Sail Handling and Neil Pryde Custom Fittings

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he following are some of the special Neil Pryde fittings which every boat owner should befamiliar with. Genoa Sausage Bags
Neil Pryde Race and Premier Series sails are supplied with genoa sausage bags as standard. These bags make repacking easier and quicker. The bags have 2 full-length zips on top of the bag which run forward and aft from the clew to the tack. Before you attempt to put the sail in thebag make sure both sliders are at one end of the bag. Then pack the sail inside and slide one zipfrom one end to the other. Do not take it off the end of the bag. You can then throw the bagaround quite freely and it will not come undone. When you wish to hoist, place the bag on theforedeck and run the zipper off at the front. The whole zip will then break open freely and thesail will be in position on the foredeck ready for use. (figure 11) Figure 11 Dousing Sock
The dousing sock can be used with either a asymmetric spinnaker or a regular spinnaker. Tohoist the sail, attach the halyard to the head ring on the sail and attach the tack downhaul line tothe tack ring. It should then be passed through a turning block on the deck near the bow, and then to a cleat or winch somewhere near the cockpit. The tack will initially fly approximatelyfive feet above the deck, so allow this amount of slack in the line.Before hoisting, bear away onto a square run, then pull up the spinnaker in its dousing sockbehind the mainsail. In this position it is not being subjected to much wind, and is easy to keepunder control during hoisting. Don’t forget to attach the sheet before you do so. You will now besailing on a dead run with the spinnaker nicely under control inside the dousing sock. You then hoist the sock to the mast head using the continuous line system provided. This exposes the sailto the wind so it fills gently with wind.To drop the spinnaker, bear away onto a run again so the sail is blanketed from the wind, behindthe mainsail. Then pull the sock’s continuous line system in the opposite direction to pull thesock down form the mast head and over the sail, completely enclosing it. The whole sausage isthen lowered by dropping the halyard. Leave the spinnaker in the sock when not in use so it is ready for the next time you want to hoist it. To close bag, start withzipper car on one trackat either end of bag.Connect tracks intozipper and run it to theother end of the bag,leaving it about 70mmfrom the end of the bag.To open the bag, run thecar the final 70mm to theend of the bag, letting thetracks come undone,opening the bag. Parrel Beads
Neil Pryde provides this system for the cruising sailor who wishes to use a cruising asymmetric spinnaker with their genoa in it’s furled state.The Nylon balls are threaded onto a wire strop and the entire system is then wrapped around thefurled genoa to form a controlling collar.The snap shackle at the tack of the spanker is fastened through the eyes at the end of the strop.The whole procedure allows the spinaker to be attached around the forestay for maximumcontrol while still allowing the tack height to be adjusted. (figure 12 on following page)