Parasailor Spinnaker from ISTEC

[RockBottomCat]

Originally Posted by Paul L

It is rigged like a regular symmetric spinnaker with 2 sheets and 2 guys, but no pole. The guys are run through blocks at the bow. When using the sail you have 1 guy in use holding the tack down and 1 sheet trimming the clew. The other guy and sheet are lazy.

So I need, what tackle to make this system work,, I already have purchased 2x85' by 5/8 Line for the sheets, and 2 harken 100 mill black magic blocks( 500) each, Do I need Guys or can I make them with the amount of line I purchased and what additional blocks do I need? Confused totally ,, and a novice to boot,, Just bought my Boat last week, now this thing, closing on the house on the Ninth, Moving onto the Boat on the 14th, Sailing her back to Texas starting on the 16th 1900nm... Just trying to put my ducks in a row, any help and pictures would be great thanks...'

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by RockBottomCat

So I need, what tackle to make this system work,, I already have purchased 2x85' by 5/8 Line for the sheets, and 2 harken 100 mill black magic blocks( 500) each, Do I need Guys or can I make them with the amount of line I purchased and what additional blocks do I need? Confused totally ,, and a novice to boot,, Just bought my Boat last week, now this thing, closing on the house on the Ninth, Moving onto the Boat on the 14th, Sailing her back to Texas starting on the 16th 1900nm... Just trying to put my ducks in a row, any help and pictures would be great thanks...'

You'll need to purchase the guys. The blocks will mount on your bows to handle the guys. You will also probably need some turning blocks near the aft so the sheets can run clear to your winches and come into the boat near the aft. Talk with the folks at Istec, they are helpful and know the system well.

[RockBottomCat]

Originally Posted by Paul L

You'll need to purchase the guys. The blocks will mount on your bows to handle the guys. You will also probably need some turning blocks near the aft so the sheets can run clear to your winches and come into the boat near the aft. Talk with the folks at Istec, they are helpful and know the system well.

Yes they are just hung up with Jerry, great guy , said to stop worrying he has the guys and sheets and shackles all made up just need to buy the 4 blocks , yeah!!! Sometimes you just got to ask the right questions of the right people

[duncan_ellison]

Rockbottom / Sander / Alchemy,

I can only advise how I rigged it on my vessel.

I drilled a hole through the bow roller cheek at the furtherst forward point and put a shackle through. Then I shackled TWO nice big Gerhauer blocks to that, the downhauls / guys run independently through these blocks down each side of the coachroof, though deck organizers, then through additional clutches to the coachroof secondary winches.

It's important that these blocks are free to turn independently (no double blocks here !). In addition, I put a piece of bungy cord from each block up to the rail to keep them elevated when they are slack.

The sheets run completely outside the standing rigging to the normal Spi blocks on the rear quarters then back to the primary winches.

Note that it's OK to use all four winches as you will probably not be using the main at this point, if fact, I would reccommend that you do not (too much happening all at once to be safe). I usually drop all sail before hoisting the parasailor.

In use, you 'fly' each clew independently until you get the foot of the sail nice and level and at the right height.

Duncan

[biltong]

There are two sheets, one connected to each clew and two lines (continuous ) which are used to snuff the sail. The carbon-fibre snuffer is pulled down to the deck with these lines. The sail is then enclosed in it's sock.

[careka]

Originally Posted by RockBottomCat

Or maybe someone can explain,, do i need 4 total sheets or two and what lenghs on a lagoon 380... I guess its one more thing I may have to buy,, already spent a fortune on this sail hope its worth it !!

i use two time the length of the boat, so around 24 meters then you are set for a lot of trimming,

10mm or 12mm depends on type.
and my blocks are Harken 75mm.

so with 100mm you are rigged for big boat sailing,

[Wissing]

I have now for 3 Years being Flying my 254m2 parasailor on my Yacht, Freya, 56 ft. ONE OFF. We nearly alwayes sail a small Crew ( 2 ), and in General we are very pleased with the Performance of the sail. We sail it up to force 6, and we cover great distance ( up to 120 miles / day ). Flying sutch a big Spinnaker, has tought us a few lessons over the years. It can be summerised as follows : Be SURE you have all your ropes right, before launching the shute. Lounching at force 4 or higher, the Forces are impressive. If you have the snuffer with 3 straps on the funnel, cut away the middle one. Both raising and lowering the snuffer is improved significantly. Wear working gloves, to avoid burning your Skin, when the wind pulls up the snuffer. It is a lot easyer to Launch the shute if it is on either side of the boat. Dont launch it down wind. When taking down the Parasailor, loosen the Sheets, and let it fly, again the best is at either side of the boat. Be aware that windgust CAN pull you up, where the sail try to Launch again. We use the winch at the mast, together with a snatch block attatched to the mast. This way, we are alwayes in control. We recomend the use of a Spinnaker pole. In light winds it is okay to fly without, but above force 4, the pole is required.
We can only recomend the Parasailor, great sail, and great Quality. Sure ist expensive, but it lasts and if you calculate over time and sailed miles, ist worth the Investment.

[Paul L]

So what's the advantage of a Parasailor over other spinnakers if you really need a pole to fly it safely anyway? An asym with a pole is a pretty flexible sail and a lot less expensive than a Parasailor. The asym can be flown without a pole while reaching and pretty deep with a pole. Force 4 is 11-16kts. Downwind that is only 5-10kts apparent wind. Pretty light.

[Wissing]

Originally Posted by Paul L

So what's the advantage of a Parasailor over other spinnakers if you really need a pole to fly it safely anyway? An asym with a pole is a pretty flexible sail and a lot less expensive than a Parasailor. The asym can be flown without a pole while reaching and pretty deep with a pole. Force 4 is 11-16kts. Downwind that is only 5-10kts apparent wind. Pretty light.

In the past i have been using an asymetric as well ( i still have it ). Also tried a full bread Spinnaker ( to tricky and unpredictable for small Crew ), and to my experience, the Parasailor is in between those to. It flyes like a Spinnaker, but is more carm, and it more powerfull than an asym, even on the reach. We can go up to 70 degree with it. Yes the Parasailor is more tricky to manage than the asym, but that is also part of the challenge. Sailing is not only Relaxing, ist also about trimming as mutch Speed out of the boat as possible. There will alwayes be pro and cons, and advokats for this and that. I just wanted to share my experience with this Forum. You should sail what ever sail you feel is the right one, and feel comfortable with.

[Paul L]

Wissing,
I looked at the Parasailors at last years Annapolis boat show. The pitch was impressive and of course the Cornell plug helps. While I was really interested, I just could not justify what they were asking for these. It was something like US$7k for my boat. I could have a couple of asyms cut for different conditions for that price.

Sailing is not only Relaxing, ist also about trimming as mutch Speed out of the boat as possible.

No kidding

[Wissing]

Paul :

NO KIDDING

Mine came at 20 K, but i love it.
Ist worth all the Money.

[careka]

Yes, we like it a lot to, and its only money.
You have to try one to know one

Its a very nice sail, and i sail a lot with my wife or singelhanded.
On the cat we dont use a pole, we just fly it

[Wissing]

Originally Posted by careka

Yes, we like it a lot to, and its only money.
You have to try one to know one

Its a very nice sail, and i sail a lot with my wife or singelhanded.
On the cat we dont use a pole, we just fly it

Jeg kunne ikke være mere enig.

Great fun factor.

[Kestrahl]

Its basically a spinnaker that is made to be more stable. being symmetric it will never be as efficient as a asymmetric reaching. And not as fast as a regular spinnaker running. A regular spinnaker with suffer is no problem if you know what your doing, and a asymmetric on a furler is pretty popular these days. i guess it has its place in the market.

[JazzyO]

For interested parties, there is one for sale that was used on the ARC. Size: 112m2. Asking price: 4,500 (new: 7,500).

I have no affiliation with the seller but I contacted him to ask him about his experiences. He was happy with it, said it was much more stable than his normal spinnaker and it could be flown over a wider range of angles.

Here's the ad.

Parasailor for sale - The Cockpit Locker - World Cruising Club



Onno