Flying kite w/ headsail up?

[zz4gta]

Is it possible to do on large fractional? More importantly, is it worth the hassle of tending to 3 sails instead of just 2? I've seen it done on high performance skiffs, and cats, and was wondering if a slow monohull would benefit from it in very light winds. If so, I would think you could only do it on a beam or broad reach, otherwise the spin would be blanketed.

[Giulietta]

yep..you can...better done with a crusing assym or a 180% assimetric.

I do it.

[FarCry]

We have done it during races on a Kirby 25 with good results. It does require some preplanning if you need to accomplish a gybe successfully. Nothing like giving the foredeck guy some extra things to worry about when gybing the pole.

[Hartley18]

On our little Hartley we usually leave the headsail up when flying the spinnaker - it gives just a little more sail area and means one less trip to the foredeck for the crew. The only time we'll drop it is if it's a really long run, when there is hardly enough breeze to fill the kite or when nearing the gybe mark.

To gybe, the crew goes up to the foredeck, drops the headsail to the deck, gybes the kite over and re-hoists the headsail when he gets back to the cockpit. Fairly simple really..

[zz4gta]

Originally Posted by Giulietta

yep..you can...better done with a crusing assym or a 180% assimetric.

I do it.

Does it usually not work as well with a symmetric spin?

[ste27]

Originally Posted by zz4gta

Does it usually not work as well with a symmetric spin?

It's a trickier move with a symmetric, but we've done it racing on forestay reaches. I wouldn't consider it a "normal" move and the whole crew needs to be pretty solid if you're doing it in any kind of breeze. If you have a non-overlapping headsail you might just leave it up if it's a very short W/L or you're match racing

If you have a smaller inner stay that you can put a small jib on, go nuts... but I wouldn't consider 3 sails on a conventional sloop rig with a sym kite to be an everyday kind of thing and I don't think I'd bother at all if I was cruising

[Plumper]

Double slotting. Great if you can do it. Hard to get the trim right and more difficult to gybe but faster.