pole & spinaker 101

[deniseO30]

I'm finally ready to try using the spinaker that came with my boat! (not right now) But soon as the conditions are right I want to try.. On the river here the wind often blows straight up or down the river. I won't try this until my partner is able to steer the boat with the wind at our backs of course.

best winds for learning.. less the 5 knts?

Do I need to be; cautious, afraid, or terrified?

I have a wisker pole that's quite long and was on mounted on the port deck. Can/should I rig it for use on the mast with lines of some sort?

Do I need a swivel type of block at the mast head?

there is a track and car for the pole on the mast and I'm pretty sure I have a halyard just for the spinaker.

The spinaker is a sym, I know I need lines. my jib sheets are about 50ft each side

Lastly.. what is the best way to douse said spinaker?

thanks all!

[AdamLein]

Hey Denise. I've written a couple of posts on this forum about my experiences starting out with spinnaker, so have a look at those. I talk about how I prepped (psychologically), as well as the methods I used to set, jibe, and douse. The best overall advice I think is to have a plan that you and your crew are both clear on, and do some "dry runs" before the real thing. You should also practice the jibe with a jib instead of the chute.

Regarding wind: if there's not enough, the chute won't fill. 5-10 is probably the best wind to start practicing in (I have a 0.75 oz and it won't fill with just a couple of knots; maybe a 0.5 oz would answer).

Regarding your psychology: you should be confident, decisive, and rational. Being overly cautious or afraid is likely to lead to unpleasant results.

Regarding your pole: do you have a spinnaker pole as well? They're designed for different purposes. Haven't used a whisker pole and can't help you with that. We have a spinnaker pole and it's kept tied down on the starboard deck, since in a race you really want to hoist on the starboard tack.

You don't need a swivel block at the mast head, but a swivel on the halyard itself will be useful in case the sail twists. Not, to my knowledge, absolutely necessary. We have a swivel that IIRC stays attached to the head of the chute.

Regarding lines: jib sheets are typically of a much heavier weight than spinnaker sheets. Your spinnaker sheets should probably be a 1/4" or less. The jib sheets might have trouble fitting through the pole jaws; also, if you're practicing in benign conditions, there might not be enough wind in the chute to lift the sheets.

Best way to douse is to blow the afterguy and drop the chute clew-first into the cabin.

Good luck flying your chute... it's a lot of fun! Let us know how it goes.

[Faster]

Originally Posted by deniseO30

Im finally ready to try using the spinaker that came with my boat! (not right now) But soon as the conditions are right I want to try.. On the river here the wind often blows straight up or down the river. I won't try this until my partner is able to steer the boat with the wind at our backs of course.

best winds for learning.. less the 5 knts?

IMO 5 knots of true wind is not enough to "learn" how to fly a spinnaker... 5 knots apparent might do it, heading downwind. When the winds' too light it's really tough to get the kite to fly and respond to adjustments.

Originally Posted by deniseO30

Do I need to be; cautious, afraid, or terrified?

None of the above... especially if you pick the right wind range

Originally Posted by deniseO30

I
I have a wisker pole that's quite long and was on mounted on the port deck. Can/should I rig it for use on the mast with lines of some sort?

A whisker pole is not really the right thing.. on your boat it should be a double ended (end for end jibing) pole... and should only be as long as your J measurement.

Originally Posted by deniseO30

Do I need a swivel type of block at the mast head?

Yes, above and outside the forestay attachment.

Originally Posted by deniseO30

there is a track and car for the pole on the mast and I'm pretty sure I have a halyard just for the spinaker.

If you truly have a spinn halyard, it should already be in an above mentioned swivel block.. otherwise it's a spare jib halyard and not ideal.

Originally Posted by deniseO30

The spinaker is a sym, I know I need lines. my jib sheets are about 50ft each side

To be able to run the sail into the cockpit with control, your spinn sheets will likely need to be 75 feet or so.. and should be lighter/smaller than your jib sheets..

Originally Posted by deniseO30

Lastly.. what is the best way to douse said spinaker?

thanks all!

The best way to douse at first is to run deep, ease the pole to the forestay, ease the guy completely and then pull the sail in under the boom into the cockpit/companionway. Gather the entire foot first and pull the "tube" of sail down (in the shadow of the mainsail)while halyard is eased. Steer carefully, as usual when deep, to avoid an accidental jibe during the takedown.

This is a very rewarding exercise, but you do need the right gear as well as the right technique.

Best of luck!

[deniseO30]

thanks guys! I'm reading your advice with much interest! I have the big book "spinaker" I guess it's time to study that too!
The pole is double ended and easily the length of the J measurment or more.

What inspired me was watching a guy on a smaller boat single handing his chute. I was a bit jealous even.

[sailingfool]

You need to have a spinnaker pole, if you try to use a whisker pole, sooner or later the loads produced by a spinnaker will break it.

The spinnaker sheets should be twice the length of your boat, and 1/4 would be tough on your hands, I would recommend 3/8s just for hand comfort.

You need to also plan for positioning tweaker blocks by your shroud base so you can trim the guy to the toe rail amidships, check any rigging guide.

[AdamLein]

Originally Posted by sailingfool

You need to also plan for positioning tweaker blocks by your shroud base so you can trim the guy to the toe rail amidships, check any rigging guide.

Where exactly are these blocks usually mounted? Outer toerail or what? I've got some rails on the cabintop and I was guessing they might be for tweakers, but never tried it.

[zz4gta]

1/4 will be tough on the hands. I'd buy one sheet in 3/8 and the other in 1/4". Cut em in half and splice the different sizes together. That way, you get light weight and grip on your winch drums. stripping them helps too.

[Faster]

Originally Posted by zz4gta

1/4 will be tough on the hands. I'd buy one sheet in 3/8 and the other in 1/4". Cut em in half and splice the different sizes together. That way, you get light weight and grip on your winch drums. stripping them helps too.

Better still, strip the core of 3/8 and feed a spectra or kevlar line through, and stiitch it together. This leaves the lightweigt working line with an easy-on-the-hands cover at the "holding" end.

Tweaker blocks should be mounted outboard of the lifelines so that you can pull the guy to the deck for better mechanical advantage and some downhaul component. Ordinarily the sheet tweaker is fully eased. However as the wind pipes up you can really stabilize the chute by "tweaking" the sheet down too, even to the point that it too is at deck level. Tweakers should be eased to facilitate jibing.

[deniseO30]

hey.. your loosing me guiys! duh

[deniseO30]

the Pole that came with the boat is a spinaker pole i'm sure. it's long and a good stout 2.5 in dia. (but I'll ck it) and it has the spring loaded pins with a full length line to pull the pins out. I must say it works well as a whisker on my genoa too.