Spinnaker question

[Tim22]

I have had my Hunter 310 for just over a year and have been flying my cruising spinnaker in mostly light winds. The other day I was talking with another Hunter owner (slightly larger boat) who said that he wouldn't use the spinnaker in more than 8 knots of wind due to the B&R rig. (No back stay). Is this a common point of view among B&R rig owners?

Thanks
Tim

 

[Jackdaw]

It should not be. As long as your B&R is set up properly (rig tension and mast pre-bend), you should have no problem flying an asym in any breeze you dare.

Boats without backstays have farther aft-swept shrouds to triangulate the rig. As long as the above tension is good, nothing is at a higher danger of failing.

 

[Calif. Ted]

I feel the practical limit for my 32' boat is about 15 kts. a twenty knot gust will make you spin out when carried above the beam and down wind on a 8' wave makes you understand how a boat could "pitch pole".
BTW my dockmate has a Hunter, sans backstay, doesn't seem to affect his spinnaker use.

 

[chuckwayne]

Ditto on what Jackdaw said..
We fly our large chute in much heavier air - if the rig is properly set up it's plenty strong, the real issue becomes can you safely control the sail

 

[Tim22]

Thanks for the replies. It is reassuring to know that the boat can take more than I can!

Tim

 

[Meriachee]

Or just blow the budget for a top down furler and have the comfort of knowing that you can deploy it and put it away as you will.

 

[uncledom]

I have a 41 with a Seldon B&R rig. I too was worried about how big a spinnaker the rig would hold and the Seldon tech almost laughed out loud at me. He was pretty confident that I or the sail would have more problems than the rig. He said just to show off the B&R strength they routinely pull the boats over to the gunnel by a halyard. I don't worry any more.

 

[braol]

I agree, I'd worry more about the crew and their ability to handle a chute (especially a standard spin with a pole). On the recent Mac Race we flew a 1 oz. spinnaker on a pole in 25kt winds for hours with following seas. We tired out the helmsman more than anything else that day. We worried more about broaching more than a pitchpole...with the winds not quite astern a spinout would have put us broadside to the waves and slammed us into a trough.