Twinners/Twinning Lines - Spinnaker Handling

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Slowboat35

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Anyone able to advise or explain on the setup and use/usefulness of twinners (apparently what I used to call barber-haulers) on an end-for end pole setup for singlehanded cruising? NOT racing.
I've seen a video on Youtube that shows them being used to 'pin down' and control the chute while gybing which looks very sensible, as well as assisting with better guy control if using a turning block way aft as mine is.

I'm planning a conventional twin bridle-and-ring rig on the pole. Any better ideas? Pole is traditonal none-too light ally with no intermediate fittings (yet).
Boat is a heavy cruiser with nothing led aft - all on deck or at the mast.
 
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Slowboat35 said:
Anyone able to advise or explain on the setup and use/usefulness of twinners (apparently what I used to call barber-haulers) on an end-for end pole setup for singlehanded cruising? NOT racing.
I've seen a video on Youtube that shows them being used to 'pin down' and control the chute while gybing which looks very sensible, as well as assisting with better guy control if using a turning block way aft as mine is.

I'm planning a conventional twin bridle-and-ring rig on the pole. Any better ideas? Pole is traditonal none-too light ally with no intermediate fittings (yet).
Boat is a heavy cruiser with nothing led aft - all on deck or at the mast.
Click to expand...
That's what I use, and it works well. Where does your downhaul come up from the deck? I keep meaning to move mine forwards from the mast base so that I can get some forward pull on the pole if it's swung too far aft in light airs. (The benefit of how it is at the moment is that it doesn't need adjusting with pole swing).

A lighter pole will find favour with the foredeck, if not your wallet.
 
This is an initial and exploratory rig-in-plan. I've never had a spinny before and don't actually know whether it is practical for me to use singlehanded. I've got what looks like a nice sail and snuffer from ebay and want to take it from there. (I've used them before - ages ago so have some idea of handling - it's the niceties of the rigging I'm trying to pin down)

Where should the downhaul come down to deck? I had planned at the storm -jib anchor-point just ahead of the staysl'l though I see the advantage of it being rigged like a kicker from the mast foot. Come to think of it mast-foot won't work with a stays'l will it? Good, thanks, that's solved one question already!

Can you explain in detail your version of rigging and use of twinners please?
 
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Oops - wrote this yesterday evening and didn't press the all important button...

Yes, about 1/3 of the way back from the forestay is where I'm thinking. There are benefits to both, but I singlehand too and having the downhaul led forwards will save a trip forwards.

My twinning line blocks are on a line that come down to the deck edge a couple of feet behind the shrouds and they're led to camcleats in the cockpit - placed where they're handy for the person doing sheet/guy, but angled so that I can work them from the helm if need be. Everything else is pretty much the same as any other boat really.

I've seen mention of plenty of books for singlehanded sailing on this site over the years and am sure they'd be worth a read. I've come at it the other way, loads of experience of fully crewed racing so have seen nearly everything that can go wrong and learned how to (mostly) avoid it! If you've not done any racing on a winning boat, beg a ride - spinnakers are great fun, and it's a sin to sail without.
 
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Twinning lines do several things.
Firstly, they change the sheet, pulling ~aft from near the stern of the boat to a guy, pulling the pole end down and importantly to windward on a reach, i,e, resisting the kite's attempt to pull the pole against the forestay. IF they are far enough forwards they may pull down significantly and take some load off the pole downhaul or even load up the pole uphaul.
Secondly the leeward twinner on the sheet can be used to barber haul the kite, tightening the leach and/or moving the clew in on a reach.
Thirdly, having both twinners pulled half way on during a gybe or even while flying the kite without a pole usually makes the kite stable and well behaved when the wind is close to dead astern.
fourthly they are handy for getting hold of the sheet in order to drop the kite!
 
Good info everyone, thanks.
I've just been looking at pics of the Golden Globe competitors and one appears to be using a simple stainless ring attached to the twinner-line instead of a snatch block - permanently reeved on the guy/sheet.
Thoughts on that? Vastly cheaper, given the extortionate cost of snatch bloks, and little injury hazard.
 
Have a look at the Holt Allen snatch blocks, you don't need something with a really high load rating for a twinning line block on a normal size boat.
 
Slowboat35 said:
Good info everyone, thanks.
I've just been looking at pics of the Golden Globe competitors and one appears to be using a simple stainless ring attached to the twinner-line instead of a snatch block - permanently reeved on the guy/sheet.
Thoughts on that? Vastly cheaper, given the extortionate cost of snatch bloks, and little injury hazard.
Click to expand...
I just have plastic thimbles spliced in the end of my twinning lines. I also lead them around a stancheon base, through the small welded eye on the inboard side and back to a clam cleat.
 
excuse my ignorance but is a twinning line instead of a separate guy i.e. it turns the lazy sheet into the guy with a pull further forward and down

thanks
 
I usually hear them called "twings"

but yes - they are very useful for controlling the guy on an end-for-end boat. It stabilizes the pole. One good effect is that it limits the tendency of the chute to bounce up and down on small waves.

there is something of a tradeoff with the location - further forward gives better pole control.., but inhibits rotation of the chute during the gybe.

The answer is to release the twing in gybe, so that the new sheet can be trimmed enough to fully rotate the chute. the lighter the wind, the more you have to rotate. if the twing is on hard, the new clew will get sucked down and close to the boat and the chute will collapse. releasing the twing lets the new clew stay away from the boat allowing a good rotation keeping the chute full.

in heavier wind, where less rotation is needed, you can keep the twings on more
 
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