[wzittel]

Hmmm.... I have to respectfully disagree with some of the previous comments.

Spinnaker staysails are certainly not antiques, and are an important part of the downwind racing inventory on modern boats. On almost all boats which race offshore, as well as hotly competitive buoy races), they are a standard part of the inventory, i.e. Transpac 52s, SC50s, SC70s, etc. etc. In fact, we have an almost brand new one for our SC50 Hula Girl, which replaces the two older ones... the boat has always has an SS. They definitely contribute .5+ knots.

Usually, they are tacked to the bow, well inside the headstay at a point about 40%-50% of the J aft from them stem (this is always the case with an asym boat... sometimes when running deep on a conventional spin, they can be tacked to the weather rail). They are for broad to beam reaching, the angles you should be sailing anyway. You do not have to modify your VMG angles to use them. The wire or spectra luff tape is drawn taunt, so no need for an inner forestay. They are usually setup nowadays on a small furler, so they are hoisted rolled up, then unfurled. They can be quickly furled for sail changes or gybes. They have light sheets which are led aft to the cockpit.

When trimming, be careful not to overtrim! This will disturb the airflow to the spinnaker, making it more unstable and difficult to fly. If the chute becomes unruly, under-trim the SS...

SS's aren't as common on 30 footers, but not unheard of...

Have fun with it, and let me know if you have any questions!