Lug-Rig Reefing

Experimenting with movable system reefing on a SCAMP rig

Article by Paul Stovner

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It seems like reefing systems are a very strong personal preference for a lot of folks. Kind of like your boats head system. Full composting, urine diverting, composting, wag bag—me, I’m still trying to figure out if I can make one of the incinerating types operate using my power tool batteries. You know, just because I need something to do.

For those of us who have the Gig Harbor SCAMP sail setup, it only comes rigged with two reefing lines. Some have changed to using only the first and third reef—a good solution—but in my area the winds are rarely strong enough to use the third reef. I used to just drop my sail and fire up Mr. Honda if I needed a third reef.

Howard Rice was kind enough to send me a sketch on how he would update a Gig Harbor system, to add a third reef line. Another friend, Doug Korlann, set up a single line system. He claims it solves the problem of what happens when you let the lug’s yard just free fall, versus letting it out by hand. The momentum shoves the yard forward, and the end can dunk itself in the water. I still need to get up his way and see his system, as it sounds cleaver. Then I saw a post by Sean McCambridge, on Duckworks. He installed a movable reef system, and this got me experimenting with someting similar on my SCAMP.