Heavy Mainsail..?

I prefer to put some bright flourescent tape around the mast (suitably cut at the mast slot of course). These are positioned where the lower batten cars come at the first & second reefs. I am always looking at the sail when reefing & prefer not to have to look down for small marks on the halyard at night. They fade every couple of years but are simple to replace. There is less stretch in the setup there, as it is only 4-5 feet from the boom. Marks on the halyard are 25 metres from the start of the boom so stretch can vary the set even with laminate sails & dynema halyards. It also depends how much tension you want to apply to the sail each time.

I also find it better when reefing to winch the sail down with some friction in the halyard by leaving a turn on the winch when doing 2nd reef or slipping the clutch when doing the first one. If one drops the halyard in one go the lines can get tangled & a kink can catch in a block or a a bit of sail cloth can catch. I prefer to keep a little tension in the reef lines as I reef. I find that a neater option. But I sail SH so want avoid going on deck & a few seconds longer to reef is not always the issue. A decent sail set is.