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Old 11-04-2008, 14:49   #1
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Single Handed Chute Help?

Ok, one of my to-do's today was to have a good look at my old, stained chute and see if I could get it running for slow downwind conditions on this delivery.

I pulled the bag labeled "Chute" out and there is that stinky, stained mess... but wait!! No... that's just the sock thing! MY GOD! Inside is an all but unused spinnaker, in black. No clue what graphics or colors aside from that are.

So great!

But I'm singlehanding right now. I have no Autohelm. I haven't flown a spinnaker in years, and when I did as a kid, I was a bit foggy on it. Since I haven't been fortunate enough to own proper downwind sails before this, I have little experience.

So how do I go about doing this safely without ruining my sail or causing a dangerous situation, singlehanded?

My spinnaker seems to be a standard, old school symmetrical one, and I have a pole.

For safety (and simplicity while single handing), I'd like to really use the spinnaker when on runs only.

Can I rig it by tying it off to a couple of cleats I have that are approx 2 inches from the front of my boat? Normally I use these cleats to rig a snubber to anchor. They are on the far port and far starboard side of this catamaran.

I had heard you could fly downwind sails like this on catamarans without needing to break out the pole. Any good? Any tips, ideas, etc?

I feel like a guy trying to pack a parachute so I don't die on my next jump. So many lines... plus that block that I assume hooks to the halyard. Going out to have another look right now, but any tips for a guy who is more than rusty on proper downwind sails?

PS: Looks like I'll have good wind over the next half-week, so I won't be flying it just yet. I'm trying to prepare for some slow run that should happen eventually.
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Old 11-04-2008, 15:50   #2
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If it were an Asymetrical, I would think it would be feasible singlehanded. But a full blown Spinnacker? Pretty chancy Sean, especially without an autopilot.
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Old 11-04-2008, 16:19   #3
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I used to ONLY run symetricals on my last cat and yes, if you have a stand up block mounted on each bow you can pull the tack out to that bow and cleat off and raise the sock, then pop the kite without the use of a pole.

Having 2 tack lines (one throgh each block) and 2 clew line it was relatively easy to slow gybe single handed as well.

I used this setup (before getting a fixed prodder) for quite a while with great success.

I also used it for many many thousands of miles, all single handed, while leaving the main in its boom bag and underboom shade tarp up.

This way you just have to worry about the kite, you dont have the main blanketing the kite, and in my case , the main was a lot more expensive than the kite, so saved on wear an tear to the main.

Saying all this though I did use the main as well in light air, but found when the wind got above 10 knots that the kite pulled just as fast by itself with a lot less work for me (one sail)

I did have an autoplilot as well.

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Old 11-04-2008, 16:57   #4
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Yes, Dave.

This is exactly what I was thinking of doing. For mostly dead downwind runs, I was thinking of rigging as you suggest and just keeping the main under its sailcover, stowed away and genoa furled up.

I figured running just the chute by itself is no more difficult (maybe less so?) than running wing and wing and possibly safer.

SV Elusive: I did mean just running the spinnaker by itself, no other sails. I don't think I could run a full contingent of sails with it and be safe/sane.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cat man do View Post
I used to ONLY run symetricals on my last cat and yes, if you have a stand up block mounted on each bow you can pull the tack out to that bow and cleat off and raise the sock, then pop the kite without the use of a pole.

Having 2 tack lines (one throgh each block) and 2 clew line it was relatively easy to slow gybe single handed as well.

I used this setup (before getting a fixed prodder) for quite a while with great success.

I also used it for many many thousands of miles, all single handed, while leaving the main in its boom bag and underboom shade tarp up.

This way you just have to worry about the kite, you dont have the main blanketing the kite, and in my case , the main was a lot more expensive than the kite, so saved on wear an tear to the main.

Saying all this though I did use the main as well in light air, but found when the wind got above 10 knots that the kite pulled just as fast by itself with a lot less work for me (one sail)

I did have an autoplilot as well.

Dave
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Old 11-04-2008, 22:00   #5
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Hi, I use a symmetrical spinnaker on my PDQ, singlehanded all the time. I keep the tack and sheet rigged all the time, so it's not too much to set up. A pole is not needed on a cat.
An autopilot is absolutely nessesary if you are solo, and it handles a symmetrical chute with ease. Since there is no pole involved, the sail is pretty much self tending, and jibing is an easy slow motion affair.
I've sailed in 18kts true wind up Delaware Bay last summer from Cape May to the C&D almost the entire way under the spin. and A/P. The only problem is that I think I should be going faster, but other than that it's really a cinch to to fly.

Marc
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Old 12-04-2008, 04:10   #6
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I think you need to get either an autopilot or another crewmember before you should try the spinnaker.
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Old 12-04-2008, 04:25   #7
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I think you need to get either an autopilot or another crewmember before you should try the spinnaker.
Aww.... no fun.

I would really like the autopilot for this, but is there really any harm in flying it on a slow (5-10 knots) downwind day?

I do have a sock/turtle for it, so dousing it should be a snap.
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Old 12-04-2008, 04:27   #8
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I use a sock with an asym and have an autopilot. I can't see how you can fly a shut singlehanded in anything less than mild faily steady conditions.
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Old 12-04-2008, 04:38   #9
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I use a sock with an asym and have an autopilot. I can't see how you can fly a shut singlehanded in anything less than mild faily steady conditions.
Exactly. I don't play on flying it in anything too tricky. Mostly I wanted to use it for those times when the alternative would be wing on(and) wing, downwind, going nowhere. You know those times... the boat is rolling, you're making little headway and you just want to get some additional sail area up to speed things up a bit?

I would be flying it by itself (no main) just to get more sail area presented to the frustratingly light winds on this type of day.

Remember... no pole to deal with, so the sheet and guy are both run to either side of my deck. With a sock/turtle to snuff the thing, I'm not sure how I could get into much trouble.

BTW: I have the Dutchman system on my main. It's not so common, but I remember you saying you had it. I think I like it a lot. So far, it has been nothing but simple and easy. What I like is that if you take down the main in a pinch, you don't need to get sail ties up immediately to maintain visibility.
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Old 12-04-2008, 04:47   #10
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If you have some open water and light to moderately light air, I would say go for it. Really, flying a symmetrical chute on a cat is incredibly easy. You will need standing blocks near the bows (as Dave points out). Run guys through both blocks and cleat off the windward guy, leaving the leeward one loose. Have your sheets run well aft (and of course outside all standing rigging) to blocks and in this case, cleat off the leeward sheet, leaving the windward running loose. Attach the halyard, raise the chute and then raise the sock, trim the leeward sheet and voila!

As Dave mentions, without a pole (and with both guys at the ready), jibing is incredibly easy. The only concern (especially when singlehanding) would be spinnaker wrap around the forestay - I might leave jibing to another day (when crewed) for your first attempt. And to avoid collapsing (and again potentially wrapping) the chute, I would avoid running dead downwind. Your solid fordeck should make setting and dowsing the chute particularly safe and simple.

Brad

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Old 12-04-2008, 04:53   #11
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Quote:
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I use a sock with an asym and have an autopilot. I can't see how you can fly a shut singlehanded in anything less than mild faily steady conditions.
Thats mono hulls for ya

Most cats track well (like on rails) and dont roll

Dave
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Old 12-04-2008, 04:58   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ssullivan View Post

So how do I go about doing this safely without ruining my sail or causing a dangerous situation, singlehanded?
You can't.

S*ds law says the light wind will build the very minute it gets hoisted and letting go the brace / sheet whilst also pulling down the sock is about as easy as hauling down the socked item whilst easing the halyard. Asking for trouble IMHO.

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Old 12-04-2008, 05:26   #13
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BTW: I have the Dutchman system on my main. It's not so common, .
Why is it that Dutchman (lazyjacks) are so uncommon over there?

At the end of the day its just a bit of rope , some blocks and some horn cleats.

This is how I did mine on a rotating mast.

On the spreader pic you can see that it was loose peice of VB cord running through the jumper and spreader blocks.

In real life the blocks stayed where they were in relation to everything and as the mast rotated the VB cord slid through the blocks.

Adjustment to boom height when dropping main was by untying rope from horn cleat (small 2" Ronstan) lift boom re-tie.

Fire halyard, main drops flaked in bag, big plastic zip done up and Rum o'clock all in about 1 minute.

A mistake in the drawing, I had a boom bag that I had made at a tarpaulin manufacturer (way cheaper than sailmaker, cost less than $200) and the cheek blocks were attached to the top batten.

You can get an idea of the boom bag in the pics

Dave
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Old 12-04-2008, 05:33   #14
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You can't.


JOHN
Well you can with a bit of experience and the right setup

Little girls manage to sail 60 ft Tri's around the world single handed using kites.

I had mine up regularly in 15+ knots single handed occasionaly over and it was fine (but very fast) 19 knots of boatspeed comming into Cairns on the surf on one trip.

This boat tracked very well.

Dave
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Old 12-04-2008, 07:45   #15
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Sure you can do it, The most helpful peice of equipment will be a autopilot, but it is not neccesary. You may be able to lock the helm off for enough time to set the chute.

Don' use a pole. Experiment at the slip, that way it will get up faster when you run up to the foredeck. This ain't rocket science. Don't listen to anyone that tells you it can't be done solo. Just make sure to try it first in VERY light winds. Then go from there.
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