Although Chessie's maiden voyage was almost two years ago -- she hasn't been sailed much because of OBM problems that were just solved last September with the purchase of a 2019 Honda 4 long shaft. Now that the OBM is working just fine, I'm looking forward to much more sailing this season.
So, I decided to fine tune the reefing system. From the sail plans I measured the distances between the cringles (tac to 1st reefing and 1st reefing to 2nd reefing). Using those distances, I marked the halyard with colored plastic tape. For each reefing position, the halyard was set first to the measured point -- then the other lines trimmed and positions marked. With sail's head full-up (no reefs tucked) and other lines trimmed -- I marked each line (just ahead of its cleat) with BLUE plastic tape. That included the reefing lines with slack taken up and the topping lifts. I chose BLUE as a reminder that fair sailing is like the "sky's-the-limit." GREEN for the 1st reefing points and RED for the 2nd reefing.
On the starboard side (left to right): Downhaul (tac cringle), snotter, and halyard. Trimmed positions for the 2nd reefing.
Port side (left to right): 2nd reefing downhaul (cleated), 1st reefing downhaul (not cleated, and topping lift. Trimmed positions for the 2nd reefing. Notice that the 1st reefing line position is the same for both reefing positions. Also, the topping lift shows BLUE because its trim position is the same for all.
Keeping the lines off the deck.
I changed the cleats on the sprits from the "jam" type, to small "horned" type. The horns provide purchase for attaching the excess lines when sailing reefed. They also help keep the reefing lines where they belong when the sail (with the sprit) is stowed in its sail bag.
The red line (white with red marks) is for the 2nd reefing position marked with RED tape. The reefing line for the 1st position (white with green marks) is marked with both RED & GREEN tapes because it's the same for both.
Set up with both reefs tucked in. This is the position for my take-down after recovery on the ramp. The sails are kept bent to their sprit booms with the leech reefing lines in place. The sail bags are made to hold both and they are transported in the cockpit. So, when the sails are bent to their masts -- both reefs are already tucked in. If it's fair sailing, it's easy to shake out one or both reefs. And if a reef is called for, it's already tucked in. I think it will work out ok.