Dangers of spinakers

[FastOlson]

As "old threads" go, this topic could have been asked yesterday. I hope the OP did find some satisfaction flying a "flying" sail.

As fun as a chute is to fly on a light-air day, it will often seem intimidating the first time or two. But then, lots of things can seem intimidating at first when you initially power up a sailboat using the invisible force of the breeze. It's like experiencing a Primeval Force, as one might put it.

 

[sailme88]

a line from The Hunt for Red October comes to mind...... " What's his plan? The average Ruski doesn't take a dump without a plan"

So, you need a plan.. Choose a light, very light wind day with at least a crew of 3 including yourself.. Keep an eye on the water surface to appreciate wind shifts and increases. He that learns to run away lives to play another day. So, if you observe telltales on the water suggesting a wind increase, don't be ashamed to douse that chute and learn from that day's experience. As you gain confidence, you'll learn to ease the sheet was you feel the wind increase. As a rule, 12-14 kts of wind is close to the limit for small boats.

Have fun !!!

 

[SteveHughessails]

That describes me setting up the hank on Genoa lol. Eventually I’ll get to the asymmetrical Spinnaker. (Chute) new term for me.

 

[capta]

I can't believe that there are so many sailors who are afraid of chutes. Like IMRF, standard reefing and anchoring, it is just a matter of familiarity.
However, unless one is racing, I can't see any reason for a standard polled out chute when the cruising chutes are easier to set, douse, and sail with, a bit off ddw.

 

[Hayden Watson]

Uless I am racing, I almost always set my spinnaker with the minimum crew of three. I do the hoisting, and trimming, Auto does the steering, and Sock does the deploy and dousing.

 

[Hayden Watson]

I can't believe that there are so many sailors who are afraid of chutes. Like IMRF, standard reefing and anchoring, it is just a matter of familiarity.
However, unless one is racing, I can't see any reason for a standard polled out chute when the cruising chutes are easier to set, douse, and sail with, a bit off ddw.

When solo cruising, I will often set my Assym without the main. That way I can steer DDW without it colaping even without a pole. I have also flown it wing-on-wing with the main by the lee on a preventer. The main then acts like a big scoop to grab extra wind and direct it into the belly of the spinnaker. This works great for sailing DDW in very light wind that would be a challenge otherwise.

 

[capta]

When solo cruising, I will often set my Assym without the main. That way I can steer DDW without it colaping even without a pole. I have also flown it wing-on-wing with the main by the lee on a preventer. The main then acts like a big scoop to grab extra wind and direct it into the belly of the spinnaker. This works great for sailing DDW in very light wind that would be a challenge otherwise.

I should imagine that a cruising chute would give most boats more points of sail, in a larger variety of conditions, and a much more comfortable ride, but I don't know your boat at all.

 

[FastOlson]

Somewhat responding to reply 104, I would say that it depends a lot on your sailing venue. We have a lot of downwind sailing locally and a true spinnaker is just better for those light air days. The so-called cruising chute, or asymmetrical spinnaker aka the "A Sail", was invented for reaching is perfect for that.
Over the decades sailmakers have continuously refined the upper shape to allow it to pull better as the wind goes aft, but there are limits to what you can expect out of a sail tacked to the bow. It's not really an "argument" but more about choosing a sail for your conditions. i.e. all the opinions are valid... depending...

 

[Hayden Watson]

Somewhat responding to reply 104, I would say that it depends a lot on your sailing venue. We have a lot of downwind sailing locally and a true spinnaker is just better for those light air days. The so-called cruising chute, or asymmetrical spinnaker aka the "A Sail", was invented for reaching is perfect for that.
Over the decades sailmakers have continuously refined the upper shape to allow it to pull better as the wind goes aft, but there are limits to what you can expect out of a sail tacked to the bow. It's not really an "argument" but more about choosing a sail for your conditions. i.e. all the opinions are valid... depending...

I agree with this in general but not universally. I designed my Asymm to be 1 square inch smaller than the upper limit for a code 4 rating under our PHRF rules. This makes it much better than most A-sails. This is a bit of a double-edged sword. It gives far more area than typical a-sails but needs to be flown a bit higher to prevent collapsing. To overcome this, I set it like a symmetrical on my spinnaker pole to bring the tack back and keep the sail full by projecting it to windward. In this way, I can sail all the way down to DDW. The drawback of this method is that gybing is much more challenging. I need to head up to an angle that will let me drop the pole, then jibe like an asymmetrical and then re-rig the pole to the deep angle.

 

[capta]

One thing that I'd forgotten about using a standard chute on a casual basis. I used to rig the sheets almost amidships. That would ease the tendency a chute has to round a boat up, bringing the fairlead in from way aft to around amidships.
However, on a tri? No poles, just guyed to each ama bow and sheeted in the cockpit. Wanna jibe? Throw the main boom over and Bob's your uncle, you've jibed.
Still, I would have preferred the cruising chute, had they been available.