Too bad about the halyard not exiting up high on the mast. Could a crew pull on it as it leaves the mast base and goes aft? Short tugs coming off the winch is simply slow.
Yes slow, but can't pull at the base, only about a foot exposed from the base block before it goes under the deck and then comes out right in front of the clutch at the winch. All the halyards, reef lines, and mainsheet on a 340 go under a second deck or cover between the mast and the clutches.
I need to raise the spinnaker right at the windward mark, not a couple hundred yards downwind. And get more practice so we can set and douse it without the sock.
Last few races I've been concentrating on mainsail trim, trying to get upwind mainsail twist right in the different wind speeds. Trimming twist with my modified 16:1 vang is easy, knowing where to set it is not. I've found that little adjustments make big speed differences on the oversized main on the B & R rig. Still trying to get it right, and it doesn't help that some of the telltales lie to me, I'm going to replace the liars I catch with honest ones.
Latest video update link, I don't know if my Hunter 340 was designed with this in mind.