Show us your spinnaker!

Kermit

.
Jul 31, 2010
5,669
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
This is the Star of Papillon. My wife made it for my birthday several years ago. It has been a great addition to the boat and gets used almost every time we sail.
Your wife MADE that for you? Dang! Not that I need another sail, but does she do that for pay? Since I have a birthday coming up in April, can she make one by then? Again, not that I need one, but dang. I've always wanted our main sail to have the Palmetto Tree and moon on it. Dang... Really? Your wife MADE that? Dang!
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
For the record, my boat is a downwind rocket... and the windward leg it can hold its own. My boat is a puddle racing Capri 25. The masthead rig, allows for a HUGE symmetrical kite! It's why we can kill the J/24s, and S2 7.9s downwind.

I'm in the process of ordering a "reaching kite" as the one above is a DDW chute for those who do Windward/Leeward races (we don't)... While the downwind chute is a great runner.. we need something when our race committee sets us up for a "reach-fest." Because we lose when it's a waterline race. It's he who spends most of his time above hull-speed who wins when that happens. Can't wait to get the new chute and try it out.
If you're looking at a reaching kite and your local rules permit it, you might be better served with a reaching asym, and not a poled kite. The short luff/longer leech of an asymmetric make a sail that can go MUCH hotter.

Tack it to the bow, and you only need one sheet as you never gibe reaching sails.

The only reason (besides potential rating/rules) not to do this is a .75oz+ reaching kite also makes a great heavy air sail; its narrower shoulders are more manageable in a breeze.
 
Oct 25, 2011
576
Island Packet IP31 Lake St. Louis, Montreal
Here is one of our asym cruising chute. We use it fairly regularly and the sock makes it quite easy to manage. In a breeze, with the main on one side and the chute poled out to the other the boat just trucks along, stable and easy on the helm.

Cheers

Matt
 

Attachments

shnool

.
Aug 10, 2012
556
WD Schock Wavelength 24 Wallenpaupack
If you're looking at a reaching kite and your local rules permit it, you might be better served with a reaching asym, and not a poled kite. The short luff/longer leech of an asymmetric make a sail that can go MUCH hotter.

Tack it to the bow, and you only need one sheet as you never gibe reaching sails.

The only reason (besides potential rating/rules) not to do this is a .75oz+ reaching kite also makes a great heavy air sail; its narrower shoulders are more manageable in a breeze.
Jack I've totally thought about doing JUST that, but I'd only want to do that with a sprit. The "rules" I run under require I stay with my J dimension, which only puts me about 12-18 inches off my bow (without a ratings hit)... I've wondered if I would get enough flight time under spin, if I just took the hit and put a nice 3 foot adjustable sprit on the boat. We run under Portsmouth ratings, not PHRF, so it's handled a little differently. Plus my 30yo runner is getting long in the tooth, in a pinch the reaching symmetrical can be used until I can afford to replace that as well.

The $600 for an adjustable sprit, and another $1200 for the kite, made me think just get a symm for now, and consider the sprit for a later "project." I really want to buy a #2 and a #1 too, but $$ is limiting what I can do for now, and the kite was the cheapest addition to my arsenal (most of our sailing days are under 15 knots).
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Jack I've totally thought about doing JUST that, but I'd only want to do that with a sprit. The "rules" I run under require I stay with my J dimension, which only puts me about 12-18 inches off my bow (without a ratings hit)... I've wondered if I would get enough flight time under spin, if I just took the hit and put a nice 3 foot adjustable sprit on the boat. We run under Portsmouth ratings, not PHRF, so it's handled a little differently. Plus my 30yo runner is getting long in the tooth, in a pinch the reaching symmetrical can be used until I can afford to replace that as well.

The $600 for an adjustable sprit, and another $1200 for the kite, made me think just get a symm for now, and consider the sprit for a later "project." I really want to buy a #2 and a #1 too, but $$ is limiting what I can do for now, and the kite was the cheapest addition to my arsenal (most of our sailing days are under 15 knots).
Sounds like you've put some good thought into this!

One other point.... Bowsprits are great for RUNNING asyms, but not as needed for reachers as the AWD is on the beam and the extra projected area does not buy you anything. A reaching asym with have MUCH more area than a genoa of the same (or close) LP because the the mid-girth measurement is at least 50% larger. We have a removable Selden sprit on our smaller First 260 and we never use it with our asym reacher/gennaker. A short strop of Dyneema to the bowfitting is used as a tackline. Its sweet spot is 7-10 knots true wind. We just power along, with the AWA close to 50 degrees. Much higher than our reaching poled kite. Any more breeze and we have to fall off, or switch back to a headsail as the gennaker gets WAY overpowered as the AWS climbs. But a good reacher of either type is a real weapon on courses with reaching legs. Enjoy!
 
May 9, 2013
55
Catalina 310 Oyster Bay, NY
Concerto In Sea's Gennaker

Kept this sail when we sold our Catalina 30. Had it serviced and rigged for our '02 C-310. Flies beautifully and the sock is a snap to launch and douse for me while the Admiral keeps us down wind. Great in light winds off the quarters.
The colors give us our sunrises and sunsets midday.
 

Attachments

May 23, 2004
11
Hunter 37-cutter Berkeley
OK, quick story. About 30 years ago I got a ride on a fancy racer named "Clark Kent". On the downwind leg, the crew started smiling and set up the spinnaker. It had a HUGE graphic (very rare at that time) of Clark jumping into the air, taking off the glasses and opening up his shirt to show the SUPER MAN uniform. It was sooo cool as we sped past the fleet. (Does anyone know about that boat?)

I remember seeing Clark Kent & Lois Lane blasting by me in S.F. Bay. Quite a sight from my C22!
 

shnool

.
Aug 10, 2012
556
WD Schock Wavelength 24 Wallenpaupack
Jack, LOTS to think about!
I haven't ordered my kite yet, and obviously can get either sym or asym.

I think it's perfectly legal under class rules to run an asym, or cruising chute as long as it doesn't exceed the max sym dimensions (J)... I'll dig through our rules again (as I really am not out to exceed our OD rules, and our club follows the individual OD rules to provide a rating)...

http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/racing/caprirules.asp
Dimensions of spinnaker imply symmetrical.
 

shnool

.
Aug 10, 2012
556
WD Schock Wavelength 24 Wallenpaupack
Jack, LOTS to think about!
I haven't ordered my kite yet, and obviously can get either sym or asym.

I think it's perfectly legal under class rules to run an asym, or cruising chute as long as it doesn't exceed the max sym dimensions (J)... I'll dig through our rules again (as I really am not out to exceed our OD rules, and our club follows the individual OD rules to provide a rating)...

http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/racing/caprirules.asp
Dimensions of spinnaker imply symmetrical.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Jack, LOTS to think about!
I haven't ordered my kite yet, and obviously can get either sym or asym.

I think it's perfectly legal under class rules to run an asym, or cruising chute as long as it doesn't exceed the max sym dimensions (J)... I'll dig through our rules again (as I really am not out to exceed our OD rules, and our club follows the individual OD rules to provide a rating)...

http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/racing/caprirules.asp
Dimensions of spinnaker imply symmetrical.
We have a big Capri 25 fleet here at WYC.... (25 boats??) I talked to the fleet captain, he says boats CAN run asyms but don't only because all the courses they run here are W/L. You are right, as long as the sail measures correctly you can use in OD or PHRF without penalty.

If you got that route let them know its for reaching, and has to meet PHRF/IMS mid-girth dimensions (75%) for a spinnaker. The material will be heavier (up to 1.5oz) and cut flat. You can expect a dyneema luff-line to strengthen the sail.