Mickey Mouse and Spinnaker
The Mickey Mouse block is useful for a flag tied off on the front cleat. You need to take it down to sail otherwise the furling wraps it around the jib. Don't use it for the spin halyard.
We installed the spinnaker ourselves and it was quite straightforward. Make sure you visualize the layout and dry assemble the components before you drilll. Make sure you apply 5200 around every fitting and standby with a good damp rag to clean up any extra caulk. The templates provide by Hunter are ok they didn't match 100% but were sufficient for laying it out. The biggest challenge was the zoom and print level which has a tendency to skew the image. Make sure you pre-drill everything. And for the through deck fittings you must cut the interior lining prior to drilling to avoid wrapping it around the drill bit.
Assuming it is installed here are some general use procedures we use to make it easy to run even for the inexperienced...
The setup of the spinnaker is like mental gymnastics. It is easier to set it up at the dock and throw everything in the cabin out of the way. You have to choose starboard or port and then gybe depending on course (if needed). Gybing takes quite a bit of coordination of the crew. The main challenges when gybing include twisted lazy sheets caught in the blocks, folks sitting on the lazy sheets, and/or getting around the jib for an inside gybe. The furling drum also presents challenges and occasionally requires someone to go forward. The spin blocks have switches to ratchet. Flipping the switch prior to gybing will smooth the process and allow the new lazy sheet to pull through easier.
I have to say the spinnaker is very rewarding because it is not only a challenge to rig and run, it looks great and adds a lot of dynamics to the boat. You want some pulse pounding excitement in a 10kt+ breeze?...Try taking her on a close reach while running the spinnaker. In the end a very rewarding sail even though it is limited in its use and takes time to master.
This is how we setup the spinnaker - although we've done it 100 times occasionally we get a nice hourglass of twisted sail and sheets. Any additional hints to add are appreciated as we are always fine tuning our procedures.
1. The key is packing the spinnaker logically in the bag. I use the approach of laying it out and capturing the head, tack, and clew. Then pack the foot down and mid sail until you are left with the 3 ends and then lay them in the bag. Keeping each end in its own corner of the triangle. This is done at the house beforehand. Then down at the dock:
2. First, Setup the blocks for the spin sheets: Load the spin blocks with figure 8's from fore to aft. At this point keep the sheets in the cockpit ready to be run.
3. Now we are ready to begin running the lines (tack/halyard/lazy sheet) back into the cockpit on the outside of the shrouds.
4. First, release the tack line and run it back into the cockpit - again ouside the shrouds. Secondly, run the halyard down on the relative side of the jib where you will be raising the spinnaker. The block for the spinnaker halyard is above the jib tang, hence it must be fed fore of the jib itself to function properly.
5. Thirdly, run the lazy spin sheet on the outside of the shrouds, fore of the jib, on top of the tack line - don't get the order of the tack and lazy spin sheet confused otherwise you will be doing an outside gybe or nothing at all. I prefer inside gybes to avoid wrapping the lazy sheet around the keel. For outside gybes, the order is different for the lazy sheet as well as to both the tack and halyard.
6. Now that the lines are in the cockpit, its time to tie your knots. I use bowlines for all with 2 inch bitter ends. Situate the sail bag relative to the side you are raising the sail. Tack is always forward. Don't twist the sail - it can result in a mess.
7. First attach the halyard. This provides a point of reference and raising it a little gives you a little tension on the sail to work with instead of a floppy mess.
8. Second attach the tack. For our gybe preference, the tack should run on the inside of the halyard - although logically I don't think it matters as long as you don't wrap it around the halyard.
9. Third attach the spin sheets - this is a pivotal moment. Getting these wrong means you need to adjust it once raised. The spin sheets are connected to the clew of the sail which in our configuration should be postioned towards the stern of the boat. Tack is fore, clew is aft.
10. Keep the lazy sheet above the tack and on the inside of the halyard. It helps to raise the lazy sheet up above on the jib for clarity and make sure it isn't twisted with the tack line and free of the furling drum.
11. Now attach the active spin sheet.
12. At this point there are a few options.
13. If you are at the dock you can raise and verify everything looks good. This allows you to verify the setup. The lower and tighten the lines down and organize the mess of everything to ensure there are no cord wars on deck nor that you don't drag a line in the water.
14. Likewise under sail for an active raising the procedure is the same except you actually want to fill the sail with air.
15. For both options when raising, pull the halyard and gather the foot to prevent air entering the sail. Keep it tight and stretched down with tack and clew gathered. If under sail - once raised, release the foot - ensure it is on the outside of the shroads - and tighten the tack. Then adjust the spin sheets as needed.
16. The procedure for lowering is the reverse. Release the tack and gather the foot until all air is dumped (if any). Make sure you have the active spin sheet in hand near the clew when you do this. Then control release the halyard. The sail falls into the cockpit as you gather.
17. Caution: Under sail for lowering you must be downwind watching for the boom on an unexpected gybe. When the the spinnaker collapses it is time to lower.
I hope this helps anyone interested in the spinnaker. It is quite a sail and a heck of a lot of fun.
