The Collaborative International Dictionary
Reef \Reef\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reefed (r[=e]ft); p. pr. &
vb. n. Reefing.] (Naut.)
To reduce the extent of (as a sail) by rolling or folding a
certain portion of it and making it fast to the yard or spar.
--Totten.
To reef the paddles, to move the floats of a paddle wheel toward its center so that they will not dip so deeply.
Reefing \Reef"ing\, n. (Naut.) The process of taking in a reef.
Reefing bowsprit, a bowsprit so rigged that it can easily be run in or shortened by sliding inboard, as in cutters.
Wiktionary
n. 1 The process of reefing (taking in a sail); an act of reefing; ''also used of clothing''. 2 (context AU NZ English) A reef (seam of quartz). vb. (present participle of reef English)
Wikipedia
Reefing is the means of reducing the area of a sail, usually by folding or rolling one edge of the canvas in on itself. The converse operation, removing the reef, is called "shaking it out." Reefing improves the performance of sailing vessels in strong winds, and is the primary safety precaution in rough weather. Reefing sails improves vessel stability and minimizes the risk of damage to the sail or other gear. Proper skills in and equipment for reefing are crucial to averting the dangers of capsizing or broaching in heavy weather.
Usage examples of "reefing".
I remember one day in a reefing job, the downhaul parted and came do on deck from the peak of the spanker.
And, boy, did they know from tack downhaul, kicking strap, mainsheet, clew outhaul, topping lift, boom, tack, reefing points, leech, spreader, foresail hanks, shrouds, inner forestay, stanchion, toe rail, and fin keel!
The men would have been issued with cutlasses, tomahawks, pikes or pistols, depending what was marked against their name in the general quarter, watch and station bill, which listed the name of every man in the ship and his task for every evolution, whether anchoring, tacking, wearing, furling, reefing or fighting the enemy.
Charles said to Bevan as they were standing on the quarterdeck, watching the topmen high in the topgallant yards practicing reefing the stiff new canvas.
Her watch had clambered about the rigging like ants on floating debris, clewing down, close reefing and furling in response to order after order, until she had stopped thinking at all, only moving to obey the bellowed commands.
Jack was not one of the modern spit-and-polish captains whose idea of a crack ship was one that could shift topmasts five seconds quicker than the others in the harbour, in which great quantities of brass outshone the sun at all times and in all weathers, in which the young gentlemen wore tight white breeches, cocked hats and Hessian boots with gilt twist edging and a gold tassel, singularly well adapted for reefing topsails, and in which the round-shot in the racks and garlands was carefully blacked while the naturally black hoops of the mess-kids was sanded to a silvery whiteness.
The crew was busy in the yards, reefing the last of the square sails used to make port, and more were bustling about the deck which glinted with an almost crystalline sheen.
Hannibal, Swiftsure and Berwick: they were exercising their crews at reefing aboard the Hannibal, and quantities of people were creeping up the rigging of the Swiftsure, landmen under training, perhaps.
Yet today he is known (and only to a few specialists, at that) for an improved blacksmiths bellows in the year 1785, for a certain modification (not fundamental) in the moldboard plow about 1805, for a better (but not good) method of reefing the lateen sail, for a chestnut roaster, for the Devils Claw Wedge for splitting logs, and for a nutmeg grater embodying a new safety feature.
In order to keep rigidly to her station in the Amphion's wake, the Lively was perpetually reefing, dewing up, hauling down jibe, staysails, spanker, starting sheets.
But his eyes lit up, for there was nothing Bush enjoyed more than reefing topsails and unreeling them, sending down topgallant yards and sending them up again, rousting out cables and carrying them to a stern port in readiness to be used as a spring, and in fact rehearsing all the dozens —.
But his eyes lit up, for there was nothing Bush enjoyed more than reefing topsails and unreeling them, sending down topgallant yards and sending them up again, rousting out cables and carrying them to a stern port in readiness to be used as a spring, and in fact rehearsing all the dozens - hundreds - of manoeuvres that weather or war might make necessary.
But his eyes lit up, for there was nothing Bush enjoyed more than reefing topsails and unreeling them, sending down topgallant yards and sending them up again, rousting out cables and carrying them to a stern port in readiness to be used as a spring, and in fact rehearsing all the dozens hundreds of manoeuvres that weather or war might make necessary.
But his eyes lit up, for there was nothing Bush enjoyed more than reefing topsails and unreeling them, sending down topgallant yards and sending them up again, rousting out cables and carrying them to a stern port in readiness to be used as a spring, and in fact rehearsing all the dozens — hundreds — of manoeuvres that weather or war might make necessary.