Turtle bag

[Jim]

I have recently purchased a used Asym. spinnaker for my H31. It came in a soft bag . I was told it would be easier to handle with a turtle bag designed for spinnakers. What is a turtle bag? I use a snuffer with the spinnaker, and would like advise on the easiest way to deploy and restuff the bag and what type of bag to get.

 

[Les Blackwell]

We just called them Turtles

We used turtles for years on my boats. They were a bag that had a large metal ring around the top of the bag and the cover which was attached by a cord and had a rubber ring inside which could snap around the ring. The crew would attached the bag with spinnaker in the front of the boat with the three ends of the sail peeking out of the bag. When it was time to go for the spinnaker, we would attach the halyard and get the pole ready (no pole for the asymetrical). Both sheets would have already been attached before we started the race.When it was time to haul the spinnaker, we would just haul on the halyard and the top of the turtle would just pop off releasing the spinnaker.In some ways I do find it easier than the sock. However, you had to pack the spinnaker carefully in the turtle for everything to work. We used a spinnaker gun (West Marine) and rubber bands and generally did better than the competition.Hope this helps.

 

[Rip Edmundson]

Turtle Bags

We use a turtle bag with our spinnaker on our H31 Dulcinea II. We bought it at the Strictly Sail Show in Chicago a couple of years ago. It is round with drawstring top and a metal hoop to hold it open. It has brass clips to secure it to the lifeline and color-coded loops to secure all three corners of the sail. There are velcro straps to secure the lines when the sail is stowed. I don't remember the brand but the guy knew exactly what size to sell us for an assymetrical spinnaker in a ChuteScoop for a Hunter 31.See the directions for the ChuteScoop (it mentions the turtle bag) at: http://www.sailnet.com/chutesco/spintips.htmFound one for sale at: http://www.vaxxine.com/clsailboats/cl11pl.htmAnother at: http://www.battsails.com/Accessories/Turtle.htmlAnother: http://www.kinder-industries.com/product%20pages/turtle.htmlOne more: http://www.windwardmark.com/products.htmGood luck.Marybeth & Rip EdmundsonDulcinea IIMilwaukee, WI USA