Tape over all protruding fittings and fixings around the bow (including the clevis pin and split ring under the roller furler fitting). The gennaker is a big sail and if it can catch on anything it will! Pass the overhand knot at the end of the tack line (at the outer end of the pole) through the eye at the tack of the sail (marked "T") and tie a half-hitch, using the overhand knot as a stopper. Ensure that the sail is not twisted: follow the luff to the head of the gennaker (marked "H"). (17) Attach it to the top end of the halyard using a bowline. Pull the gennaker up the mast slightly to give yourself some slack in the downhaul. Attach the sheets to the clew (marked "C" with bowlines or the neatest way to do this is to find the centre of the gennaker sheet and push a small loop of it through the clew cringle. Pass both the tails through this loop and pull tight. If you tie the ends together with a fisherman's knot the crew will always be able to reach the gennaker sheet. (18/19)This hitch is small and will therefore slip around the jib luff easily when gybing. Remember to thread the sheets through ratchet blocks in the correct direction. Now you have all three corners of the gennaker tied on and you can attach the downhaul. This can be tricky - and embarrassing if you get it wrong -especially if you do not notice until the first hoist or even the first gybe! A good way to remember how to connect it is to make sure that the downhaul is always behind the tack line and in front of BOTH sheets. To collapse the gennaker neatly into a short sock when dropping, the Magno utilises a three-patch system: an eye near the foot, one in the middle and a webbing loop near the head. (20) Find the webbing loop on the top patch (it is usually on the starboard side): the downhaul will come up from the other side of the sail. Untie the downhaul from where it is tied off at the chute mouth. Pull some downhaul line out of the chute (this may hoist the head slightly). Remember to bring the downhaul out behind the tack and in front of both sheets. Pass the end through the eye in the bottom patch, then through the middle patch, tie the end of the downhaul to the webbing eye on the top patch using a bowline. (21) You should now be able to pull the gennaker down into the chute, ensuring that it does not snag around the pole-end or under the bow. |