Spinnaker sailing

[fred1diver]

Hello all.
Will be trying my spinnaker tomorrow morning, not going to lie, a bit stressed, never tried a spinnaker before.
One of my friends is coming with me and has flown one before.
What should I expect?
Trying to calm my nerves

 

[BigEasy]

Hello all.
Will be trying my spinnaker tomorrow morning, not going to lie, a bit stressed, never tried a spinnaker before.

Asymmetrical or conventional spinnaker with pole?

 

[jssailem]

Fun, exciting colors in the sky, speed.

Oh wait that might be LSD on July 4th.
Never mind.

 

[garymalmgren]

What should I expect?

Well, I expect you to think, "That's not as hard as I though. Why on earth haven't I done this before?"

gary

 

[JBP-PA]

You can do it. Don't be in a hurry, stop and think about each step. You will get some things wrong, don't worry about them. I still run the lazy sheet wrong sometimes.

 

[Sandy Stone]

Expected wind strength? Makes a difference.

 

[fred1diver]

A traditional symmetrical spinnaker with pole.
The winds are too high this morning and the forecast calls for a lot of rain so we will try another day

 

[jssailem]

So basically more time to think about getting excited.
I would raise and lower the sail in the early AM when the wind is still. Practice at the dock when the sail is the only thing you’re thinking about. Once you gain the confidence of the “how to”, when the wind is right the process will go smoothly on the water.

 

[BarryL]

Hi,

If you only have two people, flying the sail in even a moderate breeze will be a challenge. Do you have a reliable autopilot? Make sure you have the sheets, guys, pole lift, downhaul, all set. Getting the sail up should be Ok. Trimming it should be OK too. Gybing with only two people will be a challenge., As long as the wind is light the douse should be OK too.

Be sure to fly it in only light air a few times before using it in heavier winds.

Good luck, take pictures, have fun.

Barry

 

[fred1diver]

Last evenings trial

 

[Davidasailor26]

View attachment 217276
Last evenings trial

Looks like you’re on your way. The pole could be a little higher. Ideally you want both corners of the sail at the same height. More importantly you want to make sure the the pole stays horizontal.

 

[fred1diver]

Good to know

 

[fred1diver]

So finally got h to e spinnaker out this weekend, light winds, it was nice until the wind turned

 

[shemandr]

Cool! Your boat looks a lot like of my favorite Ranger 23's with the blue deck and the gold & blue spinnaker. Nice!
You need to get the guy closer to the pole (windward clew). DWW that works without the main, but with the main it's different. The pole holds the tack of the spinnaker out of the shadow of the main.

 

[jon hansen]

where's your pole?

 

[JohnShannon]

Try not to think of it as a big bag o terror!

 

[fred1diver]

The pic was taken when we changed the side of the pole, the pole man was having a hard time lol

 

[mermike]

We had just passed Friday Harbor, heading south to Griffin Bay on 4th of July. So we (me) decided that the day had gone so well we had to fly the spinnaker. Pole out. Got it flying. Ruh roh. Breeze was shifty. The currents were swirly. The kite started to death roll. That's when I saw the ferry...

 

[Michael Davis]

We had just passed Friday Harbor, heading south to Griffin Bay on 4th of July. So we (me) decided that the day had gone so well we had to fly the spinnaker. Pole out. Got it flying. Ruh roh. Breeze was shifty. The currents were swirly. The kite started to death roll. That's when I saw the ferry...

Yeah! A nice relaxing sail.

 

[dlochner]

where's your pole?

behind the boom. Look for the bridle.