Sym Spinnaker

[jeff1smith]

I've been a cruiser for many years and woukld like to dip my toe into club racing.
I've found a Craig's list for a spinnaker pole for $100 and a symetrical spinnaker for $250. I've talked to the owner and seen the pictures on-line. His boat, a Cat 30, was blown over, whikle up on blocks and destroyed. He is parting it out.
I've read that the asymmetrical is easier to handle than the symmetrical. For the price it seems like a good introduction into spinnakers. Can anyone give me an opinion of whether they would go ahead or should I obtain a asymmetrical?
Thenks Jeff

 

[Sailgunner]

You need to know what you are doing to fly a symmetrical spinnaker. If you have never done it I suggest you sail with someone that has. You should have crew of 3 including yourself. Further, your boat needs to be set up to use a symmetrical. You need the haylard, a line to hold the pole up and a line to hold the pole down. You should have a track on the mast the allows the height of the pole to be adjusted. If your boat is not equiped you might want to forget the symmetrical and go with the asymmetrical.

 

[Scott B]

Jeff, I got my feet wet ( literally ) club racing spinnaker class with a symetrical spinnaker.

We would set the spin on deck, hooked up to the pole, hoist the spin. up behind the head sail, furl the head sail, set the pole height and let the spin fill. Unless the jib sheet jams and there's a bit too much wind for the main, jib AND spinnaker..... was fun for a few minutes while the cockpit filled with water until I could release the spin again. But, don't let me scare you off


As Sailgunner mentioned you'll need at least 3, but we found that too hectic for club racing as we rounded the buoys and had to set. 1 on the bow ( me ), 1 on helm, and 2 to adjust spin sheets, pole uphaul, downhaul and furl jib.

Asymetrical is definately easier to set, but in racing if you're going DDW, you'll need symetrical to stay competative.

Oh, and have fun, we had a lot of fun for the several years we did spinnaker class.

 

[inarathree]

Definitely go with it. $350 plus some lines (unless the owner will throw those in as well) is a cheap way to try it out. Yes three people is preferable, but can be done with one person, as single handed sailors do it all the time.

Have fun with it. Ask around and see if any slip neighbors can help. Having someone show you and help the first couple times is a plus.

 

[Scott B]

Yes, definitely worth the price, it's probably close to $ 2- 3,000 new.

Yes, you can set it single-hand, but he was also asking about club racing. The course we ran was triangular with 1st leg upwind, 2nd reach, 3rd downwind, 4th upwind, 5th downwind, which meant hoisitng and dropping twice as we rounded the buoys. Not enough time or space to set by yourself.

Definitely go with it. $350 plus some lines (unless the owner will throw those in as well) is a cheap way to try it out. Yes three people is preferable, but can be done with one person, as single handed sailors do it all the time.

Have fun with it. Ask around and see if any slip neighbors can help. Having someone show you and help the first couple times is a plus.