Spinnakers
A run through the gear and preparation required for
spinnakers.
Spinnakers often stay buried in the forecabin of cruising
boats; eyed with distrust and sometimes fear. However, they
can bring a light wind passage to life and often save you
from resorting to the engine.
Contrary to popular opinion spinnakers are pretty
straightforward and they get easier to handle the more you
use them.
As with many things the key to using spinnakers lies in
preparation - setting up the gear correctly in the first
place will result in a more pleasant spinnaker experience.
Types of spinnaker
There are two types of spinnaker: asymmetric and
symmetric.
Asymmetric spinnakers are flown from a bowsprit fitted to
the bow of the boat, whereas symmetric spinnakers use a pole
fitted to the front of the mast and the symmetry refers to
their shape.
Similar to a conventional sail, a spinnaker has three
corners and three sides. The corners are often labelled with
‘head’ and ‘clew’ or colour coded such as red on the
port side and green on the starboard side.
Turtles – spinnaker bags
Spinnakers are stored in and hoisted from a turtle or
spinnaker bag which has a tubular hoop sewn into the opening
to keep it fully open, allowing the sail to fly free during
the hoist. Snap hooks or ties on the outside of the turtle
are used to secure it to the guard rail, preventing it from
being lost overboard as the spinnaker is hoisted.
Check how the spinnaker has been packed before using it
for the first time. The spinnaker should be packed free of
twists otherwise it will resemble the famous ‘wine glass’
when hoisted. Spinnaker packing is best done down below out
of the wind.
Packing the spinnaker
To pack the spinnaker, run your hand along the foot,
leech and luff to separate the corners and to ensure no
twists. Tuck the head, clew and tack through the handhold on
the cabin top and then, starting from the middle of the
spinnaker, tuck it away into the turtle ensuring the edges
and corners stay separate. The turtle should have the
spinnaker inside, with head, tack and clew poking out.
Spinnaker pole
A spinnaker pole is required to hold and position the
windward edge of the spinnaker. There are two different pole
systems named according to how the spinnaker is gybed. Each
differs in the way they operate.
The spinnaker pole is connected to the mast and its
weight is supported by an uphaul and a downhaul connected to
the pole.
End-for-end poles have two bridles running from
each end. The pole uphaul attaches to the middle of the top
bridle and the pole downhaul attaches to the middle of the
bottom bridle.
On dip-poles, the uphaul and downhaul are
connected to the outer end of the pole.
The pole is usually set at right angles to the mast and
is adjusted so that it is at right angles to the wind.
Key to lines in illustration:
Red: spinnaker sheets
Blue/purple: Spinnaker guys*
Yellow: spinnaker pole downhaul
Green: spinnaker pole uphaul
*On larger yachts there are often two sheets and two guys,
one of which is in use at a time. They are called the
‘working’ or ‘lazy’ sheet or guy and make gybing the
spinnaker easier because the pole can be clipped into the
lazy lines that or not under tension.
The ‘working guy passes through the jaws of the pole.
Jaws face upwards on the spinnaker pole so that the guy can
be released and fly free when required.
Halyards, sheets and guys
A halyard hoists the spinnaker and the sheet and guy
control the sail.
The sheet trims the sail and is connected to the clew on
the leeward side. The guy adjusts the angle of attack of the
spinnaker pole and is connected to the tack after running
through the pole end.
Extra blocks are attached to the toerail near the quarter
to provide a good lead for the spinnaker sheets and another
block is attached near the beam for the spinnaker guy.
Ideally you will also have extra winches for the
spinnaker sheets and guys because initially the spinnaker is
hoisted and set with the jib still set.
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Nieuwsbrief
