UK Sailmakers Cruising Spinnaker Tips
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UK Sailmakers' Tips to Setting Up & Handing the Cruising Spinnaker The UK Sailmakers cruising spinnaker adds great versatility to your sail inventory to say nothing of making your hours on the water much more enjoyable. This brochure will cover setting up your Flasher, raising and dousing the chute, and trimming your sail. THE EQUIPMENT LIST The UK cruising spinnaker requires much less equipment to fly than a standard symmetrical racing spinnaker. SPINNAKER HALYARD: This halyard is different than a jib halyard since it either exits the mast above the forestay, or it leads to a block outside the forestay (See Diagram Below). A TACK PENDANT: The tack pendant length can vary. The simplest set up is to tie the pendant to the stem fitting so that the tack of the chute is about four feet off the deck. For those who like to tweak their sail trim, the pendant must be long enough to reach a winch in the cockpit. A TACK HOOK OR COLLAR: Either of these helps stablize the sail, while letting the sail rotate from side to side. If you have a wire headstay, just connect the tack hook to the headstay. A Dacron collar is necessary if you are using a roller furling genoa or have a grooved headstay system. The collar reduces chafe by distributing the sideways load (See photo below). SHEETS: The sheets should be about twice the length of the boat. Any diameter line will be strong enough, so choose one that is wide enough to be comfortable to handle, yet light enough for good light air performance. If you are going to be trimming the sail with a self-tailing winch, make sure that the line is wide enough for the self-tailer. TWO SHEET BLOCKS: These blocks can be snatch blocks, fiddle blocks, or any other type of block. Attach them to the aft corners of the boat. A STASHER: The optional Stasher (dousing sock) allows you to raise and lower the sail in complete control. The Stasher is a sleeve that contains the sail as it is hoisted, sets it free when you’re ready, and encases the chute when it’s time to douse. INSTALLING THE STASHER Your cruising spinnaker only has to be installed in the Stasher once. After that the sail/sock combo stays together, whether in use or in the bag. To install the cruising spinnaker in the sock, lay it out in a clean open space with the head at one end and the tack and clew at the other. Reach through the top of the Stasher and pull the rest of the sock around your arm. Connect the head of the sail to the shackle at the bottom of the wire pendant. Next, have a second person pull the bottom of the sock down until the sail is encased. The diagram to the right shows the cruising spinnaker installed and ready for use. Be careful not to twist the sail as you pull it through the sleeve. Once the cruising spinnaker has been installed in the dousing sock, stuff the package into the sail bag. To facilitate raising the sail, pack the bag as follows: Grab the sock four feet from the bottom and put it into the bottom of the bag. Working your way up, stuff the rest of the sail/sock combo into the bag. When you are finished the tack and the clew of the sail as well as the head of the Stasher should be at the top of the bag. With the three corners accessable you will have an easy time hooking up and hoisting the sail. Spinnaker halyard attaches to upper eye of wire pendant Sail’s head shackled to lower eye of wire pendant External sleeve for dousing sock halyard prevents spinnaker from tangling with the halyard. Dousing Sock halyard. Use either end of the continuous line. Tack Collar and tack line (green) Optional Collar Webbed to Tack Optional Tack Hook Tack Tack Pendant Spliced to T ack

SET UP AND HOIST First things first. Clip the spinnaker bag to the deck or lifelines on the side of the boat from which the sail will be flying. Many sail bags have been lost overboard by not taking this first step! • Cleat or tie the tack pendant so that the tack will be about four feet off the deck when the halyard is raised. • Pass the tack collar around your head-stay and clip the hook to the O-ring, (Note: Your genoa must be lowered or roller-furled at this point.) The collar holds the tack of the sail forward while the pendant hold the tack down, • Run the leeward sheet from the...