Reefing  –  How and Why  Hull speed in knots= 1.33 times the square root of the waterline length in feet.  his article first appeared in the 1985 Yearbook of the New England Beetle Cat Boat Association and has been slightly  edited and updated as it appears here. Copyright © 2001 Jennifer Kano  T  As we all know from experience, Beetle Cats sail best in light and moderate winds. On the surface of it, this fact seems  somewhat ironic since the Beetle is a design adaptation of the 16-30 foot Cape Cod Catboat, a popular commercial fishing  craft of the 1800s and early 1900s designed primarily for heavy weather use. However, history further reveals that the  commercial cats also sailed reefed most of the time, reserving their full sail area for the gentle breezes more common  during the summer months. For these year-round fishermen, reefing was the norm, not the exception it is today. Howard I. Chapelle once said that “modern yachtsmen have developed an allergy against reefing.” (The Catboat Book)  Many exceptions to this statement can certainly be found, but as a whole, Beetle Cat sailors are unquestionably one of the  most “allergic” groups around. The prevailing attitude among Beetle Catters is that reefing is for sissies, while the  prevailing practice (except for scheduled races) is not to go sailing if it gets too windy. This is a rather unfortunate  situation for a couple of reasons. First of all, Beetle Cats, like their big sister the Cape Cod Cats, handle very nicely in rough weather when reefed. While  this is not an economic necessity for today's recreational sailors, it is still a nice plus as it can really extend the range of  conditions considered enjoyable for pleasure sailing. As Stan Grayson puts it in his book  Catboats , “The difference  [between an un-reefed and reefed catboat] will be a choice between a helm that is barely if at all controllable with two  strong arms, and a docile helm that can be attended by one untrained hand, or even two fingers.” Secondly, Beetles sail beautifully in heavy weather when reefed. Any boat with a well-designed sail properly reefed, not  only handles better, it also goes just as fast as an un-reefed boat. In technical terms. The reason for this is that Beetles,  like all non-planing boats, have an upper speed limit known as “hull speed” which can be calculated using the following  formula: In practical terms, what this means is that the boat will go just so fast, and no faster, so carrying more sail than necessary  to maintain this speed is, at best, a waste of power and at worst, a source of handing difficulties and possible breakage. Still Skeptical? Consider these two cases. Think about it. One notable exception to the reefing “allergy” occured at Mitey Mite (under 13 years) regattas where for some inexplicable  reason, it almost always blows like crazy. When this happens, the race committee very sensibly requires all boats to reef– and then makes a rather disturbing discovery… Most of the kids don't know how to reef. 81 1. At the 1993 NEBCBA Women's Championship held at the New Bedford Yacht Club, Andrea and John York of  Cataumet decide to race their boat reefed due to the heavy weather conditions. In the first race, they were the  only boat in the race sailing reefed… they also won the race. By the start of the second race, they weren't the only  boat reefed, and they didn't win. 2. In the middle of the 2000 Telesmanick Championship Carlo Zezza “tucked in” a reef and won the next race  beating out the hot-shot sailors that were not reefed. Properly reefed and beautiful. 