Spinnakers for Cruising

[ribbony]

We have not used a spinnaker so far. Our little 26' vessel did not have one, we poled out sails to get the max out of them, but no spinnakers. The steel Adams 35 we are restoring now does not have a spinnaker nor a pole, though it must have had one in the past as it has a track up the front of the mast.

As we are cruising sailors and have not raced, we would like to keep the spinnaker issue KISS (keep it simple and safe).

What sort of spinnaker or large sails should we persue for our vessel. We have a furler up front with a genoa and an optional smaller furling jib.

Thanks

Mick

[tdw]

Originally Posted by ribbony

We have not used a spinnaker so far. Our little 26' vessel did not have one, we poled out sails to get the max out of them, but no spinnakers. The steel Adams 35 we are restoring now does not have a spinnaker nor a pole, though it must have had one in the past as it has a track up the front of the mast.

As we are cruising sailors and have not raced, we would like to keep the spinnaker issue KISS (keep it simple and safe).

What sort of spinnaker or large sails should we persue for our vessel. We have a furler up front with a genoa and an optional smaller furling jib.

Thanks

Mick

They come under many different names but you want a cruising chute. Speak to any sailmaker and they will fill you in on the details. They are easier to handle short handed than a tri-radial and with a snuffer can be raised, lowered, gibed etc with no great stress.

[ribbony]

Thanks for thah.

Is an MPS the same as a cruising chute ?

Can a conventional spinnaker be run in the same manner as a chute or modified to be used that way ?

Cheers

mick

[rebel heart]

(not really on topic)

I'd add a drifter to your collection. I've used mine extensively in Southern Californian waters (flip on the radio, and you hear "today: wind variable ten knots or less...."). It functions okie dokie / kinda sorta as a down wind sail, although once the apparent wind crosses 10 knots you should really have it stowed.

In really light conditions (made worse by being on a down wind sail with a heavy displacement HC), the drifter is the only thing that can catch enough wind.

If you can deal with being on a beam reach and maybe a smidge more than that, and knowing that even with an asymetrical you can't be "dead" downwind, the drifter might be your ticket. Either way it's handy as hell to have onboad.

[ssullivan]

The drifter! I think that's what I'm looking for as well. I get really fed up going downwind doing wing and wing in variable winds.

You know the kind if day I'm talking about. You're on a 50 mile leg, dead downwind, 5-10 knots wind (maybe), wing in wing and swells off the beam. No fun!

I really would rather not motor except to get into harbor or something. Does one "fly" a drifter like they would a spinnaker, or is it more simple to handle?

[rebel heart]

My first boat was an Ericson 32, and it came with, I kid you not, 16 sails. I got three mains, four symmetrical spinakers, even a mylar jib; it was crazy.

Anyway, one of those sails was a drifter, and I fell in love with it because it fits so well with San Diego conditions. One of the best times I've had on the water was heading up to Avalon with maybe 2-5kts of wind, pitch black, with just the drifter in my hand, and the bio-luminescent algea leaving a dreamlike trail behind us; it was amazing.

On the Ericson I had hanked on jibs, so this was basically just another jib, except made out of extremely light material, and not capable of getting anything tighter than a beam reach. It also has more of a "pouch" shape, further reducing its use on anything even remotely upwind, but adding to its usefulness when going down.

It's sailed just like a jib, because it basically is; no poles or fancy rigging. Extremely easy to use. You might have to do some creative planning if you have a roller furler and no spare forestay, but there are those cuff things that work out great (from what I've read / heard).

These guys tend to have some: Sail Exchange

[SkiprJohn]

For dead downwind work there is nothing that beats a symetrical spinnaker, however, needs more gear and more hands for the most part. An assymetrical will do everything from beam to nearly dead downwind with less gear and can be flown single handed if you have a sock to use both launching and recovering. Drifters are good and used like a big genoa for beam reach to downwind work and you jibe them like you would a big genoa. Drifters are a fuller lighter sail than your genoa.
If I had to start fresh buying new sails I'd get a very big lightweight genoa in addition to my working sails and get an assymetrical spinnaker and later spend the money for a drifter.
Regards,
John L

[rebel heart]

I'll fall back on the fact that it depends on where you're doing a lot of sailing. There are countless threads (and movies, and books, and sea stories) on heavy weather sailing, but barely any words are mentioned about light air sailing.

In San Diego, the wind is under 5 knots almost every night, under 10 knots nearly all winter in the daytime (unless there's a storm), and rarely exceeds 15 knots even in the summer months.

Sailors in San Diego with a genoa and no drifter are in a SF Bay fantasy land. The "raise the iron jib" solution to light air sailing is a pretty bad solution at that.

I've had great experiences with drifters, and would easily recommend them to anyone, especially if a large part of your engine hours are because of "not enough wind".