Identify this spinnaker sock Rigging?

[sanibel sailor]

Just picked up a used spinnaker sock/sleeve/snuffer. Owner did not know much about it. Came off a 42 foot French production catamaran.

Anyone know the manufacturer?

The down haul is a bit unusual with a lighter line in the sleeve and on the upper half outside, joined to a heavier lower outside line The connection looks intentional and permanent suggesting a stock arrangement. The lower end is only attached to only one side of the mouth fabrication. The mouth is a fairly heavy fiberglass structure.

There are a number of small grommets along the stripe without apparent function.

[sanibel sailor]

More pics

[JPA Cate]

Hi, John,

The grommets are their to help the air escape when you pull the bell and sock down.

Most socks have uphaul and downhaul, although I have seen a few rigged with an "endless" line and an internal block.

The heavier line is more hand friendly than little skinny line.

Sorry, don't think it has a brand name. People either make their socks themselves or have sailmakers make them.

Oxalic acid will take the rust off there if you want, just wait, watch the spots disappear, rinse, and neutralize with baking soda.

Ann

[sanibel sailor]

Thanks

[svHyLyte]

That gear looks like an ATN Snuffer. The lighter line is the up-haul as not much effort is required to raise the bell which tends to raise itself as the sail fills away during the launch. The heavier line is needed as some strength may be required to down-haul the bell collar over and "snuff" the sail. Ideally, the down-haul should pass through a snatch block that can be affixed to a fastener on the fore deck as pulling "Up" on the line is easier than pulling "Down" and keeps one more firmly "planted" on the fore deck during the exercise. One needs the snatch block as if one gybes the sail, one needs to be able to move the down-haul around the forestay to get a fair down-haul lead. (BTDT...)


FWIW...

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

That gear looks like an ATN Snuffer.

Possibly an older one, but plastic bell doesn't have the same shape or remotely look like a new ATN.

You can find that plastic bell on many different models of snuffers. They are a big improvement over the much older metal hoop designs that hung up more when snuffing the sail.

[sail sfbay]

ATN sock would have been my first choice, as noted by svHyLyte, but they supply white socks. The color suggests that it might be custom, possibly from Sailrite. The fiberglass structure is a “tacker” (does not look like an ATN tacker since they are supplied with a strap), which controls the tack of the cruising asymmetric spinnaker by fastening it over the furled headsail and it allows you to use your conventional symmetric spinnaker like an asymmetric spinnaker from beam reaching to broad reaching without a spinnaker pole.

https://www.atninc.com/atn-tacker-sa...quipment.shtml

[sanibel sailor]

Hard to make a tacker work if the spinnaker is "snuffed" or the tacker is at the head of the mast...


The bell is quite heavy, foam core with excessive laminate thickness. It does not look like any ATN bell I have seen which are non-cored. Sailrite uses a hoop for the opening.



The whole thing looks professionally made, good stitching and design.

[FabioC]

I doubt it is an ATN. I have two, one older and one new, and their material looks very different from this one. Also, the shape of the ATN "Bell" is different.
It is not uncommon to see "imitations" of the ATN sock, they work the same, just different materials. The two different diameters of the control line are also common (older ATNs had the same, the new ones do not).
Some of the newer socks have improved the "profile" of the bell a little and use a breathable material so they do not need grommets, so they are slightly smoother to operate, but these older ones work almost as well.

[JPA Cate]

You know, it might be home made. You'd think if it was a brand name, they'd have their logo on it, somewhere.

Ann

[svHyLyte]

Guys--


I earlier wrote "it looks like" not that it is/was. Perhaps I should better have used the term "resembles". N'any case, it should function in a manner similar to that of the ATN assuming that the bell isn't too awkward compared with that of the ATN (of which we have two--one each on our asymmetric and symmetric to make them more easily handled by a husband/wife crew). The ATN's are pretty effective BTW.


FWIW.