Ordering Spinnaker Sock

[rhr1956]

I want to order the ATN Spinnaker Sock but I'm not sure how long it should be. There are conflicting opinions online. If it matters..my spinnaker is symetrical. Thanks for any advice.

[FSMike]

I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but have you considered asking the folks at ATN?

[chris_gee]

You want the tack and clew patches of say about 12-18" to be clear as they are unlikely to fit in and may jam. You should also allow about a foot because the head of the spinnaker attachs at a point down from the top of the chute. I gather most do .5 -1m shorter than the luff length. Imho 1m is too much particularly if no account is taken of the head being lower.
With an AS the same applies but you measure along the leech because the clew is higher.
If it is a bit long you can pull up a bit out or not pull the sock fully down. If it is short you can have a fair bit of sail flapping about which could be a pain if it is a bit windy and choppy.

[daver1212]

Thanks for the updates above. They help a bit. I've never flown my spinnaker due to the dousing aspects and this has lead me to invest in a sock. I've seen some comments say sock should be 1 foot *longer* than the luff. The comment above of some amount shorter seems a bit more logical. My concern is that while my symmetric spinnaker is 36', It seems the height from the deck is only 33'. It would seem difficult to lower the sock more than that 33'. Maybe the curve of the sail in the breeze affects this?

[Hotel L]

Keep in Monday of too short you could have a premature launch with some breeze. I would go with slew length + 6 inches to account for sock hardware.

[Hotel L]

Originally Posted by Hotel L

Keep in Monday of too short you could have a premature launch with some breeze. I would go with slew length + 6 inches to account for sock hardware.

Keep in mind.....I hate auto spell on my mobile.

[bullsails]

Originally Posted by daver1212

Thanks for the updates above. They help a bit. I've never flown my spinnaker due to the dousing aspects and this has lead me to invest in a sock. I've seen some comments say sock should be 1 foot *longer* than the luff. The comment above of some amount shorter seems a bit more logical. My concern is that while my symmetric spinnaker is 36', It seems the height from the deck is only 33'. It would seem difficult to lower the sock more than that 33'. Maybe the curve of the sail in the breeze affects this?

Get the next size down from your leech length. you do not want to cover the clews for 2 reasons 1/ you don't want the sail to get twisted inside sock, having the sail corners protrude stops this happening. 2/ the extra bulk of the clew corners can catch when the sleeve is being hoisted and pull them up inside the sock.
I fit a lot of them and have no issues with some sail hanging out the bottom.

[daddle]

I would make it short enough that the scoop is above head banging height when hoisted. Can be dangerous. Much sail can hang out the bottom with no I'll effect.

[islandplanet]

What bullsails said - order a bit shorter than the leech. If you're ordering direct from ATN or your sailmaker, you should be able to specify the exact length required.

[Nicholson58]

I have a sock on our AS. Mast is 80 feet and the clew is unreachable from the deck. This leaves a lot of sail showing. Its hairy enough to launch and stow that we only fly the kite in lower winds. You have to get on deck to launch and douse. If you can swing the cost I suggest you consider a roller furler.

[daver1212]

Ok, I've bit the bullet and ordered a 34' sock. That should draw down to the deck with no flapping but will leave 2' out the end for the clews. I'll see if I made the right choice this summer.

[rhr1956]

I got my sock yesterday and loaded the spinnaker. I ordered the sock length the same as the luff of the sail (31ft) and because of the 12" pendant at the top of the sock, I have one foot of foot/clews (symmetric) hanging below the bell of the sock. Things worked great at the dock with no wind. We'll see how it behaves on the water soon enough.