Downwind sailing

[Peter Kozup]

What do you guys do to improve performance downwind? Do you sail with a spinnaker? Do you use some type of pseudo-spinnaker -- e.g., a gennaker or whatever? How tough are these to raise? I singlehand a lot and I'm sure I would constantly be creating hourglasses in the air if I was to try to do this on my own. Is there an easy way to improve downwind performance without looking like a total butthead? I have thought of trying a gennaker, but am not sure if such a sail is that much easier than a full blown spinnaker. I guess what I'm really asking is is there an easier to handle and perhaps a less expensive type of sail than a spinnaker that would allow me to sail faster and surer while on a run? Are there other ways of improving performance downwind without worrying about spinnaker type sails? Do any of you singlehand and raise and lower a spinnaker on your own, and if you do do you have any suggestions or hints and kinks for doing so for one without experience with these types of sails? Thanks for any suggestions and Fair Winds.

[Didereaux]

Peter,
The gennaker is much easier to handle than a spinnaker. In light winds>8 I raised and lowered mine on my 25 regularly(once I got over the fear , as well as figuring out which hole was which heh). I did as Carter Brey suggested and used a tack line through a block at the stemhead to control the tack height, this line ran back to the cockpit. Combined with the sheet it was a snap to fine tune.

Also realize that the Gennaker flies in front of the forestay, not behind it, and therefore you jibe the sail out forward and not as you would a jib while tacking.

Also I had good luck rigging my genoa control sheet back through a snatcgblock hung on the end of the boom, then back to the regular turning block and winch. Main was furled of course. The main adds little I found when running on a very broad reach/training run.

Just my approach to the situation for what it is worth.

[Mike Wainfeld]

An asymmetrical spinnaker with a dousing sock is the answer. Can be done singlehanded. There's been a lot of discussion on this topic so you can use the search function to get a few ideas. Search on "asyymetrical spinnaker"

[img]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sra ... 859819.jpg[/img]

[Neil Gordon]

The main adds little I found when running on a very broad reach/training run.

Depending on conditions, of course. If the main blankets the jib, the net result is it's not adding much. Go wing and wing, though, and both the jib and the main will be working. (Have you ever seen a boat racing for the America's Cup drop their main becuase it "adds little"?

[rtbates]

I've found the best thing I can do is head up a tad and speed improves all out of proportion to the extra distance sailed. Roll is reduced and apparent wind of course increases keeping the temperture down. In Texas the last part is a real help in keeping crew happy.

[Boyd]

I find sailing downwind with just the 135 is great. I have a whisker pole which helps keep the end down and fully spread out. Keep in mind that I am basically a lazy sailor and prefer very simple solutions. Besides that I never race.

Having the main up for anything past a beam reach simply puts a lot of turning force on the boat and doesnt add speed. Wing on Wing is just too hard to control and basically dangerous.

I like Randy's proposal, stay a little off the wind.


Boyd
s/v Tern
CD30 MkII
Fort Lauderdale, Fl

[Steve Laume]

Adding to the last post it is also easier to steer and less likely that you will accidentally jibe the boat. On a longer down wind run nothing beats setting the reacher on one side and winging out the boom with a preventer on the other for us. I installed a spinnaker car and track this winter and have an old spinnaker pole I want to play with this summer, Steve.

[Scott MacCready]

Speaking of a spinnaker car, today I was fooling around with my genoa with it poled out with a spinnaker pole. The ring on my mast is stationary. What is the purpose of having it on a track other than using it to store the pole vertically ala the Pardey's? Always learning, Scott

[Paul Grecay]

Many years ago I worked on a schooner. We always made better speed by heading up slightly and tacking downwind. I do the same thing in my CD 28 because I like to use the self tending jib and it really does not behave dead downwind.

[Cap'n Mike]

I have a 100 jib, 130 jib, and a symmetrical spinnaker in a sock.

One suggestion before I begin: bring along your significant other (very p.c.) if you have one. If you don't, then why? Is there something wr...whoops, getting off track, ha ha ha. I have found that my wife has a better sense of comfort level then I do. I want to sail! She wants to sail and be comfortable. She knows very quickly when the boat is over-powered. I don't mean heeled over. She can sense the power in the boat and knows when the boat could easily get out of hand while on a run.

OK. Here is what I have learned about downwind/broad reaching with different sails:

1. If you have genoa, then use it for winds up to a comfort level. Cindy, my wife, and I sailed on a deep broad reach with a full 130 genoa and double reefed main in 20 - 25 knot winds during the Watergate regatta, our first regatta. Cindy never complained about the comfort level; however, this was just about our limit. It was an exhilarating ride. We surfed twice, reaching 8 knots! So for any wind between 10 - 25 knots, I use the genoa and always sail on a deep broad reach to keep the speed up, the keel working, and the motion to a minimum

2. If the winds are less than 10 knots, then up goes the symmetrical spinnaker in a sock. Why less than 10 knots? Because I don't like going forward to do the manual labor of hoisting the spinnaker when the genoa will do just fine. However, the sock makes the spinnaker easy to hoist. I tack the spinnaker to the bow. Yes, it is a symmetrical spinnaker that I rig like an asymmetrical spinnaker. It works just fine. I got the idea from Didereaux. Also, in light winds, we can close reach. In extremely light winds, we will whisker pole the spinnaker.

3. Since Cindy and I are mostly weekenders without destinations (mostly), we just sail. We don't really go anywhere. However, if course is more important than point of sail, then I will wing-on-wing with the genoa and whisker pole.

Does this help at all? Our rule of thumb: sail for best balance of comfort level and performance with comfort level taking precedence.

[Cap'n Mike]

I have hoisted both a whisker-poled genoa and spinnakered single-handed.

For both sails, I stop the boat and lay ahull, so the sails will come out about perpendicular to the boat luffing.

For the genoa whisker-poled, I lay ahull and set the whisker pole to the length between the mast and head stay (J-dimension?). Then, I hook the whisker pole to the mast ring and hook it the genoa, while furled (make sure you hook it to the correct side so the genoa will unfurl.) I can then pull the genoa out. Yes, initially the pole is set to 100%, but I can lengthen the pole once the genoa is out. The reason I set the whisker pole like this is because the genoa will fill and pull me off the deck if I try to attach the whisker pole to the sheet. I like this method better than using the lazy sheet. It works for me.

For the spinnaker, I lay ahull and tack the spinnaker to the bow. I then attach the single sheet to the clew. Next, I attach the halyard and hoist the spinnaker in the sock. I run the sheet to the cockpit and cleat it toward the bitter end, so the spinnaker will luff once the sock is raised. Then, I go back to the bow and raise the sock. The spinnaker comes out but luffs. I return to the cockpit and trim the sheet and away we go!

The best method is "trial and stop before error." I wanted to learn how Adoryble sails with different sail combinations, but I also wanted to learn how she sits under bare poles. Once I learned how she laid ahull, I soon learned how I could raise all the sails by myself. I use this method even when raising the main - lay ahull, lash the tiller to leeward, and go raise the main with a loose main sheet.

Wow! This makes me want to go sailing!

[iropicc]

Speaking of a spinnaker car, today I was fooling around with my genoa with it poled out with a spinnaker pole. The ring on my mast is stationary. What is the purpose of having it on a track other than using it to store the pole vertically ala the Pardey's? Always learning, Scott
SCOTT, you may wish to consider this about spinnaker car movement. for symmetrical spinnaker use the two clews should remain level. "the higher the wind the higher the clews" having a spin car track on the mast allows you to move the "windward clew" up or down maintaining the pole parallel to the deck. parallel pole is another tenant of good symmetrical spinnaker deployment. you may also consider that a spin pole is usually not long enough to pole out a genoa. that is why whisker poles are extendable. good luck "down wind is a brewery's friend"

[Scott MacCready]

Iropicc,
The spinnaker pole I have is a homemade one that came with the boat. It is a fixed length made for what I believe is about a 130% genoa. With this, the fixed ring on the mast seems to be adequate. With my previous boats, I had cruising spinnakers that as you know did not require poles. So I guess the answer to my question is for what I have, i do not need a track on the mast. Thanks, Scott

[Steve Laume]

Scott and all, there were a few reasons I got a track and car instead of just a ring. First and fore most I like a good deal when I find one. There was a brand new 6' length of track and a car sitting around Boat Stuff for over a year. It was priced pretty fairly to begin with but when I mentioned to Paula that it had been there for a long time and that I was a Cape Dory owner she gave me a price that sent it home. It is only a good deal if you can use it. I have an old symmetrical spinnaker that I may some day try to fly. I also have an asymmetrical that I have used a few times last year and it seems it could benefit from being poled out at times. I also have a genoa that could be poled out. The clews of all these sails are at different hights so it would seem the pole would be set to match the sail on the track. The last and best reason I mounted a track is that I had no good idea of just where I would mount a fixed ring if I could not move it again. It kinda makes us look like a racing Cape Dory too, Steve.