flying a cruising chute

[smeaks]

when flying a chute what is the best plan? Do you fly it free on the sheets and halyard or is it to be hoisted with one sheet acting like a tack through the stem head resulting in a giant genoa like thing... or is there another way...

 

[MoodySabre]

My cruising chute only has one sheet. The tack is just a strop to the stemhead. It is just a large lightweight genoa.

If yours has two sheets attached at different points then perhaps it's a spinnaker about which I know nothing.

 

[Malcb]

Fly it in the same way as an assymetric spinnaker. I prefer the tack to be fixed to a running tack line that runs back to the cockpit. Means you can let the tack out a bit to help when gybing.

 

[dt4134]

Never flown a cruising chute, but I think they're pretty similar to racing assymetric spinnakers.

There are a number of options, depending upon whether you have a bowsprit, spinnaker pole or neither. Even without either, you'd have a tack line so that the assymetric can be flown clear of the pulpit.

It also depends upon whether you want to be able to gybe it. If not, you'd just need one sheet rigged like a normal symmetric spinnaker. That's the simplest arrangement.

If you're using a normal spinnaker pole you'd have five lines attached (well six if you count the halyard): tack line, two guys attached to the tack and two sheets attached to the clew. The lazy sheet is either led outside the forestay and inside the sail (if you prefer an inside gybe) or right outside the sail (for an outside gybe).

Rather than waffling on for ages, if you let me know a bit more about the setup I can maybe be a bit more specific.

 

[samwise]

Agree about the running tack line. I attach the line with a snapshackle ( I use one of our spinnaker sheets) and run it through a snatch block on the stem fitting and then back to the cockpit and a winch via another block on the side deck. Ours has a snuffer which makes life easier.

 

[bumblefish]

The Kemp Sails website has a very useful pdf showing one technique to fly a cruising chute, it does suggest using tack line led aft to allow one to let the tack fly a little while gybing, apparently this makes it easier to bring the chute around.

 

[Jonny_H]

Exactly like an asymetric - raced lots of boats with these and use my cruising chute in just the same way.

Line through the tack back to the cockpit to be adjusted depending on wind angle, halyard to the very top of the mast, and the sheets just like a genoa.

Jonny

 

[KREW2]

Yup I do the same, only ever had it up 15/20 times but it always feels good.

 

[liverpool]

would welcome views on merits of inside v outside gybe and on timing of main (as you'll guess i've struggled to gybe chute smoothly - but will try easing out tack line as suggested above).

 

[William_H]

You don't have any details of the boat type in your bio and size makes a huge difference to how you handle spins and the like.

A spin is gybed by moving the sail across the front of the boat so that what was the sheet becomes the brace and the brace becomes the sheet. This is acheived by disconnecting the pole and reconnecting on the other side. (on small boats)

On bigger boats thye have 2 sheets on each corner. This may be a solution for you. To gybe you connect the spare line on the sheet to the bow and disconnect the tack attachment at the bow by releasing that sheet. While at the same time taking the sheet load on the spare sheet that was the tack and now becomes the sheet. The sail will hopefully swing across while remaining full.

Now I have not done this but I have a lot of experience with spins. So I imagine that it could be the same just using the bow instead of the end of a pole. Of course a pole enables you to get the tack out to windward of the bow and so clear of the mainsail when running square. (But poles are a pain)

i do suggest you consider attaching the tack via along rope through a pulley at the bow so that you can release the tack to enable the whole sail to be pulled into the cockpit for retrieval. For that matter you can launch it also form the cockpit.
Re gybing my little boat is very tender so for gybing spin it is important to gybe the spin then get the forward hand to move to the leeward side and start moving down the side of the boat when the helmsman forces the main to gybe by turning. The tender boat is inclined in strong winds to want to round up in the gybe ie keep turning which requires weight on the new windward side as the boom comes over. And of course the helmsman ready to control the turn. It is a real achievement in really strong winds but that is the madness of racing. If you can't keep the mast out of the water at least rry to keep everyone on board.

You should have some fun trying all the possibilities. Just keep experimenting olewill

 

[flaming]

[ QUOTE ]

A spin is gybed by moving the sail across the front of the boat so that what was the sheet becomes the brace and the brace becomes the sheet. This is acheived by disconnecting the pole and reconnecting on the other side. (on small boats)


[/ QUOTE ]

Er, Symetrical spinakers are, Cruising chutes are not....
Cruising chutes are gybed like a big jib with the tack staying as the tack, and the clew staying as the clew.

The big question is, inside or outside gybing.....?

I have done a lot of sailing on J boats flying asymetric kites, which are a little bit like cruising chutes, but bigger, cut much more full and flown off a retractable pole.

On these boats we always inside gybe. With a full crew and enough space between the tack and the forestay to get the sail through, then it is a lot faster.
However if I was contemplating gybing a cruising chute on a boat where the tack is very close to the forestay and the head is very close to the top of the forestay (so your typical masthead cruising boat) then I would outside gybe, so rig the sheets such that the sail will fly out like a big flag half way through the gybe, then gets pulled round by the new sheet. Note, for this technique you need very long sheets, at least twice the length of the boat.

A caution about easing the tackline when gybing. On the J boats we do the exact opposite, winding the tack down to the pole to gybe. We do this as we find that an eased tack line makes us much more likely to broach out of the gybe. of course we are still flying masthead kites in 20kts+ when I don't suppose that many cruising chutes are in evidence, but if you do find yourself in a situation where you want to gybe in stronger winds then don't ease the tack!

In terms of the timing of the gybe, I suspect it will differ slightly for a shorthanded cruising boat as everything will happen more slowly, but here's how it works for us.

Helm turns slowly downwind, with the kite trimmer easing until the sail becomes blanketed too much by the main and threatens to collapse. At this point the old sheet is released, and the new one pulled like buggery. In light winds we will look to have the boat DDW at this point and fill the kite on the new side momentarily before the main is flung across and the boat headed up onto the new course. In stronger winds this never really happens and the main is gybed as the kite is being pulled across.

If shorthanded in lightish winds I would centreline the boom, turn DDW, pull the kite across, head up onto a broad reach then ease the main. I suspect that could well be a near bullet proof method for 2 people in conditions that the average cruising crew would be flying the colourfull cloth!

 

[MoodySabre]

You're all so racey!

I only use the cruising chute for a long tack and usually sail short-handed. As I only have one sheet on the chute I would snuff, sheet round the other side, gybe, un-snuff. Off we go. Safe and easy, no tangles or wraps and crew relaxed (we hope).

 

[flaming]

That is the other option.....!

 

[boatsRus]

I am with Moodysabre on this one. I have tried the outside gybe method when sailing two-handed, and there is simply too much rope involved. The theory sounds good, but getting the chute to fly like a flag dead downwind whilst releasing one sheet and pulling in on the other (both sheets are 24 metres long), and gybing the main, is fairly demanding in practice, especially if there is a bit of breeze. Snuffing whilst gybing is simple and safe (but not very racey).

 

[bbg]

The other problem with an outside gybe is that there is a much greater risk of the lazy sheet ending up underneath the boat.

I haven't sailed much with a cruising chute, but have raced a lot with various assymetrics. The thought of a sheet ending up under the boat on a shorthanded cruising boat isn't very appealing. I think I would either snuff and reset, or set up for an inside gybe if I were cruising.

 

[ex-Gladys]

...and how does the chute fly forward when it's blanketed by the main when dead downwind?

With a conventional spinny, you can pull it to weather, keep it filled, gybe the pole, gybe the main all without a collapse. Can't see it possible with a cruising chute

 

[bbg]

When racing, we used to bear away until the chute started to collapse, then pull it around - but these were inside gybes.

I understand some people like to set up for outside gybes when the wind is V strong - so you will never really get a full blanketing effect - or any blanketing effect will be very short lived. But once again that is on racing boats, and I think if I wanted to gybe in those conditions while cruising I would snuff, gybe and re-set.