Left: As Cockpit pulls on the guy, Bow eases the clew forward around the forestay until it reaches the pole. cockpit continues to haul until the pole is a few feet aft of the forestay…
Right: Hoist the spinnaker quickly: ideally you want it to reach full-hoist before the sail fills…
The hoist
For your first few flies, leaving the headsail up during the hoist will prevent the kite from wrapping itself around the forestay. Steer the boat as square as you can without collapsing the jib behind the mainsail. A two-handed hoist requires some teamwork. One person, ‘Cockpit’, steers, and handles the lines aft; while ‘Bow’ manages the foredeck. This is how we divide the tasks on Siandra:
puts a couple of safety turns around a winch to leeward.
Bow eases the forward clew out of the spinnaker bag and tugs it towards the forestay as Cockpit
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Cockpit takes the sheet and
pulls on the guy. Together we work the clew around the front of the forestay until it reaches the pole. Cockpit continues to haul on the guy until the pole is a few feet aft of the forestay, then makes off the tail. (Note: exposed rigging pins or wire dags can rip your spinnaker during this process, so check for any nasties and bind them with electrical tape first.)
Bow eases the after clew out of the spinnaker bag. Cockpit pulls on the sheet until the clew is a few feet aft of the bag. Cockpit takes a single turn around the winch for friction and holds the tail of the sheet in readiness for the hoist. By stretching the foot out in this way before hoisting, you reduce the chances of a ‘wineglass’.
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Bow hoists the spinnaker as fast as possible – ideally, you want it to reach full hoist before the sail fills. Cockpit may need to ease the sheet to allow the hoist. (If the sail fills early, bear away a few degrees to depower the kite behind the mainsail and jib. As soon as the halyard is made off, come back up on your course.)
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Wineglass tactics If you do find yourself with a wineglass, try the following: as soon as you get the wrap, pull the sheet tight to stretch the foot, taking care not to damage the sail on the forestay. If the spinnaker is blanketed
by the other sails, steer up until it fills. If the wrap now starts to unwind, hold your course until it sets. Now bear away to resume the desired course.
If the twist remains, or
gets worse, bear away until the spinnaker is completely blanketed by the other sails. Ease the pole forward to the forestay. Stretch the foot all the way out by pulling on the sheet. Still no luck? From the
foredeck, pull down firmly on the leeward clew, tightening the leech until the wrap unwinds. If all else fails, drop the spinnaker to the deck and repack it.
The wineglass
the boat, you’ll probably find a topping-lift set up on the mast. If not, improvise with a redundant forward- going halyard. Downhaul: This goes from the outboard end or middle of the pole down to the foredeck and stops the pole from skying as the spinnaker bellies. If you don’t have one, you can easily rig one. Tie a line to the outboard end of the pole, lead it down to a turning block near the stemhead and aft to a cockpit cleat. Mast fitting for the inboard end of your pole: This will depend on what type of hardware your pole has. If there’s a track with a car-fitting on the front of your mast, slide the car down to the lowest possible position before attempting to connect the pole. Brace: If you have a furling headsail and are worried about the spinnaker pole damaging the furler, we recommend rigging a brace line to give you total control
over the pole at all times. Tie one end of the brace to the outboard end of the pole. Lead the tail outside the shrouds and aft to a stern cleat.
SETTING THE SPINNAKER Throughout the hoist, it’s important to steer in a straight line. An erratic course will destabilise the sail and make it difficult to set.
The spinnaker halyard descends from a block or sheave on the mast above the forestay. Before hoisting, double-check that your halyard is led clear of the forestay
As soon as the kite is up, ease the sheet a little and pull the pole aft by hauling on the guy, until the windward luff starts to curl. At no time should the foot be tight around the forestay. When the luff curls, tighten the sheet a little, or ease the pole forward a few degrees. Once your spinnaker is stable and drawing nicely, you can drop the headsail.
Next month: Fundamentals of spinnaker trim, and the art of dropping the kite safely.
CLASSIC BOAT JULY 2011 65
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