How big is a small kite?

I have a small kite which wraps up into a pouch about 2"x3". Then again I have a Cherry Bomb stunt kite which has a 36" wingspan but is still a medium sized kite. My original Peter Powell kite is a little larger.

It all depends on your terms of reference.
 
The strong-wind kite is not just smaller, it is also heavier cloth, so getting a "normal" kite from a smaller boat wouldn't be the same.
 
Sort of yes and no.
The problem is the spiniker may be small for your boat so you will not be over powered and it will be esier to handle. but it was a regular spinnaker for the smaller boat and made out of lighter cloth intended for lesser conditions than your plan to use for strong winds so it may not last long. i.e. it may blow out on you.
So most likely you will get an old worn out kite which is not right for your boat.
 
I believe a heavy weather spinnaker is cut differently to give more stability in high winds & better cross flow for broad reaching
If the luff length is not correct it will be a pig to fly
I personally do not like cruising chutes but have you considered one for the higher winds
You would not have to use the pole & can drop it without going on to the foredeck ( except for re fitting sheet & halliard ends) which might be handy in squalls etc. you decide to goosewing so you can run downwind better you do have a pole already
 
Before I could afford a proper spinnaker made for my 22' boat, I used an old spinnaker from an Osprey dinghy; it's much smaller but still gave a useful boost off the wind.

If using in strong winds, there's obviously a lower limit than a purpose made starcut or heavy weather kite, but I suppose the thing blowing out could be regarded as a safety valve !
 
A inexpensive smaller lightweight kite might suit simply for refining your singlehanded spinnaker handling? Before commiting to major expenditure, or are you keen to blow em away racing ?

I have a full 'big girls blouse' wide spi and was then given a nice North tri radial which 'looks' about 80% height , with which to ahem get better at using single handedly . Still learning...

The cruising chute I already use in a heartbeat.
 
I have 5 spinnakers that came with my boat. its an ex Syd/Hobart racer, did 5. The heavy weather spinnaker is made from 6 ounce Dacron! It's fairly low aspect, almost an asymmetric triangle. Apparently it was used when the wind was over 30 knots.

I have an old dinghy spinnaker off a 14 footer in one and a half ounce ripstock in perfect condition. Has about 4 mm cord in each luff. The foot is not much longer than my yachts beam. I have been going to give it a try with the tacks set in blocks from the toe rail just ahead of the mast and haul it up inside the fore stay. It is only about 100 square feet. Alternatively try it out as a Spaysail.
 
Blueboatman said:
A inexpensive smaller lightweight kite might suit simply for refining your singlehanded spinnaker handling? Before commiting to major expenditure, or are you keen to blow em away racing ?

I have a full 'big girls blouse' wide spi and was then given a nice North tri radial which 'looks' about 80% height , with which to ahem get better at using single handedly . Still learning...

The cruising chute I already use in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

I have BGB (big girl's blouse) but chicken out sooner rather than later, while some of the other boats in our racing fleet fly something different.

I take the point about the weight of the material, but am more concerned about the dimensions. If the overall height is much less than the forestay, the power of the sail is going to be higher up the rig, destabilizing the boat. This will be a bad thing going dead downwind in a blow !
 
We had a heavy weather spinnaker for racing our Trapper 300 and both the Sigma 33 and 38 had them as part of the standard sail wardrobe. None of them ever had any significant use, generally if we could carry a kite at all, we needed the big one to get power and once you were surfing the stress was reduced by the boat speed. The heavy ones were cut very narrow at the top an were only used for close reaching when they were less inclined to cause broaching but the big genny with the sheets moved outboard often gained as much speed. You need a very good trimmer for what was called a blast reacher as they collapse easily.
So I would advise that while a well designed and cut heavy reaching spinnaker may be useful occasionally, unless you are doing long offshores in a very competitive fleet when you may get more use out of it, a sail adapted from another boat will only be an embarassment. Better to put your racing budget in to updating your existing wardrobe.
 
Not sure if this has much relevance but, as quandary suggests, my last boat I had an aramid 150 genoa, ' the goddam wing'. Beautiful beautiful sail..
Short leg, Sunday morning racing, it was not worth the penalty of flying a spinnaker without mistakes..But I did have a drifter/blaster sail that tacked to the stem and was sheeted to a block on the end of the boom and hoisted out of the bag, thus we reliably ran a two head plus mainsail rig on dead down wind legs.. Great fun and v easy ( which helps consistent performance..)
 
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