Gybing the spi singlehanded

[versine]

Good evening,

I had read in this forum many good ideas for setting or dropping the spi singlehanded.

For hoisting, I think it is better to "locking" the tack point before to pull on the halyard ; for dropping, the idea of to put the end of the halyard over the stern in the water seems very good.

But for gybing ? What is the better method, with a spi of 60/70 m² ?

Thank you by advance

Best Regards


Jacques

 

[Mrnotming]

Single handed Spinnaker gybe

Suggest re-position vessel in a snooker hall whilst carrying out the manoevre!

 

[awol]

My spinnaker is a wee bit smaller but my technique is to put the boat dead before the wind, set the tiller-pilot, wander forward, pop the pole off the mast, engage the lazy guy (I have both sheets and guys), release the pole from the old guy and pop the end on the mast, wander back, gybe main, take up slack on guy, release windward sheet, trim working sheet. Can get a bit hairy in a sea 'cos the tiller-pilot doesn't like waves but I probably should have dropped it by then anyway. I try and avoid spinnakers towards lee-shores when single-handed as shit occasionally happens!

 

[William_H]

Gybing a spin

Gybing is a piece of cake in light winds but as soon as the wind comes up it can be a horror.
A said the boat is simply run square the pole is swapped over then the boat is gybed ie main pulled across.
Not much different single handed with an auto pilot to having a crew.

However my little boat is light compared to the spin size and also to the main sail size.
The worst part of gybing in strong winds is that the boat must be turned some amount to get the main to gybe. The main comes across quite violently causing the boat to heel causing it to tend to round up.
So before actually gybing the main the crew whose weight is important must be on the correct side or ready for a quick jump across while the helmsman must already across and ready to fight the tiller against the round up. It is OK with a small spin over 20 knots if you are prepared for gybe. But if you are not prepared it often results in the mast near horizontal, water in the cockpit, crew falling off and generally white knuckles all round.

So single handed you need to do it in very light winds or have a very brave autopilot. Otherwise no different to crewed gybe. If you use separate guy and sheet then you need to be able to fly the spin without a pole for the time it takes to get back to adjust the new guy. (or is it called the brace)
good luck olewill

 

[seumask]

I find that our spinnaker can fly for some time if on a run if it is set fairly square with the pole on the wrong side. So I tend to gybe and then sort the pole out afterwards which gives the option of gybing back if necessary and your set to go on the old side again. Small boat ( 25ft) so no seperate guy and sheets and lighter the wind the easier it is to manage.

 

[PatrickB02]

I do it the same as awol. I wouldn’t normally do it in more than a force 3, as things can go wrong pretty quickly. That said I have (once!) done it in a force 5, but I was racing on that occasion so that’s different! Tiller-pilot is key – I don’t think it would be possible without (not in my boat anyhow).

 

[boaterbaz]

This might be showing my age, but back in the days of IOR and masthead rigs twin spinnaker poles were quite common. I had a quarter tonner with twin poles fitted with barber haulers on the tack fittings. To gybe you set both poles, during gybe release old guy by way of barber hauler and heave in new guy. Expensive in fittings but quick and foolproof. I think dingys use a similar system.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

I don't do it myself but if I did I would consider two approaches. One would be to use the snuffer on the spinnaker, jibe the main, get the boat on course and then re-set the spinny.

In decent conditions I would centre the spiing then centre the main, jibe the spinny pole then let the main off on the new tack.

As I say, I don't do it myself so the above suggestions might not work. But thyey are what I would try first.

 

[bbg]

Symmetric or asymmetric? Do you have a pole or is the tack fixed to the bow?

 

[michael_w]

Easy peasy with an asymmetric off a bowsprit, otherwise it's got to be twin poles or dowse and rehoist if there's any breeze. Very good autopilot eg NKE will help too. Try asking the same question here.

 

[versine]

Thank you very much for yours anwers (for bbg, I had a symetric spinnaker with pole).

It seems therefore that the better method is to have one pole and both sheet and guy ... and do a end-forend gybing.

Good evening


Jacques