Reefing Downwind

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LarryR said..
I've always dropped the main and sailed under furled headsail downwind in strong conditions. Heavy displacement mono no expert. Are there advantages to furling the headsail and sailing under reefed main alone? Advantages worth having to deal with a preventer and gybing etc etc?

If the wind drops and you want to get more sail on, it's normally easier take a reef out of a reefed main than pull up one that has been dropped. If there's a windshift or course change and you need to get upwind in heavy stuff a furled jib's usual very inefficient shape is a problem whereas a good mainsail will retain an efficient, flat shape in all conditions.

But mainly to me the question is, could you get back to a MOB or carry out other complicated moves with only a jib up, assuming the engine is not going? Many boats don't handle well under jib alone. Ropes often go around props in MOB situations so you can't rely on motoring.

In a good breeze offshore and day cruising we granny around, doing a 270, rather than gybe. Our boat's a fractional rig so handles well under main alone and we quite often furl the jib and leave full main up downwind offshore in a breeze, although that's normally only the short run (16 miles???) from Broughton Islands to the mooring. We don't use a preventer but the mainsail stays out when a jib would be lolloping due to the lack of a pole. Accidental gybes aren't an issue because the natural tendency is to round up, not down, and although our boat likes to wander around she doesn't broach or crash gybe.