Calling all spinnaker flyers

[Guest]

I keep reading that downwind sailing under Spinnaker is one of the best bits in sailing .

I have searched for ages to find a secondhand one that is cost effective in relation to my current circumstances.

I have now got one. Probably one of the earliest but the condition is ok. Crosscut by Hood, it is 37’ high and 19’ wide. My boat is 27’ long and has a 32 foot mast. The foretriangle is 10’. Seems quite flimsy so I expect it is .5oz.

Two questions really, will it fly ok as it is now ? It seems quite high but does the ‘belly’ take care of this ?

I have no experience of spinnakers but have got on quite well with friend’s cruising chutes. I would probably use it single handed but only in very light winds downwind only. I intend to launch it under a jib.


I would be grateful for any hints and tips.

I am fit and a non smoker.

Many Thanks,

 

[vyv_cox]

It sounds like this is about the biggest spinnaker that your boat will carry. In the past, cross-cut spinnakers did tend to be to maximum size whereas the tendency now is to use tri-radials that are flatter cut and smaller in area, so will fly much closer to the wind. You can detect from this that your will not fly closer than about 100 degrees to the apparent wind.

You will find a great deal of good info at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://members.aol.com/marlanc/spin2.html>http://members.aol.com/marlanc/spin2.html</A> Personally I would not try to fly it and the jib at the same time, although some do. Launching it downwind is easy if you put the turtle in the lee of the main. You can then hoist it without it filling until you haul in the guy. Dropping it is almost the reverse of this. Release the guy and grab the sheet, then bundle the spinnaker back into the turtle. Some advocate pulling it under the main and pushing it down the companionway but if you do this you need to repack it without twisting it, whereas leaving sheets attached and back in the turtle means it is completely ready for next time.

 

[Athene V30]

Sorry to add confusion to previous post but I always keep a jib up whilst hoisting and lowering the spinaker just to stop any risk of wrapping it around the forestay! I drop the jib once it is up. I usually do this all singlehanded.

Pick light winds and some sea room for your first try. Best of luck!

 

[Gunfleet]

Can you use a sock on a yacht spinnaker, like I use on my cruising chute? That would make it much easier to handle short handed. I fly the cruising chute single handed (well, me and archie the autopilot!)

 

[vyv_cox]

I prefer not to launch it with the jib hoisted to save confusion. I find it easier to check that all sheets, guys and controls are led correctly without the jib in the way. The problem of wrapping the kite round the forestay seems to be almost completely avoided by launching and retreiving it downwind behind the main. Best is to develop your own preference, so try it both ways.

 

[kdf]

I'm from a racing background and apart from the speed issue (you need the jib up until the spinnaker is pulling) the other benifit of keeping the jib up is that it keeps the wind out of the chute until it is fully hoisted (provided you dont get the pole back too fast. By keeting the sheet in fairly quickly you will prevent any wraps as it will pull the body of the sail to the lee side of the boat.

 

[kdf]

I'm from a racing background and apart from the speed issue (you need the jib up until the spinnaker is pulling) the other benifit of keeping the jib up is that it keeps the wind out of the chute until it is fully hoisted (provided you dont get the pole back too fast. By getting the sheet in fairly quickly you will prevent any wraps as it will pull the body of the sail to the lee side of the boat.

 

[bedouin]

I prefer to keep the genoa up when hoisting and lowering the spinnaker for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it enables you to hoist and drop the spinnaker on almost any point of sailing - that saves having to turn onto a dead run which can waste time, especially if you are slow to hoist the spinnaker (as I am!).

Secondly, on my boat the genoa is much larger than the main, so the main by itself doesn't blanket the spinnaker very well.

Once I've hoisted the spinnaker (which I have to do from the foredeck) I can then wander leisurely back to the cockpit before winding away the Genoa and trimming the sheet & guy.

I envy you being able to re-pack the spinnaker while lowering it. For me it is always get it down the hatch and worry about it afterwards.

 

[vyv_cox]

I picked up a good tip on lowering and packing when visiting Australia. I was fortunate enough to get a race south of Sydney with a very experienced J24 skipper, although on a 30 footer. Before striking the spinnaker he would stream the halyard astern and the friction of rope against water came very close to matching the weight of the spinnaker as it hung down behind the main. Stuffing the sail into the turtle was made very easy by this method, with not too much risk of dropping the whole lot into the water.

 

[charles_reed]

Don't know if your boat is masthead or fractional - if masthead a bit on the large side - if fractional far to big.

Cross-cuts are only good for direct downwind sailing - I have a GP (cross-cut centre and radial corners) which I use up to about 20 kt apparent and 135degrees of wind, and an asymmetric radial which is used for ghosting or reaching.

Your problem with a big spi is handling a long enough pole to keep it out.

Nearly all my sailing is single-handed, tho' my boat is a little longer than yours.

The GP spi is probably the 2nd most used headsail sfter the furling 150% genoa.

 

[qsiv]

Aside from all the other good stuff ..

If you dont have plenty of people with you who have experience - I would urge you to take the time to 'stop' it. Work your ay in from each corner, scrunching the sail and every couple of feet tie it loosely with some wool - just one turn and a simple not (racers will also refer this to 'wooling'). Eventually your three bunches will meet somewhere in the middle - put it back in the turtle. Hoist it, and pull the clew out to the pole - then squar the pole and pull firmly on the sheet and all your carefully assembled bits of wool will break and shower you.

You almost certainly wont be able to use a sock, I suspect that the luffs are too long to allow the extra 3 or four feet you would need for a sock.

Make sure you can pull the guy (windward sheet) down to the guardrail somewhere by the shrouds - make sure the guy is well secured before you inflate the kite - the load comes on firmly and unremittingly.

Finally - ensure you have adequate room to bear away when you want to drop it - you wont want to have the wind too far forrard for the first few drops.

Otherwise enjoy it!

 

[Guest]

Thanks All !

Thanks everyone for the very helpful advice.

I now feel more confident to in giving the spinnaker a whirl singlehanded.

I have measured the sail and the two luffs come out at 34’ instead of 37' which I first reported, so I feel better about that as it was sounding like a bit of an animal.

I was interested to read from one of the suggested sites ,how there is attached flow at the head area (when running) from wind coming from the top of the mast down, which apart from giving more drive, helps to keep the sail full. Interesting that.

I am still in the water at the moment and longing to start flying as soon as one of those nice crisp high pressure systems come along.

The sail seems to get a bad press but perhaps this is due to racing sailors pushing their luck a bit.

The sail that bits back ? Perhaps..

Regards,