TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SPINNAKER HANDLING by Kame Richards [The fllwing is an article which I wrte fr the RACE GUIDE fr the 1998 WEST MARINE PACIFIC CUP.] OVERVIEW The fllwing is a list f suggestins n hw t handle a spinnaker in the West Marine Pacific Cup race t Kanehe. Keep in mind that spinnakers are fairly large sails, and are quite capable f dragging a sailbat a lng distance, whether the bat is right side up r sideways! One f the things I admire mst abut the Pacific Cup Yacht Club is that they make a serius effrt t help yu learn hw t race yur bat better. Yu are abut t embark n a 2200-mile lng intensive sailing lessn (nt t say immersin). It wuld be unfrtunate t sail that far and nt substantially imprve yur sailing skills. SPINNAKER SETS First f all, knw all the halyards are straight and clean befre yur first set the spinnaker. If it is dark, use a bright flashlight t check things ut at the masthead. (This shuld be dne every mrning and afternn as a matter f curse.) If yu will be ding spinnaker peels (see belw), anticipate the first spinnaker change s the halyards will still be clear after ne spinnaker change. On a race like Pacific Cup, I prefer duble sheets and guys, even n fairly small bats. This means there is a sheet and a guy n each clew ring in the spinnaker. I als prefer independent shackles (r knts) t attach each f the lines t the clew ring, with the sheet fastened abve the guy. This makes it twice as hard t flg ff bth lines. The sheet needs t be ver the guy t make dip ple gybing run smther. I als prefer knts in the end f the spinnaker gear, but the gear must be lng enugh fr the clew f the sail t wave like a flag in frnt f the bat. This means the sheet is tw times the length f the bat. The length f the guy depends n where yu lead yur guy, and whether r nt yu use a turning blck. I knw the bks tell yu t never EVER put knts in yur spinnaker gear, but it is awfully hard t take the sail dwn if all the gear has sme hw been allwed t run free, and nw the spinnaker, AND all the sheets and guys are streaming dwn wind frm the masthead! It's kay t set the spinnaker right frm the bw pulpit. This means there will be less afterguy t bring in. The halyard will als g up faster because it will nt be sliding up the utside surface f the gena. If yu are using a spinnaker sck, it seems best t cnnect the halyard t the tp f the sck, pull the halyard up, straighten ut any twists in the sck, cnnect the sheets and guys, then haul the sck up t fill the sail. In the event yu are using a rller furling jib, I think it wuld be best if yu drp the sail nt the deck after yu set the spinnaker rather than furl up the jib. Reasn 1: The rller jib is quite heavy, and it is nt wise t carry that much weight (a) that high in the air and
(b) that clse t the bw. Reasn 2: If yu get a spinnaker wrap, it will be much harder t und because the spinnaker clth will nt slip ff the UV cver material n the jib as easily as it slides ff the aluminum fil f the furler. SPINNAKER GYBES On the bats I've gne n in the past, we have fund it best t assign peple t the individual jbs fr gybing, independent f being n r ff watch. This means the same persn will be in the bw, n the tpping lift, in the cckpit, etc. Yu may want t appint tw drivers s the ne wh was cmpletely asleep when the gybe was called desn't have t try t steer while half asleep! If it is fairly windy, tw-ple gybes are smething t cnsider. In this case yu rig a secnd ple, including a tpping lift and a freguy. Cnnect the new ple t the lazy guy, tp it up, square it back and trim in the new freguy. Nw the spinnaker is held slidly frm three crners and cnsequently will hld very still during the gybe. Nw gybe the mainsail ver t the ther side, and take dwn the ld ple. The prblems / dangers f this style f gybe is that if yu rund the bat up r dwn, yu will stick a ple in the water, and prbably break the ple, r wrse, the mast. Yu als must be careful setting the new ple and drpping the ld ple, because it is mmentarily pinting directly int the spinnaker, and if they tuch, the chances f tearing the sail are very high. Anther prblem is t be sure that the tw inbard ends f the ples dn't bind n each ther while yu are wrking with them. If it is very windy and yu feel yu can't cmplete a gybe withut breaking smething, the "chicken gybe" is a safe way t get the jb dne. In this case yu drp the spinnaker, and then actually TACK the bat, and then re-set the spinnaker. In my experience, if it is s windy that yu elect t chicken gybe, yu will be smart enugh t nt try t reset the spinnaker immediately. If yu are using a sck, cnsider pulling the sck dwn t cntain the spinnaker and lwering the ple nt the fredeck. Then gybe the mainsail, cnnect the spinnaker ple nt the new afterguy, and reset the spinnaker. SPINNAKER CHANGES The mst cnservative spinnaker change is the bald headed change. Get the new spinnaker up n deck, with the bag fastened dwn and the crners rganized. Strip ff the ld spinnaker (see "spinnaker drps" belw), put the same gear n the new sail, and send it right back up again. This prvides an pprtunity t change spinnaker halyards. Spinnaker peels take a little mre time and a little mre rchestratin, but when prperly dne, the bat is never withut a spinnaker that is full and pulling. In the peel, yu rig the new spinnaker with a new (clear) halyard, a sheet, and a "tag line" which will temprarily hld the tack f the sail. (Rig the tag line as fllws: a snap shackle at the free end, clvehitched t the headstay at shulder height with the snap shackle hanging tw feet dwn, with the ther end securely fastened t the bw cleat t prevent the whle arrangement frm sliding up the frestay.) The new spinnaker is histed and trimmed. When it is drawing, the ld spinnaker is tripped frm its afterguy. It will rtate ff dwnwind and act like a flag flying frm the halyard and the sheet, where it will hang ut fr a while.
Nw ease the spinnaker ple tppinglift and afterguy s the guy can be cnnected t the spinnaker tack. Take the slack ut f the afterguy, and trip free the tack f the sail frm the tag line. Nw square the ple back t its prper sailing psitin. Nt until the new spinnaker is fully trimmed is the ld sail drpped. Finally d what needs t be dne t straighten ut the spinnaker halyards. Occasinally this requires sending smene t the tp f the mast. SPINNAKER DROPS Yu must be sure the halyard will cme dwn uninterrupted, s flake ut the halyard tail, r drp the tail ver the side s yu knw it is straight (literally!), and can't get tangled up. While yu are at it, be sure the afterguy and lazy sheet are rganized t. In rder fr the crew t pull in the spinnaker, it must cmpletely cllapse. This shuld happen befre the halyard is let dwn. One way is t ease the afterguy frward until the ple is near the frestay, then let the afterguy run cmpletely free. "Free" means taking all the wraps ff the winch and letting the line g. Anther way is t trim in the sheet, ease the ple frward, and bear the bat ff. This will mve the spinnaker int the dirty air behind the mainsail, which will cause it t cllapse. Nw run a whle bunch f the halyard, watching the crew gathering the spinnaker t be sure the sail desn't fall int the water. There are tw ptential prblems t this style f drp: (1) If yu let the halyard ff as sn as the sail cllapses yu run the risk f the spinnaker blwing thrugh the fretriangle the wrng way and causing a spinnaker wrap. (2) As the sheet is trimmed in, the spinnaker is prne t rund the bat up. It is essential t bear the bat ff t cunteract the rund-up prblem and cause the spinnaker t cllapse. Still anther way is t lwer the tpping lift and ease the ple frward s the fredeck persn can reach up and trip the guy ff the sail by pulling the release n the snapshackle. I wuld say this is my LEAST favrite methd. The spinnaker ple tends t thrash arund after the sail has been tripped, and I dn't want the fredeck (r anyne else, fr that matter!) hurt. SPINNAKER TRIM The spinnaker is prperly trimmed if the wind is flwing just tangent t the leading edge f the sail. Dn't think f the spinnaker as a bucket which "catches the wind." Just like a main r a jib, it is a fil which bends the wind, and just like a main r a jib, the spinnaker pulls the hardest when the wind is traveling smthly acrss the spinnaker's OUTSIDE surface. The sheet side: The luff shuld fld in every nce in a while. This is the best way t tell that the wind is flwing tangent t the spinnakers' leading edge. The bat is SLOW if the luff desn't fld in every nce in awhile. Anticipate acceleratin: When the bat speeds up, as in surging dwn a wave, the apparent wind will increase and swing frward. Start trimming in the spinnaker
sheet as sn as the bat starts t speed up. Be sure yu ease it back ut as the bat slws back t its riginal speed. The driver shuld nt steer t crrect fr these small spinnaker luffs. If yu are the trimmer, be sure yu talk with the driver s yu understand the drivers anxieties abut hw the spinnaker is being trimmed The guy side A gd basic rule is t keep the ple perpendicular t the apparent wind angle, which is indicated by the wind indicatr at the tp f the mast. The ple height is determined by where (in terms f up and dwn the leading edge) the spinnaker first flds when it luffs. The ple is t lw if the luff ccurs high up near the head. If the sail is luffing relatively lw, like half way dwn r mre, the ple is t high. Be sure that yu trim the sheet much mre ften than the ple. Althugh yu can fix a cllapse by easing the ple, this shuld be the last resrt. The bat seems t lse its punch when the leading edge f the spinnaker is being cnstantly mved backwards and frwards. Halyard It is best t keep the spinnaker halyard all the way up. It keeps the sail frm mving arund t much. SPINNAKER STEERING Fundamental t steering is realizing that every time yu mve the rudder, the bat slws dwn a little bit. S the mre yu can get the bat t g the way yu want it t withut using the rudder the better. Anticipate steering: If the bat is straight up and dwn, it will tend t g straight ahead. When the bat heels left, it will turn right. When it heels right, it will turn left. As sn as the bat changes angle f heel, start putting in the steering crrectin. The sner yu put in the crrectin, the smaller the crrectin can be, thereby slwing yu dwn less. Anticipate acceleratin: When the bat speeds up, as in surging dwn a wave, the apparent wind will increase and swing frward. Bearing ff (turning slightly dwnwind) will reduce the chance f a spinnaker cllapse...especially if yu see that the spinnaker sheet is nt being trimmed in at this mment. As a driver, yu need t keep yur trimmer infrmed f hw yu feel. If yu want the sheet trimmed a little sfter n average, just ask fr it. This usually starts the kind f cnversatin that gets yur bat sailing faster. CHAFE WATCH In racing t Kanehe, chances are yu will sail smething like 1500 miles with a spinnaker up. That is a lt f miles, and it will be a lt f hurs t! It will be the equivalent f many years f racing if yu just did buy racing r the lcal cean racing series. One f the ways this will manifest itself in chafe n the lines. Yu need t set up a 'Chafe Patrl' nce r twice a day. The cmmn places t lk are:
Spinnaker sheet n the winch -- A cmmn prblem, especially with brand new winch drums, als a prblem with plyprpylene cvered sheets. This usually is n surprise. Yu will see a lt f fuzz lying arund the winch base! Spinnaker sheet n the bttm edge f the bm -- Fr this type f sailing, the sheet shuld nt be allwed t rub n the bm. Even n a smth bm, yu can chafe thrugh the utside sheath f a sheet in ne night. Rig a spinnaker twing r snatch blck in such a way as t prevent the sheet frm rubbing n the bm. Spinnaker halyard -- Even thugh this might be the place yu wuld least like t g, smene shuld get up t the tp f the rig nce a day t be sure everything is hanging tgether. If yu have been using ne halyard fr a few days, yu can change spinnaker halyards by sending up the inspectr n a jib halyard, have them attach the ther spinnaker halyard t the head f the sail, take up the lad n the new halyard, ease ff the ld, and bring the ld halyard back dwn t the deck...being sure everything is clean f curse! Keep in mind a brken spinnaker halyard usually lands the spinnaker in the water straight in frnt f the bat. After yu sail ver it, it desn't quite seem t wrk the same, even if yu get all the pieces back! Afterguy in the jaw f the ple -- Anther hard place t get t, and a hard place t see, but it must be checked. One pprtunity is during spinnaker changes when the afterguy is nt cnnected t anything. CHAFE SOLUTIONS The first slutin is t nt let the chafe happen in the first place. But if it has already ccurred, here are sme fixes: Spinnaker sheet n the winch -- Spinnaker sheet n the bttm edge f the bm -- usually reversing the sheet will mve the chafed prtin f the sheet ut f the actively used area f the sheet. Halyard at masthead -- Reversing the halyard, r trimming ff the tp ft r tw, will give yu a "new" piece f line t wrk with. Rigging an external halyard, which tuches nthing except sheaves and a winch will chafe the least. Afterguy in the jaw f the ple -- Again either shrtening r reversing the guy will slve the prblem. Or wrap the last 4" t 6" in leather. SPINNAKER REPAIRS Yu will need t have a spinnaker repair kit, which is a sub-sectin f the sail repair kit. The spinnaker repair sectin needs t cntain the fllwing: ne quart f acetne r denatured alchl masking tape / duct tape / vinyl tape and push-pins (t hld the trn sail in place while yu apply the adhesive material) "Sticky back" Dacrn tape, abut the luff length f yur spinnaker, 2 r 3 inches wide depending n the size f yur bat. (This is NOT the same as "spinnaker repair tape." The dacrn sticky back is bth strnger as a material, and uses a much mre tenacius adhesive than the ripstp nyln repair tape.) Stainless Steel rund rings (in the event a head r clew ring pulls ut)
1 inch tubular webbing, 4 t 6 pieces ne t tw feet lng depending n the size f yur bat. (t anchr the rund ring t the remaining reinfrcement in the head r tack) hand sewing kit (needed in the event the lads in the repaired area are t great fr adhesives alne) Where is the hle? If the hle is relatively clse t a crner (apprximately 10% t 15% f the luff length), it is mre imprtant than a hle that is further away frm the crner. What kind f a hle d yu have? If the hle is abut 1/4 inch in length yu can pretty much ignre it. Hles f abut 4 inches in length wuld cause me enugh anxiety that I wuld want t get the sail dwn and fixed reasnably sn. With bigger hles, it becmes imprtant t try t get the sail dwn quickly withut making the hle wrse. Repair gals: The repair will be accmplished by applying the dacrn "sticky back" tape acrss the tear. The adhesives will nt stick unless the sail is clean and dry. Use the acetne r denatured alchl n paper twels fr cleaning and drying. Fr a wrking surface use an upside dwn flrbard, because the wner will prbably let yu stick pushpins int it, but nt likely int the table r the deck. If yu use pushpins fr hlding the repair, dn't pull the clth s tight that the pushpins tear the spinnaker anew! We want the repair area t be lcally flat, just like befre the sail was trn, s d nt verlap the clth. We want a butt jint, s the yarns n ne side f the tear just tuch the yarns n the ther side f the tear. It is als desirable fr the individual yarns t line up acrss the repair. If they are shifted left r right, we will end up with a pucker at ne end f the repair, and the sticky back dacrn tape will tend t cme ff the sail at the wrinkle. If the hle is lnger than tw r three feet, place the sticky back n bth sides. Prcedure: Clean and dry the effected area with the acetne. Get the effected area flat. Cut the sticky back t a suitable wrking length. Lnger than three r fur feet becmes challenging. Peel back 6 inches f the paper backing at ne end f yur wrking piece. Carefully psitin the sticky-back s (1) the middle f the hle runs dwn the middle f the sticky back, and (2) s ne end f the sticky-back will reach beynd the hle by several inches. This is best dne by placing the still paper-back prtin nt the hle, getting the alignment crrect, and then laying dwn the expsed adhesive. Nw wrking frm the glued end, peel ff the backing and rub the sticky-back nt the spinnaker. The adhesive is pressure sensitive, s press hard while yu are rubbing the stickyback dwn, especially alng the utside edges. If the tear is in a high stress area, r large, use sticky-back n bth sides f the spinnaker. Yu may als need t stitch thrugh the sticky-back t reduce slippage. After 2200 miles f sailing, yu will have had a great pprtunity t wrk n many f the ideas cvered here. I hpe this article helps yu anticipate prblems s they can be avided and, mst f all, I hpe it helps yu get t Kanehe sner!
Fr further reading... If yu are using a spinnaker sck, there is a great article n using them n ur web site, www.pineapplesails.cm. Pint yur brwser at www.pineapplesails.cm/dwnwind.htm. There is als an article n dip ple gybes, with descriptins f each step and in what rder they need t be dne at www.pineapplesails.cm/dpg_chr.htm. Cpyright 2006-2007 Pineapple Sails 2526 Blanding Avenue Alameda, CA 94501 USA (510) 522-2200