Asymmetrical spinnaker recommendations

[Dave20133]

I have a 36 foot Beneteau Center Cockpit. I'm thinking about getting a cruising spinnaker for the upcoming season. We are simply cruisers. No racing now or in the foreseeable future. Looking for something to help when the winds are light or for sailing more effectively downwind.Does anyone have any good/bad experiences? The surveyor (from two years ago) suggested purchasing a used racing spinnaker and having it cut. Does this make sense?

 

[Terry]

Dave, I have no experience to advise you ...

recutting a racing spin. We picked up a little used asym with a sock last season for our P42. Easy to launch and douse solo as long as you have an autopilot. It made a big difference in boat performance up to 15 knots apparent.Terry

 

[Bud Cook]

Cruising Spinnaker

Dave:We have a Hunter 37.5 and have used both racing spinnakers (with a pole) and cruising chutes.We have gotten out of racing and find we are not using our cruising spinnaker very often, and have therefore put it on the internet for $900. It was made by Johnson Sails, is 1 1/2oz nylon and is like new condition. Luff 45', leach 41.5' and foot 24'.Pictures are available. Give me a call at 203-245-2555 or e-mail me at budvilma@sbcglobal.net if you have any further interest.Bud

 

[Jim A]

I got the North sail

they are not that much more and lets face who makes the most racing sails.... NORTH

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Sorta

An answer to your question that is.We did what your surveyor suggests and it will work okay ... sorta. Pretty much. Mostly.We had a symmetrical that came with our boat and we recut it to an assym and put a sock on it. It does work but the shoulders are still so full that they'll collapse pretty readily when going to higher reaching conditions. I'm pretty sure a purpose built assym will fly better in a wider range of points so...If you're on a budget and come across a killer deal on a sym and don't mind some minor limitaions, I'd say go for it. If on the other hand, you want optimal performance then I'd say be patient, catch a loft special, spend some more and get a purpose built sail.Anyway, just my 2 pennies. As always, my thoughts are what you paid for them...