Spinnaker Curl

Submitted by barney on Tue, 11/01/2005 - 08:22
When talking about spinnaker set racing guides call for a 6" to 10" curl in the luff. Do they mean horizontal or vertical? I mean, if you trim the guy the luff will flop over up and down the edge, but I wanted to make sure that they did not mean the horizontal curl in the middle of the sail. barney
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Comments

Hi Barney, You are on the right track.

Submitted by wbross1 on Tue, 11/01/2005 - 13:41.
Hi Barney, You are on the right track. The spinnaker curl is to be along the luff (vertical) of the sail. Just keep trimming the sail to maintain the curl. Trim until it goes away then ease until it comes back. By doing that you will always have the chute trimmed properly. Don't let the foot of the sail get too tight either. Ease the sheets so that the sail is well off the forestay. You want the spinnaker pole up and parrallel to the water. You do that by trimmimg the topping lift and sheet (not the guy). Bill Ross, FS/5210 Commodore FSSA

Bill Ross  F/S 6020

Chairman FSSA National Championship Committee

Barney: I so often see these two principles violated in all one

Submitted by johnrmcl on Wed, 11/02/2005 - 19:36.
Barney: I so often see these two principles violated in all one design classes. The cardinal sin with the spin is to restrict it. The sail should be flown as high and free as possible. It really is a kite except when on very tight reaches (another topic as many tend to try to carry it much to close to the wind). Do maintain that curl an do keep that kite off the forestay. This takes almost fanatical attention to the sail by the person flying it and constant communication from the skipper as to the intended point of sail and tactics. If you have a 3rd on board, this person should be looking back toward the direction of the wind with running updates of wind conditions and the position of boats behind. In the absence of a 3rd, the skipper must give a good deal of attention to what is going on behind as this is where the wind is and where attacking boats are located. Cheers, John Ngulule Customflex #1554

Barney, Just keep in mind that if you carry 6" to 10" of curl t

Submitted by fs2929 on Wed, 11/09/2005 - 14:39.
Barney, Just keep in mind that if you carry 6" to 10" of curl that the sail is smaller by this amount. But, yes the only was to know the sail is not stalled is to easy the sheet until it curls, but like Bill said just pull it right back in. Use the pole to keep the clews level. As the wind lightens you must lower the pole to match the leeward clew. As wind builds rise the pole until it is above the leeward clue and then lower it to level. This insures the pole is set at maximum height. Sailing dead down wind or even sailing by the lee, the pole (guy) will be pulled all the way back (with guy in the hook). The leeward clew or sheet maybe on the forestay at this time. Dan Neff www.flyingscotracing.com
quote:
[i]Originally posted by barney[/i] [br]When talking about spinnaker set racing guides call for a 6" to 10" curl in the luff. Do they mean horizontal or vertical? I mean, if you trim the guy the luff will flop over up and down the edge, but I wanted to make sure that they did not mean the horizontal curl in the middle of the sail. barney

Daniel Neff
www.flyingscotracing.com
fs2929@optonline.net

And in order to make the chute as fast as possible by adjusting

Submitted by Hot Wheels on Thu, 11/10/2005 - 10:15.
And in order to make the chute as fast as possible by adjusting the topping lift to make the clews level, the topping lift should be led aft to the top of the centerboard trunk, not cleated up forward on the deck, as many boats are rigged. This placement of the cleat aft allows the helmsman as well as the crew to adjust it often. Imagine you are out on a day with strong enough breeze to get the Scot up on a plane with the chute flying. When a puff hits, all crew need to move aft to keep the bow from plowing, and now the topping lift would be out of reach if up forward, but still can be adjusted if it is led aft on the trunk. By being able to pull on the lift and raise the pole in a puff, as the crew moves aft, the boat takes off. It is one of the great moments in sailing, to accelerate in a puff with the chute pulling to the max because the pole is a the correct height. While your at it, move that cunningham back to the top of the trunk too, so it can be adjusted by all hands while hiked without sending someone in off the rail to pull it. And the helmsman needs to be able to ease the vang when bearing off to keep that boom from breaking at the windward mark on a windy day. If that boom is not at risk from the vang in breeze upwind, the vang isn't being tensioned enough upwind. The vang should be led aft as well.