Position of Spinnaker Cheek Blocks

There is no right or wrong position for the cheek block. A lot depends on how you sail with the spinnaker, how your jib is rigged, how much $$ you want to spend and if you race or day sail. My boat 3512 has the old fashioned Harken ratchet cheeks blocks for the jib so it was natural to put the spinnaker cheek ratchet blocks next to, outboard of, and as close as possible to the the jib block in order to leave the maximum amount of free space on deck for sitting. Both the jib cleat and the spinnaker cleat are mounted next to each other on the coaming so that the rope leaving the block is athwarthships. The spinnaker blocks are directly screwed to the deck with self tapping long pan head satinless steel screws. Be sure to chamfer the screw hole to avoid gel coat cracking. In racing I find this arrangement very handy as both the skipper and crew can reach these ropes very conveniently, and I often sail with a crew who has very little or no experience and I end up handling the lines quite a lot. This position also lets the skipper jibe the boat in the following way. The crew gets ready hooking and unhooking the sheet and guy at the chainplate. The skipper stands in the boat straddling the tiller and steering with the knees and holding onto both spinnaker lines, one in each hand. As the skipper turns the boat with the knees guiding the tiller, the crew swings the main to the other side and the skipper juggles the sheets trying to keep the spinnaker full. The crew resets the pole on the correct side. There are other set ups to suit other folks. I hope this helps FS 3512