hi Mike
on Shearwater i re-ran the reefing lines back to the cockpit. i guess it was set up this way once upon a time, but my father and then i just reefed on the boom. the major change i made was to build a double cheek block out of schaefer parts to turn the two reef lines neatly. i'm careful to keep the first reef on the outer sheave. this double cheek block is screwed to the boom close to the gooseneck. the lines then run down to a double sheave which is attached to one of the holes in the mast step. the lines then run across the doghouse to two jam cleats on the starboard side. i bought two different colors of line for this project, just to keep everything simple. i didn't add any guides or fairleads to assist the lines in passing over the front of the doghouse. if the paint starts to wear i'll add them.
i have lazyjacks. i like them alot. EXCEPT: the battens in the main have an incredible ability to duck under the lazyjack, jamming the sail half way up. this is a major hassle when single-handing for the afternoon. coming back in, i can just dump the main right outside the channel entrance and motor in with the sail mostly confined to the boom. makes for a very quick clean-up of the boat.
regarding running ALL the lines back, i added a turning block and mule blocks to bring two halyards back to the cockpit, and added a winch and clutches. this worked out very nicely. there was much headscratching and line-holding while figuring out the cut angle on the piece of oak that supports the turning block. when all was said and done, the other half of the block sits inside the boat, above the ceiling of the head as a load bearing piece. all of the bolts are the same length, and they all are at 90 degrees to the surface of the wood. and it fits above the head ceiling sight unseen! let me know if you want details.
tom
