Does your boat have a spinnaker? Do you fly it? Is it asymetrical or symmetrical? Do you fly it alone or in combination with other sails? How 'bout a pole--got one? Which points of sail do you use it on--beam reach, broad reach, only on a run, or all of the above? Got any interesting stories about wrapping it around the forestay or other embarrasing moments (be truthful now!)? Have an interesting design on yours?
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Yes
Our boat has a symmetrical spinnaker. We fly it anytime it will fly and try to douse when the breeze gets above 20 knots. We've never had more than 2 people on board when its flying and the loads go way up on our nonplaning hull as the the breeze picks up so 20 knots seems like a safe number. Don't have a sock, but I would use one if I did. Jibing our 15' pole end for end with 2 people in 15-20 gets purdy interesting. No horror stories yet, just a few rapid heart beats as we fight to get the butt back on the mast before it kills us or punches through the cabintop. We did get over zealous reaching in some big chop in the 20 knot wind range and BANG ripped the chute from luff to centerline. Oh well. Wrapping the chute. Oh yeah. Last spring we sailed from San Diego to Cabo and into the Sea. On the 2nd day out of SD I was alone on watch and decided to put up the spinnaker in a pathetic 5 knots of breeze right after sunrise. Got it flying, but the swells were more suited to 15 knots and the boat was rolling, rolling, rolling. I Ended up trimming and steering for about an hour (not the typical ocean passage activity), until the chute finally wrapped around the forestay. At that point I was happy, because I could finally stop all the trimming and steering. A trip up the mast to unwrap the chute seemed easy in comparison. Now we know: Use the drifter when it is really rolly. We use the drifter more often now on the ocean, but still use the chute when the water is flatter.
Our boat has a symmetrical spinnaker. We fly it anytime it will fly and try to douse when the breeze gets above 20 knots. We've never had more than 2 people on board when its flying and the loads go way up on our nonplaning hull as the the breeze picks up so 20 knots seems like a safe number. Don't have a sock, but I would use one if I did. Jibing our 15' pole end for end with 2 people in 15-20 gets purdy interesting. No horror stories yet, just a few rapid heart beats as we fight to get the butt back on the mast before it kills us or punches through the cabintop. We did get over zealous reaching in some big chop in the 20 knot wind range and BANG ripped the chute from luff to centerline. Oh well. Wrapping the chute. Oh yeah. Last spring we sailed from San Diego to Cabo and into the Sea. On the 2nd day out of SD I was alone on watch and decided to put up the spinnaker in a pathetic 5 knots of breeze right after sunrise. Got it flying, but the swells were more suited to 15 knots and the boat was rolling, rolling, rolling. I Ended up trimming and steering for about an hour (not the typical ocean passage activity), until the chute finally wrapped around the forestay. At that point I was happy, because I could finally stop all the trimming and steering. A trip up the mast to unwrap the chute seemed easy in comparison. Now we know: Use the drifter when it is really rolly. We use the drifter more often now on the ocean, but still use the chute when the water is flatter.
You bet
We both have chutes. Mine is a tri-radial that's appropriately sized for my boat (C27). We fly it occasionally but often times it's either blowing too hard or from the wrong direction (we can only go east & west). I have a big, hurking pole - way heavy and probably oversized, but what the heck. I've never had a *real* problem with mine, other than the occasional hour-glass. Now Rob, on the other hand, is quite the daredevil. He bought a spinny for a 38' boat when he had his C30! Talk about thrilling!! There were a couple of times I was truly scared (that doesn't happen a whole lot on the Columbia River)! He now has it on his Crealock 37, so it's about right. But just a couple of weekends ago we were up in Puget Sound & he popped the chute while I was napping. He woke me up when the wind started to really pipe up. What a mess getting that sucker down! He just let her drop into the water (along with his hat) and then dragged it aboard. Probably not the most elegant spinny drop ever.
He also has a cruising chute but he likes that ugly tri-radial much better! LaDonna
We both have chutes. Mine is a tri-radial that's appropriately sized for my boat (C27). We fly it occasionally but often times it's either blowing too hard or from the wrong direction (we can only go east & west). I have a big, hurking pole - way heavy and probably oversized, but what the heck. I've never had a *real* problem with mine, other than the occasional hour-glass. Now Rob, on the other hand, is quite the daredevil. He bought a spinny for a 38' boat when he had his C30! Talk about thrilling!! There were a couple of times I was truly scared (that doesn't happen a whole lot on the Columbia River)! He now has it on his Crealock 37, so it's about right. But just a couple of weekends ago we were up in Puget Sound & he popped the chute while I was napping. He woke me up when the wind started to really pipe up. What a mess getting that sucker down! He just let her drop into the water (along with his hat) and then dragged it aboard. Probably not the most elegant spinny drop ever.
He also has a cruising chute but he likes that ugly tri-radial much better! LaDonnaEVERY CHANCE WE GET!!!!
We fly a North asymetrical on our 430 legend. There is just two of us and we use a chute with no pole. We have had no probs from about 100 degrees to a flat run. Because it is fairly large and only 3/4 oz we drop it at about 15 knots of wind.
We fly a North asymetrical on our 430 legend. There is just two of us and we use a chute with no pole. We have had no probs from about 100 degrees to a flat run. Because it is fairly large and only 3/4 oz we drop it at about 15 knots of wind.
Yes, yes ,yes ,no..
On my 'H29.5' ,I fly an asymetrical( with a sock) on a bow retractable pole .I do it not often enough since not everyone like to mess with sails ( like I do..). I use it from 70-80 degrees in light wind to 160-170 degrees in stronger 13-14 knots relative, when I dose it.It gives significant speed ,with a max of 7.2kts , done on calm water and 14 kts wind. I like it. On certain wind combination , I can reach with both headsail and the asymetric one ( on the bow pole). I do that with at least one additional experienced sailors on board. I have a regular spinaker too , with a 2 end pole from the mast, which I seldom fly , due to incompatability of B&R rigs of Hunter-namely the mainsail-,for angles close to 180 ( and even 165 in stronger winds) .
On my 'H29.5' ,I fly an asymetrical( with a sock) on a bow retractable pole .I do it not often enough since not everyone like to mess with sails ( like I do..). I use it from 70-80 degrees in light wind to 160-170 degrees in stronger 13-14 knots relative, when I dose it.It gives significant speed ,with a max of 7.2kts , done on calm water and 14 kts wind. I like it. On certain wind combination , I can reach with both headsail and the asymetric one ( on the bow pole). I do that with at least one additional experienced sailors on board. I have a regular spinaker too , with a 2 end pole from the mast, which I seldom fly , due to incompatability of B&R rigs of Hunter-namely the mainsail-,for angles close to 180 ( and even 165 in stronger winds) .
Cruising Spinnaker
We have a cruising spinnaker that hooks onto the forestay. We love it for downwind sailing from DDW to almost a broad reach. We usually fly it alone without the main. It also has a sock which makes raising and dousing pretty simple. Sometimes on a light wind summer evening we'll fly it on a downwind sail up the river and motor home. No sails to furl and cover when you get back!
We have a cruising spinnaker that hooks onto the forestay. We love it for downwind sailing from DDW to almost a broad reach. We usually fly it alone without the main. It also has a sock which makes raising and dousing pretty simple. Sometimes on a light wind summer evening we'll fly it on a downwind sail up the river and motor home. No sails to furl and cover when you get back!
Have Symetrical
We fly a 3/4 oz symetrical on our Legend 35 with two people. Last summer we had a really good days run flying the chute twice, once in the morning, then a close reach with non-flying sails, then in the afternoon - really pleasurable. We were doing typically 7.5 knots, faster than motoring, in fairly flat water and reasonably light winds. We don't use a sock and have hourglassed only once where I had to go up the mast to undo it. I don't think a sock would have helped in this case anyway. We've flown it a couple times with a boat speed of 10 knots which is probably too much for that weight sail. The symetrical provides the greatest sail area and in the right wind and water conditions it kicks the boat speed up a couple knots over non-chute sailing - a lot of fun! Plans are for an asymetrical that will complement the tri and the 150, something like the North "Whomper" but that's a little pricy. Need to come up with a wind angle range and apparent wind speed. Flying sails really add to the enjoyment and utility of the boat.
We fly a 3/4 oz symetrical on our Legend 35 with two people. Last summer we had a really good days run flying the chute twice, once in the morning, then a close reach with non-flying sails, then in the afternoon - really pleasurable. We were doing typically 7.5 knots, faster than motoring, in fairly flat water and reasonably light winds. We don't use a sock and have hourglassed only once where I had to go up the mast to undo it. I don't think a sock would have helped in this case anyway. We've flown it a couple times with a boat speed of 10 knots which is probably too much for that weight sail. The symetrical provides the greatest sail area and in the right wind and water conditions it kicks the boat speed up a couple knots over non-chute sailing - a lot of fun! Plans are for an asymetrical that will complement the tri and the 150, something like the North "Whomper" but that's a little pricy. Need to come up with a wind angle range and apparent wind speed. Flying sails really add to the enjoyment and utility of the boat.
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