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Blog EntryApr 20, '09 8:44 AM
by Cameron for everyone

Dear All,

We have just binned our old spinnaker and will soon take delivery of a new cruising chute, which will hopefully be easier to manage. 

We will run the tack line back to one of the mast winches, probably the one for the genoa halyard as that will not be used if the cruising chute is up and we only have one winch on each side of the cockpit.

Has anyone had any experience of attaching the block to the bow.  The further aft of the two is used for the jacklines, and the other has the shackle for the genoas.

1) Is it feasible to attach the block to the pulpit?  This would allow the foot to be further forward, but might be too much for it.

2) Is it worth attaching a strop to fit between the jacklines or under the genoa shackle?  This would raise the foot of the sail, but not really help it move forward.

Regards,

Cameron

Cracklin Rosie, #73


mcguines wrote on Apr 21, '09
Cameron.
This is just an off-the-cuff thought, but would it be possible to use the bow roller for the tack line??
Regards Eamonn

Andiamo, #142
crosie wrote on Apr 21, '09
Eamonn,

Thanks for the thought. Unfortunately our bow roller is not very well attached, and the three bolts that are holding it in place are corroded and slightly loose. This is a project that is in progress (well I have talked to the local boatbuilder about it) but is rather awkward and may take a while. Even if it is fixed, I am not sure that it is designed to handle the required vertical loads.

My current thinking is towards using a small strop and using the same attachment as the genoa. It would not overload it because the two would not be in use at the same time.

Regards,

Cameron
jocotton wrote on Apr 21, '09
Having used a cruising chute, from Elvstrøm Sobstad, for two seasons, I have the following comments:
First season I used a sheave snap-shackled to the bow roller bracket and a tackline from the sail, round the sheave and back to one of the clutches on the cabin top. Experience showed that 1) the load on the tackline was often too much to handle easily, (therefore I wouldn't reccommend attaching the tackline to the pulpit) and 2) the sail could handle much greater wind angles if the tack was forward of the bow. Experiments with the spinnaker boom were fun, but the temporariness of the setup wasn't satisfactory.
So for season two I invested in a bowsprit kit from Selden. Vast improvement. (Visit Selden's website for a description). Tackline runs from the bowsprit up to a sheave snap-shackled onto the sail tack and back down and through the hollow bowsprit, ie. a 2:1 purchase, and thence to a clutch on the cabin top. Load is now handleable even with wind speeds enough to provide hull-speed. Trimming the sail using tackline, halyard and sheet, depending on wind direction and windspeed, is necessary for optimum performance.
Other observations: A cruising chute makes broad-reaching and running much easier compared to a spinnaker. Therefore it gets used more often!
Running dead downwind is not possible, but the extended bowsprit gets close.
My sail has a snuffer and sock, which enable single-handed hoisting and lowering. (Autopilot essential). Depowering the sail with the snuffer needs significant strength if the wind gets up to reefing strength.
Ny boat still under wraps, (snow only just gone), but I'll take and post pictures later.
Have a good season!
'Josin' John

crosie wrote on Apr 22, '09
John,
Many thanks for the great response. I used to think that bowsprits etc were only for extreme boats, but having recently started club racing I am daydreaming about how to go faster. However, perhaps it is better to learn to walk before running, so we shall try attaching the tack to the genoa fitting, which is just inside the forestay. We dont have a roller furling genoa, so even though the forestay will be close to the luff of the sail, I hope that it wont interfere with airflow too much.
Regards,
Cameron
jocotton wrote on Apr 22, '09
I would suggest that as a starter, you use a short pennant, between the tack of the sail and the deck fitting, to lift the tack above the pulpit, instead of having an adjustable tackline. This will allow your beautiful, new cruisng chute to fill better, and still allow trimming with the halyard, without things getting too complicated.
Good luck
'Josin' John
patentnick wrote on Apr 22, '09
Hi Cameron:

I've been using a gennaker for a number of years, ever since I decided to substitute the No.1 Genoa on my roller with a No.3 I agree with John that the forces on the tack can be considerable, especially since my gennaker is cut of a heavier fabric and has a spectra luff which allows for higher halyard tension. Hence the sail can be used a tighter reaching angles. I've heard that the Selden bowsprit works well and I'm glad John confirms that. On the other hand, I have a solid anchor platform with twin rollers which would make a bowsprit difficult to install. Instead, I've welded an inverted U-bolt to the main bow roller under which I've mounted two struts and a short bobstay, so there's plenty of support. I shackle a snatch (or regular) block to the inverted U-bolt, pass the tack line through it and lead it to the cockpit through a second series of stanchion-mounted leads (similar to the ones they use for roller genoas). The whole thing works well, although obviously a bowsprit would allow you to use the gennaker even further from the bow. This year I'm toying with the idea of buying a gennaker furler which makes using the sail a snatch. Like most nice things, it aint' cheap. I can't find a way to post a photo of the tack arrangement. If you need it in a hurry, send an e-mail to: nicholas@thesyndicate.gr

Nicholas
Moments of Clarity #334
balladalert wrote on May 1, '09
Hello Cameron

I attach the tack of the cruising chute to the bow roller and nothing has given way yet though I do have some anxieties! I take the sheet to a block at the stern and then to the genoa winch or sometimes to the halyard winch on the cabin roof by the companion way. The sail adds at least one knot on a broad reach but I do not use it in strong winds and it does not work on a dead run. I use a snuffer to make setting and getting rid of the sail easier. Anyone had experience with parachute type spinnakers that are said not to require a pole and can be used directly down wind?

David
baludick wrote on May 28, '09
The bolt that holds the nylon sheath in the bow roller on Balu has a ring-nut welded onto its head. I lead the tack-line for my cruising shute through the ring. I have used the cruising shute on a dead run goose-winged with the main gybed on the other tack after launching the shute. Goes like a bomb in Force 4 to 5. If the boat starts rolling too much and collapsing the shute, sheet in the main a bit so that it directs wind into the shute at a bit of an angle to steady it. Not quite as powerful as a spinnaker but not bad.

Dick
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