Reuel B. ParkerWooden bee rails mounted near the aft ends of booms to organize reefing lines and clew outhauls have a long history in traditional rigging, as proven here on the 1896 Tamar River barge LYNHER. She was rescued from dereliction in the early 1990s and was rebuilt. Since 2018, she has been daysailing with up to 12 guests out of Plymouth, England.
Mounting “bee rails” on a sailboat’s boom is a traditional way to rig clew outhauls to simplify and facilitate reefing. The rails are usually made of hardwood, mounted opposite each other on each side of the aft end of a boom.
The port bee rail has simple holes to hold the bitter ends of outhaul lines, which have stopper knots, such as figure-eights, tied under the rail. These lines are used in what is known as slab reefing, also called jiffy reefing, which works equally well on gaff and marconi rigs. From there, the lines lead upward and through their corresponding clew grommets at each reefpoint on the sail, downward to reeve through corresponding sheaves in the starboard bee rail, and then forward to be made off on cleats mounted on the boom.
Sometimes, the primary clew outhaul is also rigged through the bee rails, and since this line isn’t used in reefing it is often made off to a cleat near the aft end of the boom. But because the halyard is typically made off on the starboard side of the mast, having the cleats for the reefing outhaul lines well forward on the boom on the same side makes them easy and safe for the crew to reach when the boom is swinging around as the sail luffs while it is lowered for reefing.
During reefing, the first task is to ease the halyard (or two halyards, in the case of gaff rig), and the second is to reset the tack downhaul, which may consist of a line leading through bee holes in the boom jaws or a simple metal hook fitting to receive the tack grommet at the gooseneck. With the tack secured, the next task is to haul the corresponding clew out-haul line, which in this system is made easier by the two-to-one purchase each line provides. Then the unused portion of the sail can be tidied up by making off the reef nettles and the sail hoisted once more.
The bee holes and sheaves on the bee rails must be situated to pull the clew not only down but also far enough aft to properly tension the foot and the leech of the reefed sail. Before making the rails, experimentation on a calm day can help determine exactly where these fittings should be.
Reuel B. Parker.
Bee rails on the fore boom of the gaff-rigged schooner IBIS keep the lines organized. The clew outhaul leads from the port side rail upward and slightly forward through the clew grommet, through the aftermost bee rail sheave, then to a cleat visible on the underside of the boom. Only one reefing line is rigged, starting on the port bee rail and then though the reefpoint grommet (not shown) at the leech, down through a sheave in the starboard bee rail, then for-ward to a cleat that is out of view to the right. The forwardmost line is a topping lift, and the sheet bridle is clearly shown.
Reuel B. Parker.
The edges of the bee rails that mate to the boom’s curvature are cut concave for a good fit. I do this on my tablesaw, using a temporary clamped-on wood fence running at a diagonal across the table, as shown, with the blade protruding slightly. This way, as the workpiece passes along the fence, the blade will cut a longitudinal cove shape.
Changing the angle of the temporary fence and the height of the blade will determine the curvature and depth of the cove, and this is done by trial and error. The blade should remove material no wider than the thickness of the rail. It’s best to start with a very shallow cut, gradually increasing its depth for subsequent passes until the correct depth and width of cut are reached.
It’s also best to test the setup on scrap wood, to make sure the cove matches the boom’s curvature, before commit-ting to the final setup for hardwood pieces. The Honduras mahogany piece shown here is an offcut from a longer bee rail blank; so short a piece should not be shaped on the setup shown in the photograph.
Reuel B. Parker.
The boom end is bored through for stainless-steel or silicon-bronze shaft pins at each reef location (left image). These pin diameters are based on the chosen sheaves, which in this case are Schaefer Delrin sheaves ordered from a wholesale marine supplier.
The port-side bee rail, which has holes bored to an appropriate diameter to receive the chosen line diameter, is the first to be bedded and screwed into place (center image). This first bee rail also has three shallow holes bored in its inside edge to receive, and trap, the port ends of the sheave pins, visible in the previous photo. Three of the through-holes in the port rail are bored opposite the aft sides of the sheaves.
The locations of the sheaves and holes have to be planned carefully based on the geometry of the sail. The forwardmost hole will have a corresponding one on the starboard side to secure a two-part topping lift. The second and fourth holes from the aft end also have corresponding holes on the starboard side, and they hold the ends of a rope bridle that reeves through the becket of the sheet’s upper double block, as visible in the lead photo.
Both of the bee rails are bedded with adhesive sealant and fastened in place with stainless-steel screws, shown in the right photo, being driven for the starboard rail. I prefer not to bung these screw holes, to facilitate eventual replacement. The starboard bee rail has band-sawn cutouts for the sheaves, leaving ample clearance on the side that the line reeves through.
On the inside edges of these cutouts, shallow holes are bored to correspond to the exact locations of the starboard ends of the sheave pins, which will be trapped in place by the rail, as on the port side. Through-holes matching those for the topping lift and sheet bridle have also been bored, and like the port rail this one is also given its final finish before installation.
Reuel B. Parker.
For IBIS’s mainsail boom, the reefing tackle locations were too far apart to justify the kind of continuous bee rails described above, so I made short, individual ones instead, as shown here. These follow the same techniques used to make long ones, with coved edges, cutouts for the sheaves, and holes prebored for lines and shafts. They were also given final finishes before being bedded in adhesive sealant and screwed in place.
Reuel B. Parker.
This is IBIS’s main boom, showing how the port side bee rails are fitted for individual clew outhauls. In this case, the topping lift and sheet bridle lines are held by fore-and-aft eyestrap fittings unrelated to the bee rails. Note that only one reefing line is rigged, and to prevent snagging it runs forward under the boom through fair-leads, one of which is clearly visible at the lower left of the photo. For these, I often use large eye straps placed athwartship at convenient intervals.
Reuel B. Parker, who was profiled in WoodenBoat No. 224 (“Pragmatic Beauty: The Designs of Reuel Parker), is a writer, designer, and builder of boats. He lives full-time aboard his most recent construction, the 53′ ketch PEREGRINE. He often cruises far afield but recently made Brooklin, Maine, his home and the base for his business, Parker Marine Enterprises.