Re: CP19 Spinnaker

[steve brown]

Hi Marcus, Regarding the spinaker, how does one get it aloft on the mast? I have a bail at the top of my mast for the spinaker but I do not know any more about the lines for it.  I do have a Drifter that hanks on to the head stay. Thanks. Steve

[mgoller]

Hey Steve,
Next time you drop the mast sling a soft dacron 1/4" line through the loop at the top of the mast.  I think this is what you called the "bail".  I tie one end of this 1/4" line to a (uh-oh) a bronze thingy with an eye, swivel and spring loaded hook.  I have a spinnaker eye on a sliding attachment on the front side of the mast.  (This is one of those days I can't remember the name of anything.)
Anyway, I attach the hook to the head of the spinnaker, and hoist to the top or near the top depending on point of sail and tie off the line to my spinnaker loop thingy.
I like to create a fuller spinnaker for a broad run and a tighter spinnaker for a broad reach.  Tighter meaning, the luff is tighter between the tack and head.
When I'm done with the spinnaker, I attach the hook to the spinnaker loop thingy and tie off the other end with a sailor's slip knot.  I'm a sailor and that's what I call it.

THINGY:  (THing- EE) a device used for countless tasks, some too technical to describe, also metal objects with complicated parts with unknown purposes, objects of great complexity smaller than a breadbox in most cases.

[Craig Weis]

Skippy just attached a small Harken block to the 'loop' at the mast's head. And ran a halyard through this block. I put a pad eye block on the 'dog house' and ran the spinnaker halyard back to the cockpit through a line organizer and rope clutch. Just like the main and fwd clutch, but on the other side of the 'dog house'.
Works neat.

The tac is attached to the bow pulpit.
On the pulpit I used two 1/4" lines to tie two snap eyes to the bow pulpit.
Each snap eye is marked with red or green tape on the 1/4 line afixed to the bow pulpit.
A snap eye to me works by pulling a lanyard to release.
In this way you don't have to fight the load on the eye.
During a tac change I do have to go forward.
Here is that procedure.

Pull the spinnaker chut down to mostly calapse the spinnaker.
I have a cleat at the base of the mast to tie this halyard off.
Snap the un-used snap eye to the new tac of the spinnaker. Pick red or green side.
THEN un-snap the tac not to be used.
In this way the tac is NEVER unattached from the bow pulpit. And can never get away from you.
For solo sailors [me] secure the tiller first.
Switch the un-used snap eye to the desired side of the spinnaker.
That is why the sail tac is color coded. Red and green.
Hoist up the spinnaker sock and hi-tail it back to the cockpit as all heck breaks loose.
It's a wild ride at times. With wind.

My Sail-East 3/4 oz asymmetrical spinnaker came with a Shoot-Bag and that works pretty well too but I need to go fwd to use the Shoot-Bag..and a bit of a pain to change tacks.

I have been toying with the idea of keeping both spinnaker sheets attached to the spinnaker via the snap eyes and having each sheet going  through the their own block attached to the bow pulpit.
Then maybe...with enough extra line one could
Colapse, play out the now unused sheet, take in the new tac sheet, lift the shoot bag, tiedy up the lines. With out going fwd. Running the shoot bag lines also back to the cockpit. Never work. LOL???

I don't use a pole but thought one would be handy from time to time.