Cruising Chute rigging

[neil1967]

When rigging a cruising chute, should the lazy sheet pass between the cruising chute halyard/luff and the genoa forestay (so that when gybing the clew of the chute has to pass between the chute halyard/luff and the genoa forestay), or does it pass round the outside of the chute halyard/luff (so that the clew passes round the front of the halyard/luff). The latter somehow seems 'wrong', but with the former I can imagine that there might be issues getting the chute between the chute halyard/luff (especially if fairly tight) and the genoa forestay. We have flown the chute - and it goes well - but have not had to gybe with it up yet!

Neil

 

[Marsupial]

When rigging a cruising chute, should the lazy sheet pass between the cruising chute halyard/luff and the genoa forestay (so that when gybing the clew of the chute has to pass between the chute halyard/luff and the genoa forestay), or does it pass round the outside of the chute halyard/luff (so that the clew passes round the front of the halyard/luff). The latter somehow seems 'wrong', but with the former I can imagine that there might be issues getting the chute between the chute halyard/luff (especially if fairly tight) and the genoa forestay. We have flown the chute - and it goes well - but have not had to gybe with it up yet!

Neil

Coo, you have 2 sheets! I have only ever used a chute on one tack with one sheet because of the difficulty gybing it, but round the outside is the only place it can go (I think) basically because the luff sets in front of the forestay. I would snuff it maybe to get it across - just a thought.

 

[Mark Turner]

I rig my mine so that the sheets pass outside the forestay. No idea whether its the right thing to do or not, but it seems to work.

 

[prv]

I've only really used them on charter boats (we have one now on the new boat, but haven't used it in anger yet) and they tended to only come with a single sheet on the assumption that you'll drop it and re-hoist rather than gybe.

Pete

 

[Iain C]

Lazy sheet round the front of the forestay and behind the kite. Just like an asym on a dinghy.

Frankly, I find it incredible that people sail without two sheets...it's a cruising chute guys, it's a piece of cake to gybe! If you are struggling to get it to go over your forestay properly, try easing the tack line to give more luff round.

Why you would ever want to sail with a downwind sail that you couldn't gybe very quickly is beyond me. What happens if suddenly something big appears from under the sail and you need to gybe in a hurry? Or the sounder starts plummeting? Do you really want to be flying a sail that effectively locks you on course?

 

[nigelmercier]

If you are struggling to get it to go over your forestay properly, try easing the tack line to give more luff round.

Was it PBO or YM who did a demo at the London Bore Show? I wonder if there is a video clip?

 

[Marsupial]

Lazy sheet round the front of the forestay and behind the kite. Just like an asym on a dinghy.

Frankly, I find it incredible that people sail without two sheets...it's a cruising chute guys, it's a piece of cake to gybe! If you are struggling to get it to go over your forestay properly, try easing the tack line to give more luff round.

Why you would ever want to sail with a downwind sail that you couldn't gybe very quickly is beyond me. What happens if suddenly something big appears from under the sail and you need to gybe in a hurry? Or the sounder starts plummeting? Do you really want to be flying a sail that effectively locks you on course?

each to his own, I sail 100 mile legs on one tack if I can to save wear and tear so one sheet is not really a problem - things don't seem to happen in a hurry and depth is usually over 4000 mtrs. In my humble experience short handed, its quicker to snuff it than it is to play around with it, at 1050 sq ft its force to be reckoned with. It has lifted many an "expert" clean off the deck - oh how we laughed. If I were racing then things could be different.

 

[neil1967]

Just found an article in a US mag - it shows both ways of doing it! Sheets inside the luff when gybing using a snuffer and sheets outside the chute luff when gybing without - with the recommendation that shorthanded using the snuffer was easier. Wind is looking to be a light W/SW this weekend so if you see an Oyster 406 between Portsmouth and Chichester with a very tangled red and white cruising chute drapped over, or underneath, the bow, that'll be me.

Neil

 

[Seatrout]

Both sheets outside everything: when gybing let go the hard sheet and let the whole sail fly out ahead momentarily, then pull in on the previously lazy sheet. Sheets need to be 2 x length of hull.