Intro and a couple of questions

[Vincent]

Go to the old seadog vlog on YouTube. He has a double ended main sheet system. His boat is not a Dory, but he seems to like the system. The downside is finding the episode s where he talks about it, but if you are willing to wait, post a gyration, he will eventually respond.

[Steve Laume]

I had a symmetrical spinnaker on Raven for a few years. It was a little large for her and a good bit of work to set up while single handing. A sock was a critical component, as I believe it is for any large down wind sail, while single handing. I didn't fly it very often but it pulled like crazy when I did.

I then purchased a half once, asymmetrical and it is much easier to fly. It is a pretty light sial so it is limited in the wind range I feel comfortable with it. It also has a sock. I usually only ever rig one sheet as I don't plan to jib much when it is set. I also have a second set of sheet winches in the cockpit that always seem to come in handy when flying a down wind sail. I bring the tack line all the way back to a winch so I can control the tack from the cockpit and not just blow the thing when I plan to douse the sail.

The downwind sail I find most useful if a big, wire luffed, drifter that I fly in the same manner as the asymmetrical. It handles a greater range of wind angles and velocities. If I was only going to have one free flying sail, this would be my choice. It points very high and can still give you a big boost at fairly deep angles.

I would also like to have a, smaller, 1.5 once spinnaker to fly when the winds are a bit higher and behind me. The cutter rig suffers when sailing deep down wind.

Flying any of these sails while single handing is just a matter of taking your time and having enough room to deal with it before something hard gets in the way. You also need a reliable way to have the boat steer herself, Steve.

[Joe Myerson]

Hi Pat,

I'm not familiar with the double mainsheet, but I singlehanded my 25D almost all the time. I don't fly any drifter or spinnaker, but that's largely because I sail mostly in Buzzards Bay, where it's not easy to sail for a long tack without "something hard getting in the way," to quote Steve. CDs are very different from J24s. They are solid, high-displacement boats that can take almost any kind of blow--but they are not anything like a J in terms of speed.

If you have any questions about Cape Dory boats, this is the place to ask them. Things are slow on the bulletin board right now, but they will usually pick up as spring approaches.

Best of luck with your new boat,

Joe