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44'cruisingcat · 04-02-2017, 23:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailjumanji

Jeez, chill out. Are you trying to say that your cat is sailing upwind at 35 deg AWA just because you have the spin up? The main looks pretty trimmed for upwind sailing to me. It might be that its driving the boat, and the spin is just hanging out there to the side, along for the ride. Besides, it's a 44 ft boat, and we're only talking about 3.5 knots.

Tie the spinnaker? With cotton string? Dang, I've raced boats competitively for 25 years, and never tied a spinnaker. (FYI, when we hoist without a sock, its one person on the spin bag, and one on the halyard. You keep your arms in a circle around the spin as it comes out of the bag, and blanketed by the mainsail. When up, then sheet in and your off. There's no need to tie a spin.

When it comes to taking it down, you blanket it with the main, so it collapses. Release the tack and sheet, and then the halyard. Gather it up as it falls. Stuff it into the bag at the same time.

A stowed spin in a sock, or one not in a sock - either way it typically goes into a spin bag.

Ok, so have you ever handled a spinnaker without a sock? I've done it both ways - actually about 95% of the time without the sock. Let's see, if you don't get the sock pulled up over the head of the spinnaker, then it bunches up the spin at the top. If you do get it pulled up over the head, then sometimes it snags or catches at the head when you try to pull it down. The raise/douse sock line gets wrapped around the sock. The sock gets twisted. ...

Yes, you can force a spin douse with a sock. All I am saying is that its not as wonderful as publicized. And I'd recommend - unless you are singlehanded - trying to use the sail without the sock, before investing in one. That's all.

Oh, and normally there is a sheet attached to the clew, running to the port side. And another sheet running to the starboard side. When you jibe, you release one and pull in the other. Just using one sheet like you've rigged it is going to turn into a real fire drill on a jibe, or in your case, a tack!

Yeah, only 3.5 knots. In 5 knots of breeze at 35'..... Not brilliant, but we wouldn't do it on just the main. Would your Seawind?

I'll admit, I don't have much experience on a spin without a sock. Only once, on a racing mono and that was an absolute shitfight, with crew getting burnt fingers etc. It was a big sail though, not sure how feeding through arms might have gone.

And since I already have the sock, I think I'll just keep using it. And really, if the sock won't come down am I any worse off than if I didn't have it?

And yep gybing's going to be slow. It'll also be controlled, and safe. I'm cruising, I can live with that.

markpierce · 04-02-2017, 23:14

Aaaagh, spinnakers coming!

And spinnakers going!

markpierce · 04-02-2017, 23:50

My first spinnaker raspberry.

sailjumanji · 05-02-2017, 07:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Yeah, only 3.5 knots. In 5 knots of breeze at 35'..... Not brilliant, but we wouldn't do it on just the main. Would your Seawind?.

Not sure - In wind that light, I'd have the jib up too. OTOH, the Seawind is a 33 ft boat, not a 44 ft. Not sure how light your boat is. My friend's 39 ft long TRT 1200 would do that speed "main only", easily.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

And yep gybing's going to be slow. It'll also be controlled, and safe. I'm cruising, I can live with that.

So are we going to challenge everything? I suggested adding a lazy sheet to the starboard side. And then you could gybe the spin from the cockpit, instead of having to release that one sheet, pull it around the shroud, around the forestay, around the starboard shroud, and then tighten again. All while the spin is still up? I guess you could douse it with the sock before doing all of that. Either way, I can't see that being safer - vs just having a sheet run to starboard. To gybe, release the port sheet, pull the starboard sheet - again, all from the cockpit.

44'cruisingcat · 05-02-2017, 12:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailjumanji

Not sure - In wind that light, I'd have the jib up too. OTOH, the Seawind is a 33 ft boat, not a 44 ft. Not sure how light your boat is. My friend's 39 ft long TRT 1200 would do that speed "main only", easily.

So are we going to challenge everything? I suggested adding a lazy sheet to the starboard side. And then you could gybe the spin from the cockpit, instead of having to release that one sheet, pull it around the shroud, around the forestay, around the starboard shroud, and then tighten again. All while the spin is still up? I guess you could douse it with the sock before doing all of that. Either way, I can't see that being safer - vs just having a sheet run to starboard. To gybe, release the port sheet, pull the starboard sheet - again, all from the cockpit.

I guess it would depend on where I had the spinnaker tack. Mostly, running deep, (and if I'm gybing I'm probably running very deep or running square) I have the tack off the windward bow. So to gybe I'd need to drag the tack across one way while dragging the clew the other.

To my thinking there's a fair risk of something tangling. For now, I'm happy to just sock, swap everything round, then unsock.