Asymmetrical Spinnaker hardware

morbidfollower

morbidfollower

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Aug 15, 2022
92
Catalina 22 14790 Redwood City, CA
Hope everyone has made it thru the winter. I picked up an asymmetrical spinnaker and now I need to get some hardware to run it. Any suggestions as to what's best? I have a furled 130. Ive seen something called the spinnaker tacker that looks like it wraps around the closed Genoa, if I do something like that does it eliminate other hardware? CD has a crane attachment for the top of the mast as well as a whole kit for cruising or racing. I'll just be cruising but I don't want to waste money on unnecessary stuff. Thanks
 
LakeShark

LakeShark

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Sep 15, 2016
799
Catalina 22 Minnesota
@morbidfollower if it’s an asymmetric you should not need any hardware. An Asymmetric will fly like a large drifter / Genoa. Attach the tack to the bow tang in front of the furler, the clue to the sheets running them around the fuller and the head to the halyard. Jibing the chute is done by inverting it with the sheets allowing it to run outside the fuller.


Some of the other questions though are do you still have a jib halyard free with your fuller? Does the drum allow room for you to attach it to the bow tang? And why would you buy a chute like this without knowing how to fly it?

I both race and cruise my 22 and use a symmetric chute as an asymmetric of sorts with some funky rigging on the forestay but only for cruising downwind in a moderate breeze. An asymmetric is a very nice unit to have for those long downwind runs.

Any pictures to share?


IMG_8962.jpeg
 
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morbidfollower

morbidfollower

.
Aug 15, 2022
92
Catalina 22 14790 Redwood City, CA
Thanks lakeshark, I actually use to have a symmetrical spinnaker on an older boat I had (Ericson 32-2 but it came already rigged when I bought the boat. I do have a spare halyard for the jib, and I believe the Furler drum is in the middle position on the 3 available slots on the bow tang. More I was curious what that spinnaker tacker was used for and if the crane attachment for the top of the mast was desirable or even necessary. I solo sail primarily. As for purchasing it, I got a nice deal on one thru Facebook marketplace so I figured why not.. There have been plenty of days where I wish I had a bigger sail for some light wind.
 
JRacer

JRacer

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Aug 9, 2011
1,333
Beneteau 310 Cheney KS (Wichita)
The avitar pic shows mine. Tacked by a block attached at the base of the forestay. See the pic. Tack line runs down the length of the boat along the rail to a headknocker cleat by the cockpit so it can be adjusted from there. I have a Selden pole that I have not yet installed so I can push the tack of that sail out in front of the boat. As is, it's difficult to jibe because the tack is so close to the bow pulpit, hence the pole plan. As is, I use a sock on the sail. have someone drive, go forward and set it up, hoist from the cockpit, pull the sock lines to unfurl it and fly it. Generally less trouble with crew but I often do by myself - although that make for a busy boy Asym Headknocker Cleat IMG_20170704_094615048.jpgAsym Tack Cleat IMG_20170704_095625085.jpgAsym Tackline Bow Setup IMG_20170704_094849540_HDR.jpgAsym Tackline IMG_20170704_094709294.jpgAsym Tackline Routing IMG_20170704_094634001.jpgthe wheel is locked on a course!
 
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LakeShark

LakeShark

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Sep 15, 2016
799
Catalina 22 Minnesota
morbidfollower said:
Thanks lakeshark, I do have a spare halyard for the jib, and I believe the Furler drum is in the middle position on the 3 available slots on the bow tang. More I was curious what that spinnaker tacker was used for and if the crane attachment for the top of the mast was desirable or even necessary.
Click to expand

the Tacker is simply used to turn the symmetrical chute into an assemetric. It does not require you to use a pole and the various control lines for it. On a Catalina 22 though it would be way overkill.

For your chute it should be easy to fly solo by just attaching it like a free flying jib. The Crain at the top can help but is not really necessary either. It simply holds the halyard block out in front of the furled sail so the they don't chafe one another. You likely won't even notice it but if you want the block further forward a leader or a soft shackle to the block can solve the issue. Most though will choose to simply use the jib Haylard in your case (unless its needed for the furler) and fly the chute like that. It's far simpler in practice than to explain. In cruising there is really no wrong way to fly a chute. You're just licking for a bit more fun and speed but not as concerned with maximum downwind performance.
 
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J

JBP-PA

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Apr 29, 2022
401
Jeanneau Tonic 23 Erie, PA
I have a spinnaker tacker like that, but I'm not really fond of it. The official use is to wrap it around your forestay with a downhaul to your forestay stemhead so that you can allow the tack to rise without it going forward. I think my issue is my spinnaker is too tall, I always want the tack much lower than that because I don't have the headroom to get the luff the way I'd like with the tack so high. (This picture is not me, it's off the Internet. )

ATN_Tacker2-090a96fabc501bef8c7bfd376c489f34-2747243622.jpg
 
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J

JBP-PA

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Apr 29, 2022
401
Jeanneau Tonic 23 Erie, PA
So I usually just use a downhaul on a block, or sometimes attach the tack directly to the stemhead or pulpit as in this picture. I've also been known to use my whisker pole as a spinnaker pole and fly it like a symmetric.

20230722_111113.jpg
 
morbidfollower

morbidfollower

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Aug 15, 2022
92
Catalina 22 14790 Redwood City, CA
Does anyone have a setup for adjusting the height of the tack with a tack line? Or are you just doing a fixed attachment to the bow? For some reason I remember being able to raise and lower the tack by about 4' depending on reach angle/wind strength. Forgive me, its been about 10 years since I had a boat with a asymmetrical spinnaker.
 
Davidasailor26

Davidasailor26

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May 17, 2004
5,079
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
morbidfollower said:
Does anyone have a setup for adjusting the height of the tack with a tack line? Or are you just doing a fixed attachment to the bow? For some reason I remember being able to raise and lower the tack by about 4' depending on reach angle/wind strength. Forgive me, its been about 10 years since I had a boat with a asymmetrical spinnaker.
Click to expand
We have a block on the anchor roller. The tack line goes through the block back to a bow cleat. With that we can bring the tack up or down depending on the wind angle.
 
LakeShark

LakeShark

.
Sep 15, 2016
799
Catalina 22 Minnesota
morbidfollower said:
Does anyone have a setup for adjusting the height of the tack with a tack line? Or are you just doing a fixed attachment to the bow? For some reason I remember being able to raise and lower the tack by about 4' depending on reach angle/wind strength. Forgive me, its been about 10 years since I had a boat with a asymmetrical spinnaker.
Click to expand
The tack remains fixed on an asymmetrical I believe (at last on the larder boats I have sailed on. However I use a downhaul line for the jib which I attach to the tack on a symmetrical that works well to set the height.
 
JRacer

JRacer

.
Aug 9, 2011
1,333
Beneteau 310 Cheney KS (Wichita)
morbidfollower said:
Does anyone have a setup for adjusting the height of the tack with a tack line? Or are you just doing a fixed attachment to the bow? For some reason I remember being able to raise and lower the tack by about 4' depending on reach angle/wind strength. Forgive me, its been about 10 years since I had a boat with a asymmetrical spinnaker.
Click to expand
See post # 4. We run our tack line back to the cockpit and can adjust height from there.
 
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