beginner spinacker

[Don Bodemann]

Happy Holidays friends! I've been sailing 9 years starting with a sunfish working my way up to my current Cherubini Hunter 33. I have always been a self taught guy and learned by trial and error, books, and plenty of good advise from friends (including these forums). Now I'm trying to learn the best way to use a symetrical spinacker. Do I need a "chute" or "sock"? Is a pole a must? I have deployed the sail in light air and found it to be a handful. Especially the getting it up and getting it down part. Once it was up and full going down wind, things calmed down and my wife was able to take the attached photo. Any advise is appreciated. Keep in mind I usually single hand.Don B.

 

[Daniel Ries]

Drifter spi

Dear Don,Their are some terminology/semantics in spi that are confusing.Nevertheless, for short hand sailing, an a-simetric, sometimes called Drifter spi is the easiest to use. It requires no pole and behaves like a large genoa. Their is even a spi-roller that makes lifting, releasing, rolling and droping the spi a relatively easy task.Danieldanielrs@netvision.net.il

 

[Del Wiese]

my experiences

A symetrical spinnaker requires a pole to be flown effectively. The pole height should be set so than both clews are the same height. The spinnaker guy, attached to the clew at the pole end, should be trimmed so that the pole is perpendicular to the apparent wind. The spinnaker sheet, attached the "free" clew, should be trimmed by letting it out until the edge of the spinnaker just starts to luff and then trimmed in slightly, just enough to stop the luffing.I have flown symetrical spinnakers on 25 and 28 foot boats using a turtle and this worked fine. I now have a Hunter Legend 37, with an asymetrical spinnaker and a sock. For cruising I like the sock, easy to raise/lower, keeps things under control. For racing, I think I am going back to a turtle, maybe using one of the devices where you slide the spinnaker though it and put rubber bands around it every 2-3 feet. This keeps the spinnaker from filling until you get it up and take some tension on the sheet. The rubber bands pop off and the spinnaker deploys.

 

[Paul Green]

Happy holidays Don

Hi Don, We have an Appache 37 that came with a symetrical chute, flew it once. Hand full would be an understatement. I guess if you race all those sheets, guys and hauls and lifts are necessary. Not on my boat!!!!!We had a local sail loft re cut to asymetrical.We keep it inside the fore triangle just like a jib. The charged me $600.00 to cut the sail and that included the ("sock- turtle- shute scoop") and all the hardware. Just attach the halyard, raise it then raise the sock. By partially dowsing the chute we can effectivly reef our spinaker by 1/3. We can grind it into the life lines and point to about 60 degrees.We use it often, very often now. Highly recomend this conversion.