I'm still coming to grips with genniker handling. Can anybody advise on the following? I race around cans on a river which means that the sailing angles are very varied, depending on wind direction.
Coming off a beat onto a close reach, I would ideally like to fly the genniker to get past them pesky Wayfarers, but my crew struggles to get it fully hoisted up the last metre or so, even when flapping. I suspect it is simply down to too much loading when the boat is going to windward. In these conditions I don't really afford to bear away as I lose ground (and may sail into a foul tide.)
The only real way to hoist/drop is when you bear away into the hoist /drop zone (main blanketing the spinnaker on a run)so that it is not powered up......other wise two thing happen, you can't hoist it fully and you fall over. You need a quick hoist then into the power zone which unfortunatley is not upwind as you will slow down, apparent wind moves aft and the sideways forces means that swimming follows......
Don't know where you sail but if you are going to use the spinnaker on the Stratos racing I think you really need some wind and room to make using it worthwhile.......i.e. are you getting enough speed to compensate for the extra distance sailed. Unlike a full performance boat as the Stratos is heavy it takes some wind to really make a significant difference...however my view is if its worth getting the spinnaker up go for it as it adds to the fun factor ! With a conventional spinnaker the Wayfarers will be able to sail deeper downwind.
In the right conditions the spinnaker makes for a fun thrilled ride but ideally you should be going past the wayfarers on a beat if you work the boat. I take it this is on a triangular course ? There are other more succesful racers than me who might have better tips for racing but upwind get the boat set up right (enough kicker to stop the top of the main twisting off as it tends to do), hike hard and get in front of those Wayferers !
I'm with Neil... Hoisting the spineka on the stratos can often be more trouble that it is worth! The boat does like close reaching, so you are often better off focusing on your trim, keeping her flat and trimming the main correctly. The wayfarers will also get a bit upset when you have to bear away ontop of them when the kite overpowers! Jason
Genniker
Posted - 15 May 2009 : 16:26:39
