Hi all

Just wondering what everyone thinks of spinnakers (symmetrical) and the minimum number of crew you like on board before you hoist one

I personally have had both good and bad experiences with them and wondering what others think

Regards Don

on a 180 run , fly that kite !! or pole out the #1 what else can you do ? unless you want get left behind !

Bring back the blooper !! ... hang on, wait, that means going back to the IOR

Racing been savaged on the forum lately, now we got an "agent provocateur" among us disturbing the muck in the pond again!

Suggest to download and read (Foolish Muse's) Andrew Evans's "Tips for single handed sailing" which is a pretty good book to deal with the subject.

There is no problem flying the chute if the crew or person knows what he is about. Two weeks ago l witnessed in horror the ruining of a good chute by a bunch of incompetents. It ended up under the bow with a rip across it (repair $80 by the grace of a sailmaker), and this is one of the reasons why l am racing. l learn something every time!
The broken mast - the picture of which l published in SS's thread on racing - was caused by a huuuge mps in moderate 8 knot wind increasing to 12-15 knots. After nearly broaching it t w i c e , third time the mast came down. l was watching it when it snapped and came down all the way - luckily on the starboard quarter not on the top of the crew's head causing minimal damage to the sails.
On many yachts l sailed on my suggestion to come early on race day and do a few training runs to familiarize the crew with the motion of things either found deaf ears or was frowned upon.
Even a short handed crew or a single hander can and should fly kites - mps or symmetrical - without running it over or "hourglassing" it. Dousing it, where the problems rise usually, not by raising it.
Gotta go,to hone my skills, it's Saturday pointscore.

I fly a cruising chute by myself so the minimum number would be one. I have 4 other symmetricals and one of them I have repaired and intend to use as a top down furler. I started making the mechanism but got side tracked on other projects. Moderate breezes with just one person onboard the poled out headsail is probably just about as fast dead down wind. I only use the cruising chute on light breezes and where I can steer down wind to drop it. All done from the cockpit. Only any good on a broad reach but makes an enormous difference in speed when the breeze is light.
The top down furler would be mounted on a cut down windsurfer mast base offset to windward. Its one of those things I can live with out but its just for fun.

Ramona

Interested in your feedback on your efforts flying your cruising spinnaker solo (an admiral pursuit!). I take it it's a symmetrical flown with a spinnaker pole? I understand you have several spinnakers...do you fly one that is cut differently or is small than the others making it easier to fly solo?

Regards Claverton

Hi all

Thanks for the feedback so far

I noticed in some of the replys light airs were mentioned so I guess another question might be

At what wind speed and conditions do you decide either not to hoist one, not to try to gybe it if it is already up, or to take it down

I guess this will alter depending on how many crew were onboard to handle it as well

Regards Don

claverton said..
Ramona

Interested in your feedback on your efforts flying your cruising spinnaker solo (an admiral pursuit!). I take it it's a symmetrical flown with a spinnaker pole? I understand you have several spinnakers...do you fly one that is cut differently or is small than the others making it easier to fly solo?

Regards Claverton

No the chute I use now is an asymmetric cruising chute with no pole. Stock size that came with the boat. If you check out the photos on Katinka's webpage its the green and yellow one. I set the boat to sail on a broad reach with the vane, rig the spinnaker to launch out of the bag from the guardrail at the bow. I have a line for the tack that runs forward from the cockpit under the anchor roller, only use one sheet I don't gybe. Furl the headsail and haul up the sail from the cockpit. I have to leave the cockpit to set it up but the rest is done from the cockpit. The tack has a pennant probably just under a metre long and I have that hauled down to the bow roller [preset] before I launch. To recover I ensure the boat sails dead down wind steering with my bum cheeks. Collapse the spinnaker behind the main, easing out the halyard while pulling the sheet and sail under the boom into the cockpit/cabin. Once I have hold of the sail I let the tack line go. The tricky bit is getting the halyard lowering speed right. Some people advocate streaming it over the side to add drag to slow it down. Ensure you have sea room to actually get the boat to steer down wind! I have had a lot of fun with the spinnaker but there have been plenty of occasions where I have gone home with the spinnaker spread about the cabin drying out!

The spinnaker in my avatar is the damaged one I have repaired, its a 3/4 ounce sail in fairly good nick after many hours on the machine. I have been planning to make a furler for this mounted on a strut that will be offset temporary rigged to the toe rail. It will be used only on light days. I thought about cutting it down but have not had much success in the past with that. I watched a few videos on youtube of the various furler systems and think this is the way to go. I have turned up the drum on the lathe and it has one of the old ice machine SS bearings. The rest will be made up from carbon fibre molds. I have 3 other spinnakers that are as new but will probably never use. I have two poles but as you have probably noticed they are very heavy for an old bloke to wield. Ones in the shed already and I should bring the other one home.

Jolene said..
Hi Donk’',
I love symmetrical spinnakers but my missus is sh#* scared of them and she sails with me. I like something to do especially when sailing down wind in light airs, just to feel like I'm doing something to"improve the situation’', I opted for a 20 sqm less kite with a sock,,,, I'm yet to try it out! Asymmetrical spinnakers appeal to me as much as 4 stroke mx bikes , I cant bring myself to recognise them as real mx bikes....

I did not like using a sock . What one of crew did when repacking a kite was lay it out down below matching luff to leech ,then starting at the head use elastic bands every four or five feet or so down to foot . when raised it it is like a sausage till we pull on the sheet and all the bands break one by one . A box of bands lasted a season.

LooseChange said..

Bananabender said..

I did not like using a sock . What one of crew did when repacking a kite was lay it out down below matching luff to leech ,then starting at the head use elastic bands every four or five feet or so down to foot . when raised it it is like a sausage till we pull on the sheet and all the bands break one by one . A box of bands lasted a season.

Ww used to do the same but instead of elastic bands we used wool .... just make sure it isn't baby wool, that stuff contains nylon and ya end up lookin pretty stupid with a big sausage flopping around up there because the wool won't break.

Now I have not raced competitively for a few years but I thought the new rules outlawed rubberbands and wool!

forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?/topic/158942-what-are-people-doing-instead-of-yarn-or-rubber-bands-on-spinnakers/