Spinnaker/ cruising chute

Topcat47 said:
I've a spinnaker that came with the boat. It's been washed more often than it's been used.

I decided not to go with a Gennaker or Cruising chute.

Then I found out about the parasail. "kinnell it was expensive and I swithered and dithered all over the place until eventually bit the bullet and bought one. It's bloody wonderful. I can set and fly it single handed. In anything under a F4 it's a fantastic downwind sail. In a F3 or less it'll handle a broad reach, too. Under it's influence SWMBO thinks the boat's incredibly more stable downwind.

I really wish I'd bought it years ago. The best sail I've ever invested in.
Click to expand...

Can you expand on this a bit comparing it with a spinnaker? How is it easier to handle? Why?
 
I sail on various boats with both proper kites and cruising chutes.
Unless we are racing, I see both as a means to extend the lower windspeed range before the engine goes on, or to make better progress in light winds, rather than to go fast in F4 or above.
On a passage of more than a couple of hours, with decent sea room, a kite is manageable two up on a 38ft boat, the limit is generally the difficulty in hoisting it quickly at the top end of that wind range, taking it down is not hard if you have space to bear off.
At these windspeeds in bigger boats, the apparent wind goes forward enough on bigger boats to make progress downwind without excessive reaching and gybing from side to side.
If you want to make fast downwind passages with more crew or on a smaller boat, a proper kite (or at least its pole!) comes into its own.
But for a bigger boat, if you want to sail downwind when others are motoring because the wind is light, the biggest cruising chute is the best IMHO.
 
On short legs when racing I've been pleasantly surprised by how much of a spiiny performance I can get simply by poling the gib and sailing goosewinged. And we dont have a huge IOR style gib either - 135%
 
Penguin is 38 feet and we have a cruising chute and snuffer. I handle this shorthanded and singlehanded in reasonable conditions. I don't have a trad spinnaker and pole because with only me or me plus one inexperienced crew on board, I don't think I'd use it.

I find the cruising chute really useful as a way of extending the ability to sail down and cross wind into lighter airs - ie avoiding or at least delaying having to put the motor on. So it isn't about going faster when there's a good breeze, but sailing rather than motoring.

It gives me something to do raising and lowering it and sheeting and fiddling. So not only does it make it physically possible for the boat to sail in light airs, psychologically it motivates me to delay pressing the starter button because I'm happy playing with a big sail rather than thinking I could go faster with the engine on.

Also it looks pretty. Big, red and curvy, with the sun shining through it, rather than white, stiff and flappy.
 
moodyNick said:
Not sure what you mean by an aft guy - is it an additional line with the actual spinnaker guy still in place ?
Click to expand...

Yes, I put a simple guy on the pole itself, so it's held forward (and down), up, and back. So effectively the front point of the spinnaker pole is a fixed point.

You can then raise and lower the spinnaker without worrying about the pole swinging about. In particular it won't go forward and bash the jib furler foil.
 
Searush said:
Best sail(s) in the locker or more trouble than they're worth?

I suspect this may split along Cruiser vs Racer or Solo vs Crewed lines.

What are the big benefits for you & what do you do to reduce the hassles?

FWIW I got a cruising chute with the boat (in 1988) & have used it less than a handful of times. Always too much wind or so little it will hardly stay filled or I'm in a narrow winding channel & gibing it is just too much hassle with a light crew.
Click to expand...

Had one on the last boat. Haven't got one on the current boat.

Can't be bothered to spend the time sorting it out and hoisting it even though we had a sock just for a small marginal speed gain perhaps.

We have changed to a slutter rig with big genoa on a furler. Less hassle, probably the same overall speed made good considering the lost time hoisting and furling.

And we can sail almost dead downwind with no poles.

533ce9c69529362e767351955a918afd.jpg
 
wotayottie said:
Can you expand on the detail of how you manage the spinny two up? Do you use a sock for example? Exactly what is the sequence for dropping it?
Click to expand...

No, never use a sock. I have tried one but found it to be more troublesome than not.

This is from an article I wrote a couple of years ago.
At the recovery stage our technique differs a little from the advice usually given. In order to avoid the necessity to repack the sail down below, we recover it into the turtle, not down the fore hatch or companionway. I release the guy from the winch, letting the pole fly forward. I walk forward to just ahead of the boom and grab either the lazy guy or the sheet and begin to haul in the foot of the sail. Jill releases the spinnaker halyard clutch and, with one turn around its winch, lowers as required. Meanwhile I stuff the quiet sail, completely blanketed by the mainsail, back into the turtle. Only when it is back in the turtle, with the clews attached to their Velcro loops, are the sheets and guys detached. The pole can then be lowered and stowed away, sheets and guys hauled back to the cockpit and coiled. The whole process usually takes us something like half a mile to complete.
 
vyv_cox said:
No, never use a sock. I have tried one but found it to be more troublesome than not.

This is from an article I wrote a couple of years ago.
At the recovery stage our technique differs a little from the advice usually given. In order to avoid the necessity to repack the sail down below, we recover it into the turtle, not down the fore hatch or companionway. I release the guy from the winch, letting the pole fly forward. I walk forward to just ahead of the boom and grab either the lazy guy or the sheet and begin to haul in the foot of the sail. Jill releases the spinnaker halyard clutch and, with one turn around its winch, lowers as required. Meanwhile I stuff the quiet sail, completely blanketed by the mainsail, back into the turtle. Only when it is back in the turtle, with the clews attached to their Velcro loops, are the sheets and guys detached. The pole can then be lowered and stowed away, sheets and guys hauled back to the cockpit and coiled. The whole process usually takes us something like half a mile to complete.
Click to expand...

No mention of the genny. Do you not unfurl the genoa before dropping the spinny?
 
simon14b said:
I am happy enough using the asymetric spinnaker when singlehanded but do feel I am pushing my luck sometimes when sailing within the confines of the river. Always have a second person on board when using the symetric spinnaker - one to steer and other to play with the string!
Click to expand...

Asymmetrics are a lot easier that symmetrics. I lob mine up single handed in its sock, then up with the sock and in with the sheet, autopilot steers. Only up to a low F5 and with plenty of space though. After that there's enough power in the white sails.

flyflyspin.jpg
 
Seajet said:
wotayottie,

as Vyv mentioned the trick when handling a kite, especially if shorthanded, is to lower it in the lee of the genoa even if you have to re-hoist / unfurl the headsail for this purpose.
Click to expand...

No Seajet - he wrote "mainsail" which was why I asked.
 
vyv_cox said:
No, never. Far too much to get in the way. Genoa is furled before hoisting and not unfurled until the forward end of the pole is on the deck, at least.
Click to expand...

Same for me - providing you're pointing far enough downwind the mainsail provides plenty of lee.
Racers use the genoa as a lee so that they have more flexibility on the direction in which they can point as they are dropping the spinnaker, and so that they can immediately sheet on the headsail when rounding the mark.
If you're cruising you don't need the extra hassle just to save a few boat lengths.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top