Spinnaker Stuff

[Tobydaisy]

I just picked up a used asymetrical spinnaker on Ebay. My new to me '74 C22 is set up with turning blocks aft of the cocpit and it seems that in a prior life she was raced with a symetrical spinnaker, she has a topping lift on the mast and adjustable pole mount, that I won't need for this sail. I don't have a pole.
My question is, do any of you fly a spinnaker? I see useing it on light air days. I will be short handed or more accuratly single handing, most of the time, so it may get very little use.
Do you just attach the tack to the bow with a clip or use a block there and pre feed the foot prior to hoist from the companion way? (like we did on the J80).
Do you use a bag hooked on to the bow pulpit for storage and send someone forward to douse?

 

[Tobydaisy]

I guess what I'm looking for is a step by step guide to flying this thing.

So, if anyone has a few minutes and can list your steps and any tricks that you have come up with, I would really appreciate it.

I sailled on a J 80 for several years. It had an extendable bow sprint. We would pre feed the tack and foot of the sail from the cockpit prior to the mark. Round the mark, extend the bow sprint, hoist the sail, furl the head sail, and trim, all in about eight seconds, with a crew of four.
Take down was, unfurl the head sail, blanketing the spinnaker, grab the foot of the sail, release the halyard, and gather the sail into the companionway, stashing it all back into a bag hanging under the cabin top.
Usually this happend, but there were plenty of times when it would end up in the water, acting like a huge sea anchor, causing very bad words to be spoken.

 

[justsomeguy]

You'll need a hard point to attach the tack, usually forward of the forestay, and a halyard on a swivelling block (also forward) available to raise the sail.

I use an adjustable tackline, led aft, along with parrel beads around the furled foresail. Sometimes it's nice to really snug down the tack when your point of sail turns more upwind than down.

If you're singlehanding, you might want some way to douse the sail from the cockpit.

I make use of a sock, with its uphaul and downhaul lines led aft.

Pick a light wind day and experiment. Maybe leave the mainsail down at first.

Have fun!

 

[Tobydaisy]

What are the "parrel beads around the furled fore sail"? Is this something I can make myself?

 

[justsomeguy]

What are the "parrel beads around the furled fore sail"? Is this something I can make myself?

Yes. Image courtesy of Neil Pryde Sails.

 

[Snowman80]

im pretty sure when i got my boat it came with a spinnaker as an "extra" sail. i think ill use it as covering for pillows and such lol

 

[Jackdaw]

If you have used an asym on a j/80 you know the basics. Some thoughts:

If you are not racing, get your headsail down/furled before you deploy your asym. Easier.

I would bag launch from the bow. Attach the tack to the bow with a 18 inch length of dyneema.

Make sure your spin halyard does not wrap under your forestay when rigging.

Running an adjustable tack line as someguy suggests is a great idea. It will allows much better control of sail shape.

I'd leave the main up; you can blanket the asym behind it when its time to take it down or you get into some trouble.

You should have two sheets, each 2x the length of your boat.

Unlike the j80 you will need to do outside gybes.

Because your boat used spins in the past, you should have spinsheet blocks near the back of the boat.

 

[justsomeguy]

im pretty sure when i got my boat it came with a spinnaker as an "extra" sail. i think ill use it as covering for pillows and such lol

While their operation can get complicated, I think they're very much worth the hassle, especially when you've got a long-ish downwind leg to travel.

YMMV.

 

[Tobydaisy]

I just gotta' try to get this flying. I am hopeing to get some one on another boat or on shore to get some pictures with snow covered peaks in the background and people on board showing their pearly whites.

 

[Kermit]

I just gotta' try to get this flying. I am hopeing to get some one on another boat or on shore to get some pictures with snow covered peaks in the background and people on board showing their pearly whites.

Let's see here. I have an asymmetrical spinnaker and am ok at flying it. I'm also a professional photographer. My First Mate and I love to travel. Wait! I got it! We're the ones to come help! Yeah! That's the ticket!

 

[Tobydaisy]

Kermit, it's still ski season here, so come and make some runs on the snow that will help fill the lake. Once the ice melts you can come back and sail at 9100 ft. Sounds like a plan.

 

[$tingy Sailor]

Tobydaisy,

Is the sail yellow, gold, and orange? If so, congrats. You sniped me

 

[Tobydaisy]

Yellow and orange, I had to jump on the "buy it now" option, I lost on a main sail last week in the last two seconds and would have paid more but by the time I entered the next bid it timed out asking me to confirm the bid.
I get too jittery in the last moments of an auction.

 

[$tingy Sailor]

Hehe...

I was a little on the fence about the guy since he stated in the listing that there were no rips and one of the pictures showed an obvious repair. He owned up to it in an email to me but it made me question the rest of what he said. It looked to be in good shape overall. My budget's getting pretty tight now anyway after having spent a lot over the winter on refitting and upgrades.

As for flying that new chute, check out this guy's blog that sails the same area that I do. Really convinced me that a cruising spinnaker is the way to go for us:

http://barnaclebillholcomb.blogspot.com/2013/07/cruising-asymmetrical-spinnakers.html

 

[justsomeguy]

Hehe...

I was a little on the fence about the guy since he stated in the listing that there were no rips and one of the pictures showed an obvious repair. He owned up to it in an email to me but it made me question the rest of what he said. It looked to be in good shape overall. My budget's getting pretty tight now anyway after having spent a lot over the winter on refitting and upgrades.

As for flying that new chute, check out this guy's blog that sails the same area that I do. Really convinced me that a cruising spinnaker is the way to go for us:

http://barnaclebillholcomb.blogspot.com/2013/07/cruising-asymmetrical-spinnakers.html

Thanks for that link, $S. Mr. Holcomb describes his experiences very well!

 

[$tingy Sailor]

This is another good one on rigging:
http://home.comcast.net/~catalina22fleet20/news/rpts/200203/200203.htm#Spinnaker

 

[caguy]

On my Mac 25 I had both symmetrical and asymmetrical spinnakers. I rarely use a symmetrical spinnaker because it was such a pain putting up single-handedly. I did use the asymmetrical regularly. I used by spinnaker downhaul line for my tack which was run through a block attached to my bow roller, through a small block on the tack and back to the bow roller, so that it had a 2: 1 purchase. The asymmetrical came with a Chute scoop sock, which made it much easier. I use the same track mounted adjustable fairleads that I used for 150 Genoa. I use the same out here for both of the spinnakers and ran the lines the cockpit.
Check out some of the YouTube videos for detailed instructions. Chute Scoop also has some pretty good videos, if I recall.
Someday I wouldn't mind rigging up my friends kite boarding kite. He has a couple of 5 and 6 meter kites. I have a two meter practice kite that has a pretty good pull. I would like to try that one out with my kayak this summer. It's amazing just how much pull can be generated by maneuvering the kite. They are using these things on transoceanic cargo ships.