[Santana 22] Thoughts on Spinnaker?

Keay Edwards keay at keay3.net
Tue Sep 4 15:27:49 EDT 2012

Folks,

Wanted your thoughts on spinnaker use, specifically gybing with just skipper and one crew member.  I have been getting in as much spinnaker use as possible these days and am feeling pretty good with launches and douses now.  Gybing still seems a little problematic.  I believe my problems are all due to my not having a sequence figured out as helmsmen/skipper.  

What I have been doing:

#1.  Driving the boat into the sail, effectively dead downwind.

#2. Release the Spinnaker pole downhaul

#3. Crew trips pole and does the end for end thing.

At this point about 50% of the time the kite collapses and wraps the forestay.  I have been able to unwrap it by completing the gybe (pulling over the main and steering to get the kite filled again {this is as much luck as any competence on my part}).

When things go smoothly, the kite remains full, I gybe the main and crew comes back to trim.  My boat does not have tweens, I am running the spinn sheets back to blocks on the stock tracks on the rail (all the way forward) and then to the stock winches. 

Thoughts?

Thanks Much,

Keay
"Dayspring"

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