Asymmetrical Spin Sheets

[Jfloyd85]

Looking for advice for Asymmetrical Spinnaker sheets. The sail is on order and should be shipping in the next few weeks. I know they need to be 2x the length of the boat and on mine the outward gybe would be the most practical. I’ve read that a floating line may be a good choice for this on. A cruiser. The New England Regatta Lite looks interesting, but I’m worried it might be a little too stretchy. I have a 7000lb 28’ with 610sqft sail.

[Boulter]

Originally Posted by Jfloyd85

Looking for advice for Asymmetrical Spinnaker sheets. The sail is on order and should be shipping in the next few weeks. I know they need to be 2x the length of the boat and on mine the outward gybe would be the most practical. I’ve read that a floating line may be a good choice for this on. A cruiser. The New England Regatta Lite looks interesting, but I’m worried it might be a little too stretchy. I have a 7000lb 28’ with 610sqft sail.

The stretch does not matter in this application. First, this is a reaching and running sail, so much less demanding task than upwind. Then the sail is nylon which will stretch much more than any sheet line will.

I would think 3/16 or 1/4 inch will meet all requirements for strength. Upsize if you want better handling at the expense of poorer light wind performance because the sheet weight pulls it down. My Tanzer 22 asymmetrical came with 5/16 or 3/8. I am changing to 3/16 polyester braid or 3mm dyneema with a polyester cover at the inboard end to get some friction at the cleats.

[psk125]

Line that is too thin will be hard on your or your crew's hands. If you're going to be trimming this sheet a lot, get something that's comfortable to hold. Stretch makes a big difference in a sail like this. Imagine a puff filling the sail and the sheet stretches. The sail won't be trimmed properly any more because the line has stretched. Because the sheet has stretched the sail first luffs and then collapses. You head off to get the sail filled, and it does, making the line stretch more, so you trim it in. Then another puff hits and you do the same thing all over again. Stretchy line introduces an extra variable that is not helpful for relaxed sailing. We race, so our spinnaker sheets are Spectra with polyester covers. You don't have to go that crazy, but less stretch and comfortable to use are good things.

[Pete7]

This is a light sail to be flown in light winds. Sheets don't need to be anything special so for us 10mm double braid is nice to hand and light, 8mm would also do well. A different colour from the rest of the boats ropes is helpful because you are going to end up with a lot of rope in the cockpit. I think ours came from the odd bins in the local chandlers and are a fetching yellow.

Pete