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