tack was pulling the sail rather flat at this point. We could even this out by adding more robands in some of the existing lacing holes or not worry too much and just take this as an indication that any more wind and we'll put a reef in.

Closeup 11.jpeg The leeward side with a single reef.

Closeup 12.jpeg And the windward side. The sail batten lies parallel with the foot of the sail. The 1st reef kicks the boom up 4 inches. Sarah's hand suggests helm balance is under control.


We did put the second reef in but without enough wind to justify it's use can only say it seemed pretty good. The 7 inch kickup of the boom gives a small additional reduction in area when compared to the roller system. What we noticed was the way the tumbler at the gaff jaws was held firmly against the mast. The geometry of the system must have altered. Hopefully this will continue in stronger winds.

Ease of use

After sailing smaller boats with their home made slab reefing the standard Westerly system was a struggle and a bitter disappointment. The frustration Sarah felt by her inability to pull in a reef saddened me. It also meant that sometimes during my off watch I would get dragged out of bed to adjust the sail area.

After pulling in a slab reef on the Westerly for her first time I got a big smile. Little things can make a simple guy very happy. Sarah got the reef clew tensioned just fine by hand without needing the handy billy to haul it home. The generously sized cleats accommodated the many turns of rope she likes to put on. 8mm rope is easy and comfortable to grip by hand.

So what wasn't right?

The reef point closest to the reef tack coincided exactly with the reef pendant cleats. If starting again I would move the reef point forward a bit.

Our Wayfarer's gooseneck pin was square which stops the boom from rolling. The Westerly doesn't have this and the boom tends to forget which way up to lie. Once everything is hoisted and tensioned it isn't an issue. I think we will probably live with it as it is.

Medium term test

The reefing system served us well over our 4 week summer cruise when we completed about 500 miles under sail. I am planning no changes at present. It looks purposeful, effective and strong.

Now that we don't have to roll the boom to put in a reef, a conventional kicking strap arrangement is possible. We had not sailed this boat with any type of kicker before but I felt the boat needed one. Part way through our summer cruise we fitted the boom with another eyebolt and eyenut and assembled a kicker from stuff we already had on board