Updated January 14, 1997
After talking with a number of new 505 sailors at the
Midwinters, I realized that spinnaker hoists on a bag (non spinnaker launcher) boat need
to be better explained..... so here goes...
Though the spinnaker launcher used by most 505s
makes spinnaker handling easier, any maneuver done by a launcher 505 can be matched by a
spinnaker bag 505.... sometimes the maneuvers need a little more practice to get them
right.
On Shore
With a well rigged reverse purchase 1:4 spinnaker
halyard, and no launcher tube friction, you should be able to ouhoist a launcher boat.
However, you have to have everything right for the launch to go smoothly. This starts with
working - and minimal friction - control systems. If you have a thin wire halyard, replace
it with 7/64" spectra or similar very thin hi-tech line. Ensure that the moving
double block does not catch on anything between the forward bulkhead and the spinnaker
halyard cleat. Make sure there is minimal friction on the part of the spinnaker halyard
you pull (the thick line), and make sure the line is easy to cleat, and will stay cleated
under high load.
The thick line you pull on should cleat
automatically, regardless of the angle you pull the line at. Having to reach in the boat
and cleat it, or stand in the back of the boat to line it up properly is
SLOW!
If your bags have covers, consider tying the port
cover open so there is less friction getting the spinnaker up. Mark your starboard tack
guy so that you can pop it in the cleat at the location that just keeps the spinnaker pole
off the forestay. Use a stopper ball on the port tack guy such that the ball jams and
keeps the spinnaker pole just off the forestay, or at least close to it, so you only have
to pull back a little and pop the guy into the guy cleat at the starboard to port tack
gybe. For the ball and the mark to be in the correct places, you have to tie the knots in
the same places each time. We mark the sheets where they should go through the cringles in
the spinnaker clews so that the knot gets tied in the same spot each time.
Tie the halyard and sheets on with bowlines - some
crews use a more compact knot whose name escapes me for the sheets, stuff the spinnaker in
the port bag, take up the slack and cleat the spinnaker sheets in the tidy up cleats, and
clip the spinnaker halyard in the halyard clip - usually mounted on the bulkhead at deck
height, just aft of the bag.
On The Water
Launch the spinnaker before the race and make sure
it goes up right and is correctly threaded. On the douse, take care while stuffing it into
the bag that you do not twist it. If in doubt, grab the starboard clew and run your hands
along the starboard leech to the head. Lay the starboard leech on top of the sail in the
bag. Uncleat the port twing.
Approaching the Windward Mark
On your last port tack on the beat, unclip the
spinnaker halyard from the clip and ensure that the port twing is uncleated. If it is
windy, uncleat the spinnaker sheet from the tidy up cleat on the port side; if light leave
it cleated.
On the starboard tack into the mark (on the
layline), the crew grabs the guy just behind the twing, and pulls on it, dragging the
starboard clew of the spinnaker out of the bag and forward along the foredeck. Pull the
guy out past the mark, then ease it to the mark and cleat it. The starboard clew of the
spinnaker will be lying on the deck approximately a foot from the jib tack. The guy will
be going around the forestay; you pull it too far and then ease it so it is not longer
affecting the jib shape.
If it is at all windy, the skipper should ease the
vang and possibly even start the board up, while still on the layline.
Bear off around the mark. If windy get board up
first and dump more vang, otherwise go for the hoist right away. CREW SHEETS JIB IN
HARD!!! This gets the jib inboard of the bag so the spinnaker does not catch on the foot
of the jib. Crew puts guy in end of pole - I use a Z-spar fork end - and starts pushing
the pole out. At the same time, the skipper goes for the halyard and pulls it up as fast
as possible. One should not wait for the other. If the wind is light enough that you left
the sheet cleated, the spinnaker will fill with a "pop" and you will be off down
the reach. Get the jib eased, vang right, ease cunningham, make sure board is about right
and sail fast!
Getting the spinnaker filling is a higher priority
than getting the jib or main right. In breeze, not capsizing or heeling and slowing down
is an even higher priority, so you delay the hoist just long enough to get the vang off,
and board up. You can always fine tune vang and board once you are planing.
Some More Thoughts
If you were unable to leave the sheet cleated due to
breeze, the skipper can grab it and hand it to the crew, saving the crew diving to leeward
for it after getting the pole on. Do not pull on the sheet trying to fill the chute until
the pole is on the mast! Few crews can get the pole pushed forward and clip it on the
mast, if the spinnaker is full in windy conditions.
If its windy, get the board up more and the vang way
off before hoisting. As soon as the kite is up and the crew is on the wire, you can adjust
board and vang if necessary.
Ease the jib as soon as possible. If windy, just
uncleat it and let it luff until you have time to cleat it at the proper place. If you tie
the jib sheet to the trapeze handle, the crew going out on the wire will pull on the jib
sheet and make it easy for either skipper or crew to adjust it, after everything else is
done. If light air, the crew can get it once the spinnaker is flying.
Getting Down the Reach
Somethings to think about besides hoisting.
-
Play the mainsheet directly from the boom. Its
faster and helps the skipper hike harder. That's why the ratchet block is on the boom!
-
If really windy, ease the ram for more mast bend
as you approach the mark on the layline. TAKE UP ON THE PREBENDER. This will bend the mast
more and depower the main for the reach. Actually, the bre-bender should always be cleated
for spinnaker reaches, so that the pole does not push the mast back, straightening it and
making the mainsail fuller (while allowing the pole to bend around the
forestay).
-
In lighter air the board should be up slightly to
stop it gybing. As the breeze comes up, the board is brought up more and more. When you
are going really fast, you tight reach with less than half board.
-
Dump vang to dump power. Off in big puffs when you
are really overpowered, on in the lulls.
-
Go down in the puffs and up in the lulls.
-
If you cannot make it up to the gybe mark as you
cannot sail that high with the spinnaker, consider uncleating the spinnaker halyard while
keeping the sheet in hard. The spinnaker will float too leeward of the boat, above the
water, allowing you to two sail reach higher. When you get to an angle where you can fly
the chute again, bear off, drop the sheet, re-hoist, and pull sheet in
again.
-
Crews can practice going out with one hand on the
handle and the other on the sheet. You can arch your back and maneuver the trapeze hook
onto the harness. Sounds pretty acrobatic, but gets the crew out and the spinnaker drawing
faster.
-
Tactical considerations take precedence over
hoisting right away. If you have boats close astern of you, or close in front hoisting,
you may wish to go high first, then hoist.
I'm sure I have forgotten stuff here.... if you have
any comments or suggestions, you can e-mail them to me.
-Ali
Comments:
Here are a couple of thoughts. Last fall I
experimented with stopper balls both port and starboard. Tyler said thats how they did it
on the 470. With this system you leave the weather twing uncleated. As you come into the
mark, we pull the guy back, cleat the weather twing and your done. We found pulling the
twing on a less critical step for presetting guy than cleating the sheet on a specific
mark.
Also on my 1 to 4, I have the "OLD MAN
LINE". Instead of dead ending the spinnaker halyard on the bulkhead, you replace the
single block on the bulkhead with a double block and run the halyard to a cleat aft on the
thwart by the cleat for the 1 to 4 handle. This is 1 to 1 and if you miss on the set you
can pull the chute up fully loaded. This fall I changed to a 3/32 yale Airicom T halyard
and tied the end to a block thus creating a 2 to 1 mechanical advantage with a thicker
line since a cleat would not hold 3/32". You can still pull the chute up 6 ft with
this line. When I miss it is usually only by a couple of feet. I will let you know how it
works this spring. The 3/32 yale has a tensile strength of around 1800 lb., more than
1/16' wire.
US bag boat people have to stick together.
Tom