Hi all,
I just switched my spinnaker launching system to a forward hatch
arrangement. We used it for the first time on Sunday and I have a few
questions:
1) Do you lead your sheets and halyard so that it would launch under
the foot of a jib or around the jib's leech? We did windward sets but
that's the best way to describe the how the sheets and halyard are
led while the chute is in the launch bag. Leading it under the foot
seemed to make the most sense, especially when using a Genoa because
we ended up taking it down on the starboard side while the Genoa was
up and reaching the chute from behind the leech of the Genoa seemed
too difficult.
2) Where do you clip the spinnaker halyard to keep it out of the way
and what do you use to clip it? I got a SOAK clip and noticed that
the Genoa constantly unclipped the halyard from the toe rail while
tacking. It didn't seem to create too bad a problem but it was a
nuisance.
3) Do you put the pole up before launching the spinnaker or do you do
it "dinghy style"- bear away hard, raise it, then fly it like a kite
for a few seconds while your foredeck crew puts the pole up.
4) How soon does your foredeck close the hatch after launch? We had a
problem during one set and it was fun to dance around that gaping
hole in the deck while getting the kite flying.
5) How critical is it to use a headstay foil for your headsails? I
haven't retrofitted it yet and I'm worried about the spinnaker
tearing on those hanks...
thanks
Bryan
