Assymetrical Spinnaker

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Oct 15, 2009
220
catalina 320 Perry Lake
My winter boat bucks went into a new assym. It's here and I'm fantasizing about spring and learning the new sail. North sails has a short instructional video on their web-site and they show the folks tying their sheets to a "clew line". I have limited experience on boats flying an assym and I haven't seen anyone using a clew line. Any thoughts on using this clew line versus attaching the sheets directly to the sail would be appreciated.
 

Alan

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Jun 2, 2004
4,174
Hunter 35.5 LI, NY
The idea of a clew line is to make the clew of the sail lighter for light air sailing. Having the weight of two sheets attached to the corner of the sail will affect sail shape and performance in light air. A single very light and strong line will help overcome this problem.
You will also want to have an adjustable tack line lead back to the cockpit for shaping the entry of the sail. As the apparent wind moves aft the tack line is eased to open the luff and allow the sail to "breath".

Enjoy, your gonna have a helluva lot of fun with it.
 

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
8,323
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
I added a clew line to my Asym out of necessity when I built some light air sheets and used the lightweight, colored, plastic shackles. The clew's cringle wasn't large enough to accommodate both shackles.... It's pretty convenient and succeeds in getting the weight of the lazy sheet off the sail. Easy to make... I spliced large eyes on both ends... luggage tag the line to the clew and leave it in the bag. If you use "twings", make sure the line's length isn't too long that it interferes with their operation.
 
Nov 8, 2007
1,616
Hunter 27_75-84 Sandusky Harbor Marina, Ohio
Single sheet

I'm still not sure what a clew line is, or how it helps to unload the weight of sheets from the clew of the asymetric.

But we do use only one sheet for our asymetric. We are cruisers, so gybing the sail by letting out one sheet until the spinnaker is flying straight off the bow, then hauling in in the other sheet to set the sail on the other side - well we just don't need the maneuver enough to buy, rig, and store all that line.

Instead, when we do need to gybe, here is our procedure:

1. Ease the sheet.
2. Go forward and drop the sock over the spinnaker.
3. Gybe the main onto the new course.
4. Coil the sheet at the sock.
5. Carry the sock around the forestay.
6. Take the sheet back to the snap shackle on the other side of the boat, and rig it forward to the sheet winch on that side.
7. Raise the sock and deploy the spinnaker.
8. Trim the spinnaker on the new course.

We only need this maneuver a few times summer, and it's almost always needed in light winds and on or near a run, so hiking to the bow isn't very exciting.
 
Jun 7, 2007
515
Hunter 320 Williamsburg
Bowsprit

Here’s an easy-to-make bowsprit, seats in the anchor locker.
This will throw the spin ahead of the main, less blanketing.
Tack line and 2 sheets permanently deployed for quick setup.
(Note that the link here has 2 pages of pix and directions.)
Typo correction: Eyelet should be 3/8 inch.



http://www.sailboatowners.com/bowsprit.doc
 

Alan

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Jun 2, 2004
4,174
Hunter 35.5 LI, NY
David, whatever works for you but that sounds like a whole lot of effort just to gybe the boat. Hate to think what you would do if you HAD to gybe in a hurry!
Take it from me light air strategies are worth their weight in gold.
 

DougM

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Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
Deadline:
Your link does not appear to work. I'm interested in seeing what you are trying to illustrate.
 

Clark

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Jun 30, 2004
886
Hunter 280 Lake Guntersville, AL
Deadline posts this a lot . . .

even when it doesn't apply to the topic at hand and rarely responds to queries. Kinda odd but harmless I guess.

Deadline:
Your link does not appear to work. I'm interested in seeing what you are trying to illustrate.
 
May 25, 2004
978
Catalina Capri 14.2 1670 Rochester, MN
My spinnaker came with one long, light, sheet. (or clew line I guess I'll call it now).

The H260 jib sheets are poorly placed to use with the spinnaker, clew line or not.

The spinnaker sheet goes outside of everything and ties on the stern cleat. I'm not at all sure how adding a clue line to any boat's existing sheets could get the sail shape that I can achieve.

I find it little problem to walk the sheet forward and pass it around the luff for a jibe. The spinnaker is only up in light airs anyway. Very easy to handle under those conditions. There's not enough boat speed to do a jibe in a hurry, or any other radical maneuver.
 
Dec 4, 2008
264
Other people's boats - Milford, CT
Don't bother setting up a 'clew line' ( also known as a Y bridal ) unless you are racing. Or you just like to use the fancy gear.

It will save a small amount of weight, and makes hooking up the sail and gybing a bit faster. Don't worry about these small things until you are comfortable with the sail and trying to go .01 knots faster.
 
Nov 8, 2007
1,616
Hunter 27_75-84 Sandusky Harbor Marina, Ohio
Love our Asymetric!

Our asymetric adds about 20% to our dialing (vs. Motoring) time every summer. And we just love to fly it!

Alan, what is the scenario forca quick gybe? I can't think of one if we are not racing. The Admiral & I can remember 1 gybe of the spinnaker last summer out of 15 times we deployed it. Honestly, I really enjoy the liesurely walk to the mast, the bow if a big shift or course change in light air. We only do it if we see the payoff in pleasure, and speed after the gybe.

90% of the time we set up the a-sym on one tack, deploy it when the time is right, then drop it when the wind is too strong, or it's time to motor, or go close- hauled.
 
Oct 2, 2008
3,811
Pearson/ 530 Strafford, NH
Sheet

My winter boat bucks went into a new assym. It's here and I'm fantasizing about spring and learning the new sail. North sails has a short instructional video on their web-site and they show the folks tying their sheets to a "clew line". I have limited experience on boats flying an assym and I haven't seen anyone using a clew line. Any thoughts on using this clew line versus attaching the sheets directly to the sail would be appreciated.
Same winter bucks idea here. What size sheet are you considering (length/diameter)? I decided on an ATN tacker for the tack to keep luff in shape and like that idea of a single sheet but why stir the pot. :stirthepot:
All U Get
 

DannyS

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May 27, 2004
933
Beneteau 393 Bayfield, Wi
If you have a sock...use it.

I'm with David in Sandusky, dropping the sock in order to gybe makes thigs very easy. You don't even have to drop it all the way, 2/3 down is enough to keep control of all that material while you set the new course, then haul it back up.
We cruise mostly but we do race a few times a year (cruisers class) and we use this method racing as well, with a crew, it only takes maybe 20 seconds to drop the sock, gybe and re-deploy. Granted, when racing, we have two lines on the clew so we don't have to walk the sheet around.
The photo is not just another pretty picture of me, look at the reflection.
 

Attachments

Oct 15, 2009
220
catalina 320 Perry Lake
The sheets I bought were:
8mm (5/16"), 65' each.
These were recommended by another Catalina 320 owner.

I got my sail from North and it came with their version
of the ATN tacker. I got boat show price and the total
was almost $1000 less that estimates I got from other lofts.
 
Jan 10, 2009
590
PDQ 32 Deale, MD
Jibing a chute is at least a part of the joy.

I'm still not sure what a clew line is, or how it helps to unload the weight of sheets from the clew of the asymetric.

But we do use only one sheet for our asymetric. We are cruisers, so gybing the sail by letting out one sheet until the spinnaker is flying straight off the bow, then hauling in in the other sheet to set the sail on the other side - well we just don't need the maneuver enough to buy, rig, and store all that line.

Instead, when we do need to gybe, here is our procedure:

1. Ease the sheet.
2. Go forward and drop the sock over the spinnaker.
3. Gybe the main onto the new course.
4. Coil the sheet at the sock.
5. Carry the sock around the forestay.
6. Take the sheet back to the snap shackle on the other side of the boat, and rig it forward to the sheet winch on that side.
7. Raise the sock and deploy the spinnaker.
8. Trim the spinnaker on the new course.

We only need this maneuver a few times summer, and it's almost always needed in light winds and on or near a run, so hiking to the bow isn't very exciting.
Having a chute isn't about boat speed, thought it helps. It's about having all that cloth up there. You know it is.

Jibing the sail is part of that. Being able to jibe down a bay, slowly swinging the sail around without a fuss. Perhaps a part of it is that I have always sailed multihulls and we never sail dead down wind. A-chutes don't go dead down wind on any boat, so why try?

With an auto pilot, an outside jibe up to ~ 12 knots true is a one-person job. Prepare both sheets, put a single wrap on the lazy side and pull out the slack, hit the auto-tack button, ease the loaded side slowly as the boat turns until the sail is straight out, then haul in on the otherside while continuing the turn. Finished before the single-sheet boat has the sleave down. Watch the slack - you don't want to run over a sheet.

Remmember, this is for an outside jibe - the sheets must be rigged forward of the tack. Inside jibes are are for very fast boats if the wind is up, and sometimes, for slower boats when the wind is VERY light, but someone needs to be on the bow.

Don't tie the tack line to the pulpit unless you like leaks. It moves it around and could bend it in a blow. The PO did that and I got to rebed the railing.

The PO of my boat had a single sheet and a sock. I did it that way once, found the line on-board for a second sheet, and never looked back. I do like the sock, mostly because it serves as a sail bag.
 
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