Conference unifix::sailing

356.0. "Spinnaker Tips" by RDF::RDF (Rick Fricchione) Thu Jul 10 1986 22:01

    I've had full spinaker gear on my boat since I bought it but since
    my wife and I usually sail alone, we've never gotten the chance
    to use it.   This year I vowed to use it as often as possible. Sailing
    in Narragansett Bay you have a dead run going up the bay in the
    late  afternoon so its almost a crime to have the gear and not use
    it.
    
    I'd like to draw upon some of the expertise out there to make things
    easier.  
    
    	1. The boat is set up for a dip-pole gybe.  Any hints here?
           I've seen it done and read books on it, but the way I figure
    	   it I need a helmsman/mainsheet person, one to handle the
           foreguy and the pole lift (run back to the cockpit), and
    	   one on the foredeck to clip the sheets/guys and move the
    	   pole.  
    
    	2. I've stopped the spinaker with rubber bands in a frog-leg
    	   fashion so I can use the sheets to pull it open. This should
    	   let it fill from the bottom up anyway, avoiding the twists
    	   and hourglass sets I've seen.  Is this necessary in light
    	   air?  What does a cheap sally cost?  Doesn't seem worth it
    	   to me.
    
    	3. Taking down the chute seems infinitely more tricky to me
    	   than it probably is.   Any hints on pole placement or take-down
    	   lines?
    
    	4. I'm debating not using seperate sheets and guys and just
    	   skipping the lazy guy/sheet stuff.   In other words, not
    	   hooking a sheet and a guy to each side. Seems  ok, but I've heard
    	   it makes gybing more difficult on boats over 30 ft (we're
    	   (33ft).  Is this OK?
        
    Any other suggestions/warnings would be appreciated.  Its a beautiful
    North tri-radial (red/white/black) and I can't wait to use it. 
    Last year was getting used to the larger boat, cruising, and dealing
    with the basics.  This year we hope to deal with some of the finer
    points.

    
    Rick
    

    First tip is that spinnaker has two 'N's.
    
    I'd love to help you out, but I think the various descriptions,
    etc. would take too much here. I'll try to call you or something.
    My lady and I, sometimes with the help of out daughter, use our
    spinnaker all the time (excluding, of course, races where we happen
    to have 8 mostly gorillas on board). Our boat is 35' and also on
    Narragansett Bay.
    
    One quick suggestion for you (which we don't use) is this product
    that looks to me like a gigantic nylon sock. The feedback I've gotten
    is that it works great. One friend (a sailmaker) said he saw a couple
    use this thing to furl the sail for a jibe, reconnect everything,
    and then open it back up. His view was that with inexperienced crews
    it might be a good thing for racing, because you won't screw up,
    and so it is probably faster overall (certainly not true in the
    case of experience, or the "perfect" size crew).
    
    Hope this and further conversation help.
    

    Gee, that was simple.
    
    Seriously, it turned out easier than I thought, and my wife and
    I were the only ones on the boat.   Its interesting the way the
    foreguy, pole lift and sheet/guys interact to get a nice shape.
    Its really a three person effort , the way the lines are run, but
    we managed.
    
    Its a beautiful sail, and she really cooks right along with it 
    full.
    
    Rick 
    

    
       I was racing on Lake Winnipesakke this weekend. Saturday morning it
    was blowing 30 knts puncuated with gusts every 20 seconds. I walked by
    a couple of Pro-Sailors who were rigging their their boat and asked
    
       "Are you guys going to use your spinnaker today?"
    
     To which they replied 
    
       "Sure, We'll put the kite up. If the Good Lord don't like it, He'll 
    take it down for us himself".
    
        john