Hoisting / dousing out of the front hatch is the way to go. We always got twists when hoisting out of the main hatch and there's a bigger chance of tearing kite on spreaders, etc.

We tie the sheets & halyard to the kite at the beginning of the day (no shackles on the kite, including the halyard--they catch on the headstay) and never untie it. Take down on the side you want to hoist on (generally a weather douse). Weather douse is easy on an e27--one person strips the pole, another pulls the kite down into the hatch. If we get it on the wrong side, we'll just 'dingy-hoist'--drive super deep, get the thing in the air, and then hook up the pole.

We have a bag that fits in the front hatch, so the kite isn't loose in the interior. If you don't have a bag, make sure that all screw heads, sharp corners, etc down below are well taped up.

1) Always hoist / douse under the foot of the jib. Behind the jib leads to all kinds of problems, including getting the kite sucked into the jib fairleads. The jib must be eased before you can hoist. When dousing, the foredeck has to be careful to get the jib sheets on the correct side of hatch.

2) We have small stainless snap shackles on the deck near the bow pulpit we clip the halyard to. They have remote pulls led to the weather side. In a pinch, electrical tape (to the bow pulpit) works fine--just break it when time to hoist.

3) We go pole-up first when possible, "dingy style" for gybe sets and occassionally when there is no time to get the pole up before rounding (and as mentioned above, if the kite is on the wrong side).

4) ALWAYS close the hatch immediately. I have seen serious injuries from people falling down open hatches. Foredeck person watches / helps the kite leave the hatch, then _imediately_ closes the hatch. _then_ they can help with any tangles, problems, jib douse, etc. Trying to solve problems on any foredeck with the hatch open is very dangerous.

Also, wait as long as possible before opening the hatch. It's almost the last thing we do before dousing.

Finally: train your bow team to be nice to your front hatch. That means not slamming it open, not stepping on it when it is open, and moving the sheets and halyards away from the hinges before shutting it. A little extra care here won't hurt your results and it will save you time & money!

5) We always use hanks. We've never torn a kite on them. We have, however, caught tapered sheets & halyards in them before. Make sure your hanks all work well so they shut right and don't stick part way open. New hanks are cheap and easy to install--carry spares!

Once you get the front hatch thing figured out, you won't go back to turtles or main hatch hoisting. It really does work well.

--brendan

:: 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