Hey Bryan,

1) We set up for a leeward bear-away set, with the kite coming out from under the foot of the jib. (Unless we're sure we're going to gybe-set at the next rounding.) For most buoy racing, this means starboard pole, with the kite coming out to leeward on the port side of the boat. On the douse, no matter what else is happening, we try to get the kite down on the side we'd like it to go up on. The only time this doesn't happen is when we are forced to douse while pole to fore-stay reaching; then we douse it to leeward under the jib. On the next set, some one will grab the ball of kite from the bag, walk it up to the bow and throw it around the fore-stay as someone else hoists. (this is also how we gybe-set if we aren't set up for it.)

2) We have a snap shackle on the tow rail forward of the hatch. It has a string tied to it's pull that is led to the weather rail. If the douse it hectic, it often doesn't get clipped.

3) If we enough time on the layline before the rounding, we'll get the pole up ahead of time, if not, we'll go kite, then pole.

4) As soon as the #1 is down, and just before taking the #3 down. Falling in the hole hurts.

5) It depends how clean your douse is. It should only be a concern doing a weather douse. If the kite is unloaded, it'll be fine. If the trimmer doesn't let the sheet off, or you are reaching into the mark, the kite will tear.

Hope that helps, Patrick

:: 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