reefing lines

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bg5w
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reefing lines

Post by bg5w »

I did something stupid this past weekend, which I'm sure none of you have done, but maybe have some advise, nonetheless. I was pulling on the reef line at the tack, and pulled the end of line at the end of the boom (clew end) into the boom. Is there a way to retrieve the line? Do I need to disassemble the boom?

Thanks,
Bob Gruber
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amytom
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Re: reefing lines

Post by amytom »

Pull the clew line so the double block is at the back of the boom. Run a fish tape through the boom and use it to pull the tack line, thread through the block and use the fish tape again to pull the tack line forward.
Make sure you pull it tight and look through the boom from the rear to see if it is tangled. Both sets of resting lines need to run clear of each other.
amytom
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Re: reefing lines

Post by amytom »

BTW. We've all done it. "What's this line go to..."
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thinwater
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Re: reefing lines

Post by thinwater »

Never.

Last weekend it was the line at the forward end of the boom.... :D Somehow the stopper knot had worked loose.
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bg5w
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Re: reefing lines

Post by bg5w »

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll pull the end of the boom off this weekend, and see if I can fish it out.

bob Gruber
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holomoku
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Re: reefing lines

Post by holomoku »

You should be able to accomplish it without removing the boom end. I found the fiberglass rod type of fish tape is easier to use as well. It has 3 ft sections that screw together and run straighter than the coiled metal type.
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Page 83
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Re: reefing lines

Post by Page 83 »

Every once in a while Scientific Surplus ( www.sciplus.com ) has some 9 foot lengths of 1/8" fiber rod for five or so bucks. It coils in a 2' diameter so its easy to stow. It may have been salvaged from fiber-optic cable bundles.

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eepstein
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Re: reefing lines

Post by eepstein »

I used a 10' 1/2" PVC pipe and cut notches near one end to act like a gaff (or big drain hair catcher). The best notch I found was to cut at a 45 degree angle and turn the knife part way back. Then bend them out like fish hooks. I caught the lost line on the first try. I attached a sketch as the pipe is in Charleston on the boat.

Hope that helps,
Eric
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notched PVC Pipe boom line retriever
notched PVC Pipe boom line retriever
notched PVC pipe.PNG (27.39 KiB) Viewed 14457 times
Eric & Bonnie Epstein
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mikeandrebecca
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Re: reefing lines

Post by mikeandrebecca »

Clever! Thanks for sharing, Eric.
bg5w
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Re: reefing lines

Post by bg5w »

As information, I was successful with a 10' 1/2 dia pvc pipe with a 90 degree bracket screwed on to the end. It allowed me to easily pull the sheave car all the way to the back of the boom, where I could easily re-run the reefing line.

Bob Gruber
Island Time 32
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