Doug,

A sail-tie through the clue and around the boom--we did that
routinely in San Francisco. It's called an earing. Several times
I found the reef line would come loose on J-24's and the earing
would not keep the foot tight but kept the leech tight enough to
keep sailing temporarily, and save more than a few sails from
flogging.

Bart

DSK wrote

Good idea to check the lines often. Same for roller furling. BTW do you
reeve a back up line through the clew cringle once the reef is made up?
I have seen this in lessons but never done it in real life. Conditions
are always unfavorable to hanging on the end of the boom... especially
tucking in that second reef.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King