Do you have some unused hardware near the aft end of the boom? For jiffy
reefing (also called slab reefing) there should be an eyestrap on one side
of the boom and a cheek block on the opposite side. There should also be a
cleat somewhere forward of the cheek block. Then you need a reefing line
that runs from the eyestrap up through the reef grommet (cringle?) then
back down around the cheek block and forward to a cleat. The line should be
long enough that it can be left in place when the sail is not reefed.
After lowering the sail and hooking the forward cringle as you described,
you pull the jiffy reefing line tight and cleat it, pulling the reef
grommet down as close to the boom as it will go. The lines up to the
grommet should then be at about 45 degrees to the boom as the reefing line
now becomes the outhaul, pulling equally down and aft.
If you want to be neat and conditions allow you to do so, you can then use
the dangling reefing lines to tie up the bunched sail. The lines should go
under the foot of the sail, not under the boom and should be tied with
square knots (also called reefing knots). But the working parts of the
jiffy reefing setup are the hook in front and the reefing line through the
leach. (If you run the lines under the boom you can tear the sail if you
release the jiffy reefing and rehoist the sail but forget to untie the reef
points. If conditions are hectic when you reef, don't bother with the
dangling lines. (My sail doesn't have any.)
If your sail has two reefing levels (probably a good idea), you will need
two complete sets of hardware on the boom, one set forward of the other.
The strap and cheek block for each level is positioned to provide the
aforementioned 45 degree angle pull on the sail when reefed.
If my description is hard to follow, visit a library or bookstore that has
sailing books and you can probably find a drawing that illustrates "jiffy"
(or "slab" reefing, or surf the Internet. There are variations. Some
systems use another line at the luff instead of the hook that you have, and
there is a one-line system that is supposed to pull down both the luff and
leach, but that does not often work well, I'm told. On some boats the jiffy
reefing line may be run forward to the mast, down, and back to a cleat in a
more convenient location (probably unnecessarily complex for a P15)..
Harry Gordon
P14 #234, Manatee
Mountain View, CA
>went out 3rd night in a row last night with a friend who is somewhat
>physically handicapped. wind was BLOWING. the lake was maxxed out: 3-4 ft
>waves with whitecaps. lots of wind. while at dockside introducing my
>friend to the boat (balance et al) decided to reef the main while in the
>slip, easier than out on the water. i'm not sure how you're supposed to
>reef this sail. there are 3 reef lines thru the sail at the same height as
>the fore and aft grommets. i loosened the halyard (first i had brought the
>sail all the way up; wind was in my favor, the boom and sail were luffing
>over the dock, nice!) and brought the sail down so i could hook the
>reefing hook into the grommet. then i flaked the drooping part of the sail
>over the boom and tied the three reef lines around the boom. this left me
>with a bunch of sail aft kinda drooping around. i ended up attaching a
>line thru the aft grommet and tying it around the boom too. then i pulled
>in tight on the sail outhaul to take up the slack. then i hoisted the
>halyard again some and the whole thing went way up (i had untied the
>downhaul in front). the sail ended up kinda high up there.
>
>nothing bad happened. we seemed underpowered in the onshore breeze. it was
>a long task to close haul out of there. when i got enough distance from
>shore i hove to and untied everything and let the whole sail out and
>things were better.
>
>nothing bad happened. but i feel that i have a whole lot to learn about
>reefing on the potter. is there any literature i can get? i feel i missed
>something.
>
>let me know if there is anything i can procure to improve my reefing
>skills on the potter.
>
>thanks!
>
>Ken Silverman, p15 "Vegan Lorax"