Rigging a spinnaker.

[Topcat47]

I've dragged my old spinnaker out of the shed, checked it out and found it free of holes and rot. I've lubed up the fittings on the pole, checked the spinnaker halyard and the pole's uphaul and everything is working fine.............so far.

I do, however have a series of problems concerning rigging; not the least being that I've never put it up on my own boat before.

I do not have dedicated winches for the sheets, nor anywhere obvious to fix blocks to....but I do have a plethora of unused cleats around the cockpit......any suggestions?

BTW the last time I used a spinnaker, we had a downhaul on the pole and it was a simple shock-cord with carribiner type ends. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[dt4134]

You don't necessarily need dedicated winches. quite a few small & medium-sized cruisers race with only four winches. If you intend to gybe the spinnaker use the coachroof winches for the sheet & guy. If you don't you can get away with putting the guy on the lazy genny sheet winch.

What do you have in terms of blocks for the spinny sheets? I presume you have a spinny halyard. Do you have an uphaul?

 

[Topcat47]

I've sheets, a spinnaker halyard and an uphaul on the mast, but nothing else, apart from a plethora of unused cleats around the cockpit. Only two winches for the genoa sheets.

 

[dt4134]

The awkward bit is likely to be leading the spinnaker sheet and guy. You'll need a block each side somewhere near the pushpit with another further forward for tweaker blocks (necessary when converting a sheet into a guy & v.v.). Do you have an aluminuim toe rail with holes where you can fit blocks?

Did you say you just have two winches in total? I guess you might have another on the mast for the halyard if you don't have coachroof winches.

 

[Topcat47]

I was discounting the winch on the mast, it's only useful for the main halyard anyway.

I don't know what a tweaker block is, or how it is used.....but I do have a couple of substantial teak pads to the rear of my cockpit into or onto which all manner of stuff might be screwed not to mention places on the pushpit where blocks might be usefully fixed, too.

 

[dt4134]

A tweaker is pretty much a barber-hauler by another name. When you're just using two lines on the spinnaker, one to each clew, the sheet should come from somewhere near the stern but the guy should provide much more downward force on the pole.

So if you lead each sheet through a block attached to a tweaker line (barber-hauler) you can convert a sheet into a guy by pulling on the tweaker line. The tweaker line passes through a block at the deck edge normally not far forward of the cockpit. You should be easily able to tie off the tweaker lines on the spare cleats you have.

The guy generally has much more force on it than the sheet, so you definitely need to run the guy to one of your winches, which should be easy as (without a gybe) it will always be on the opposite side to the working genny sheet.

You could use the mast wich for the spinnaker halyard. If you're not racing there's no need to load up the spinnaker sheet until the halyard is fully up so there shouldn't be much load on it. It's always best to sort out the guy first, especially if light-handed.

It generally helps to hoist with the genny up then drop (or furl) it once the spinnaker is up. If you're just using one winch for spinnaker sheet & genny sheet you'll have to restrict yourself to only using the spinnaker when the loads are light enough to be able to put the genny sheet around a cleat. Bear in mind that effectively you'll not have that winch for the genny sheet until after you've dropped the spinnaker.

 

[Topcat47]

Right..........................................

Thanks for the tips, I'll see what I can rig up. I suppose it's not impossible to add a couple of blocks to the Genoa track.

I'd not use the spinney except in light airs anyway, for my own peace of mind if nothing else. I tend to sail short handed.

 

[alahol2]

I'd only add that a downhaul on the pole is a definite advantage (having skyed a pole once ).

 

[savageseadog]

Lazy sheets and guys might be considered to be overkill for a 26 but in my opinion does make the job easier.

 

[William_H]

The turning blocks for the spin sheets are usually mounted well aft to give the best angle for the sheets. So attach them to the toe rail or similar within a metre of the transom.

The winch problem is easily overcome by having 2 cleats for the jib sheets. You will transfer the jib sheets to the cleats (I use cam cleats for easy adjustment) only after you are off the wiund and about to raise spin when the jib sheets should be easily handled without winch. Once spin is up you usually pull jib down (or in) and reinstate jib before pulling spin down. so it works well to use jib winches for spin.
the tweakers are optional. You should try with or without. You must however have a means to hold the pole down. A pole will easily sky and this usually damages the pole to mast fittings. I use 2 down hauls to the pole end from a point about 1.5 metres back from the bow through a block back to the cockpit. I have knots in this rope that limit the poles ability to sky so even if it is not cleated no harm is done. Many boats use one down haul to the pole from middle of the deck. This enables gybing the pole (end for end) without moving the down haul whereas I have to change down hauls. However my system has much more power to hold down and control the pole.
A tweaker system will do similar butI feel the drag of pulling the sheets through the pulleys on the end of the line is too much.

I haul the spin in under the boom into the cabin main entrance. You might need a boat hook to catch the sheet. The brace is released at the same time the halyard is released and the spin gathered into the cabin under foot. You should practice this method as it is very good if the wind has come up and the boat out of control it needs no onne up front. You take the pole off after things have settled down.

The spin can be launched from the same place in the same way. Requiring the brace to be pulled to pull the spin around to the front. It is prone to getting caught on things.

The easiest launch is from a bag tied outside the pulpit or from the front hatch. If youy use the bag on the front you need a wire in the entry to the bag to hold it open. The spin can be lowered repacked into the bag. Most boats your size use the front hatch but you must get the sheets set correctly to go around the jib depending on what tack you are on. My little boat is too sensitive to the weight of a person on the foredeck with spin up going hard so always retrieved into the cokpit/cabin.

Give it a go. When you are confident and in light winds try the gybe.
This is done by having a person on the foredeck disconnect the pole from the mast put that end onto the sheet (new guy) then disconnect the pole from the old guy and attach to the mast. This is only done with the boat very square to the wind and on completion the boat is turned a little more to gybe the main.

You may find in strong winds if your boat is light like mine that there is a danger of rounding up when the main gybes. As the boat turns into the wind with spin up the boat leans something aweful. Just watch for it. good luck olewill

 

[BobPrell]

William H has given a succinct and excellent account of spinnaker use. I have not tried the two downhaul idea, but I agree that a downhaul is a necessity, to prevent damage to the fittings and to avert the very scary situation that can arise if the pole skies. I have been in a 21ft light trailer-sailer when the boom skied when the spinny was not fully raised. The boat ended up way over on its side, with the full spinnaker about fifteen feet ahead, pulling hard. None of us could give a clear account of how we got out of this predicament. Sheer luck must have counted a lot.

I have been sailing off and on about thirty years, but not until only a year ago did someone give me a very valuable tip to avoid such a fright. I have never seen it mentioned in the many books I have read.

He said, "make sure the spinnaker sheet has no stop knot and is kept free to run. If you get in strife, let go the sheet. Then whatever else happens, the sail can't pull you over."

I did this next time I was out with my not very competent crew (me and two others). Sure enough a broach started. The sheet was let go, all the load came off the sail, which flapped off the pole and the halyard. We got ourselves sorted, and turned the boat onto a beam reach which brought the sheet, which was now lazily waving about, back into easy reach from the cockpit. We rethreaded it and started again. The drama was controlled in less than a minute.

Ideally, there should be four people to raise a spinnaker. One steering, one on guy, one on sheet, and one on the halyard, maybe even another on the foredeck. When you have fewer, people have more than one thing to look after with good timing needed to change activities. When the yacht is small, they get in each other's way.

Mostly we manage to work around these two problems.

On another thread a couple of years ago someone said they could raise set and lower a spinnaker single-handed. I have never tried it, I would want at least an autopilot.

cheers

 

[morgandlm]

I have a Sadler 26 and raise, gybe and drop a spinnaker single handed. I have had some useful advice from this forum, especially concerning how to drop the sail. William H seems to have summed up all the key requirements and I would endorse the the use of a pole downhaul. I attach this to a mounting on the foredeck and bring the line aft to the cockpit. I have two spinnaker sheets (one of which becomes a guy, of course!) and use the genoa winches for these.

I mount the pole, attach the pole topping lift and downhaul, thread the sheets and then hoist the spinnaker in front of the genoa from a bag attached to the pulpit. Then I furl the genoa and set the spinnaker.

For the drop I sail a very broad reach, let the pole go forward to the forestay and then pull the sheet under the boom while releasing the halyard. I then release the guy (windward sheet) and pull the whole lot under the boom and down into the saloon. I then sort out the unholy mess later! The only problems I have had single handed are the gybe because the pole handling requires going onto the foredeck whilst relying on the autohelm to steer the boat. This works OK but is probably rather high risk. Rigging a gybe preventer is probably an essential but this is then yet another piece of line to fall over. Brilliant fun though!
Morgan

 

[pappaecho]

A spinnaker came with my boat and was virtually new and hardly used. We have only two winches for the genoa, and blocks were at the stern for the sheets. We dont bother with barber haulier type arrangements and the chute works fine up to about 15 knots with only 2 of us cruising. Clearly we cant use the genoa and the chute at the same time.
I suggest that you try it in very light airs and see how you get on before fitting more than is neccessary

 

[William_H]

If you are going to use that safety feature of letting the sheets go with no stopper knot in an emergency then you would also need to let the halyard go with no stopper knot.
In an emergency it is best in my opinion to let go only the sheet. Keep the brace tight and the halyard of course. I you let the brace go the spin will fill with wind and possibly rise very high where you can't get it down but it will still pull the boat over by the mast head.
olewill