New Cruising Chute: Experiences of sail quality wanted.

Norman_E

Norman_E

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 Mar 2005
Messages
25,026
Location
East Sussex.
Visit site
I am planning to buy a cruising chute and have had quotes from three UK lofts. Two (from Kemp and Crusader) are very close on price for a fully tri radial chute and snuffer, the third is for a ready made sail (radial head) from Seatech, and is a bit cheaper. I am leaning towards a fully radial sail, but if anyone has experience of cruising chutes from any of the above or from other lofts, I would like to hear your opinions.
 
My Tri-Radial from Gowen

IMGP1142.jpg
 
Can't comment on the cut, but you will get good value and service from either Kemps and Crusader. Prices are similar because they operate in the same sector of the market as well as being located about 10 miles apart and servicing the same local market! I use mainly Kemps, because when I bought my big lot of sails Rob was just getting going and offered a good deal. Now, he also has the Hood brand as a more "up market" range.
 
And just to balance Tranona, I have a Crusader Tri radial Chute and Snuffer.
(I also have a Magic Furl now, tee hee). Very nice sail, very nice price at the time (2005). Good firm to deal with , unlike my most recent sail purchasing experience with another well known East Coast loft.
 
FullCircle said:
And just to balance Tranona, I have a Crusader Tri radial Chute and Snuffer.
(I also have a Magic Furl now, tee hee). Very nice sail, very nice price at the time (2005). Good firm to deal with , unlike my most recent sail purchasing experience with another well known East Coast loft.
Click to expand...

I am also in the market for a cruising chute, for a Moody 54. How do you like your Magic Furl, and on what size boat are you using it? The idea is fantastic, but it looks kind of dodgy.
 
Dockhead said:
I am also in the market for a cruising chute, for a Moody 54. How do you like your Magic Furl, and on what size boat are you using it? The idea is fantastic, but it looks kind of dodgy.
Click to expand...

Only just got it, and due to the tithead sailmakers of my gloriously inept genoa and main, I have been unable to try it due to poxy weather.

Mine is on a Jeanneau SO35 with a 1.1m extension Selden bowsprit.

I have been very pleased with the support from Crusader, so I have a few things to try when we get it up.
 
We have an off the peg model from seateach and happy with it, unless you are sure you are going to use the cruising chute a lot, I would be happy with the seateach one which was cheaper when we last looked. It is fun to have for those days when just a little more sail will keep you going without the engine but I suspect a lot of them sit in the sail locker most of the time so why pay more than you need to, wheras a main or genoa that you use everytime you sail, I would pay more for.
 
It looks as if I would be OK with any of the makes. The most expensive is about one third more than the cheapest, and most of that is probably the difference between a fully radial sail and a radial head design. The last post makes an interesting point, and the limited use factor is the reason I am not looking at a Parasail, despite knowing how well they work. My reason for wanting one is that my boat is slow downwind, because of its relatively short mast and limited sail area, whereas it is good upwind due to a tri-radial laminate genoa and a shiny new full batten mainsail.

What I want therefore is something that will give me the sail area to go downwind, hopefully as far as 155-160 degrees off the wind, without using a pole, because I don't usually have the crew to handle one.

I note that a removeable bowsprit is useful, but want to avoid one because it will obstruct the chain locker, so I plan to take the tack line through a block attached to the bow roller fitting just ahead of the genoa furler, and will probably keep the tack on the boat centre line with a Seateach tacker. Hopefully that and the use of lightweight sheets will allow me to keep the chute filled whilst going reasonably close to a run, but will also give me a good light winds sail for any point of sail where the true wind is further forward but still behind the beam. Am I right?
 
Twister_Ken said:
A cruisy chute is difficult to carry deep, because it's reluctant to project to windward of the forestay. Stops working at about 140-150 degs apparent.. Using a sprit helps with projection. Or you can set it to a pole but then you might as well go symmetric.
Click to expand...

On my boat a pole would be very heavy, so I know I cannot manage one, hence the idea of using a tacker. At least if the chute will not project to windward I can stop the tack drifting off to leeward.

As an aside I wonder if setting up a chute (which is effectively a smaller sized assymetric) with the normal tack line, plus a single sheet to the clew, and adding another rope from the tack pulled to a point on the leeward beam of the boat, would enable the chute to project a little to windward and allow the sail to be carried deeper?
 
Twister_Ken said:
A cruisy chute is difficult to carry deep, because it's reluctant to project to windward of the forestay. Stops working at about 140-150 degs apparent.. Using a sprit helps with projection. Or you can set it to a pole but then you might as well go symmetric.
Click to expand...

Well, except that you still have the choice -- to pole, or not to pole? With a "cruisy chute", whereas with a regular spinnaker, you don't. Pole when really downwind; no pole when not. It sounds good to me, but I'd sure like to hear more experience.

I'm about the buy a whisker pole anyway because my main headsail (a high cut yankee) has totally **** shape when well downwind. It begs poling out.

And what about parasails? Anyone have one of those?
 
Dockhead said:
Well, except that you still have the choice -- to pole, or not to pole? With a "cruisy chute", whereas with a regular spinnaker, you don't. Pole when really downwind; no pole when not. It sounds good to me, but I'd sure like to hear more experience.

I'm about the buy a whisker pole anyway because my main headsail (a high cut yankee) has totally **** shape when well downwind. It begs poling out.

And what about parasails? Anyone have one of those?
Click to expand...

On my dad's previous boat we used a cruising chute. And then fitted a pole to pole the tack out because it just wouldn't go downwind. And soon found that the sail flew so much better off the pole, even when reaching, that we almost never flew it without the pole.
Which made the choice to go to a symetric kite when changing boat an obvious one.

You can gybe downwind, but you don't (in a cruising boat) have the hull shape to make it work to its full potential. So given the huge hole in a cruising boat's speed with a genoa is from about 130-180 true, not the 90-140 that a crusing chute covers, it makes sense to be able to fly it downhill, even if you don't go to a full symetrical kite. Especially as most cruisers on passage don't really want to be gybing back and forth, but would rather just sail the direct course.
 
flaming said:
On my dad's previous boat we used a cruising chute. And then fitted a pole to pole the tack out because it just wouldn't go downwind. And soon found that the sail flew so much better off the pole, even when reaching, that we almost never flew it without the pole.
Which made the choice to go to a symetric kite when changing boat an obvious one.

You can gybe downwind, but you don't (in a cruising boat) have the hull shape to make it work to its full potential. So given the huge hole in a cruising boat's speed with a genoa is from about 130-180 true, not the 90-140 that a crusing chute covers, it makes sense to be able to fly it downhill, even if you don't go to a full symetrical kite. Especially as most cruisers on passage don't really want to be gybing back and forth, but would rather just sail the direct course.
Click to expand...


OK -- so you're poling out the tack of the sail, correct? The windward corner? Not the clew as you would pole out a genoa?

So you end up handling it just like a regular spinnaker? Even on a reach? If that's really true, then there's hardly any point in a cruising chute, is there? Did I misunderstand something?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top