Spinnaker sailing!

[aemilia3]

Hello Bob,

I was out for a week of sailing, so therefore a late reply. Aemilia came with a fairly simple bracket which was mounted using the most aft two deck/hull bolts. I think this was a kind of standard feature back in 1976. However, next time I'll make a photo of it, since I reckon it's quite easy to install on any Ballad. The forward sheets is on a block on my genoa track. Normally I use this for my luff spinnaker sheet and I use my primary winches to trim those. Most loads are on the luff sheet when I use the spinnaker for close reaching. if it's blowing harder then, let's say 13-14 knots, you won't need a spinnaker in those circumstances anyway. A regular genoa will be sufficient in those conditions. On Aemilia's mast there are brackets installed for a jockey pole. However I never had one and I didn't felt I need one anyway.

Best regards,

Frans - Aemilia III
http://www.aemilia.org

[Bob McGovern]

Thanks so much, Frans. Hope you had a good week of sailing. Some photos of you enjoying yourselves would help those us us who are still getting snowed on.... Ours is an old Ballad -- 1972, no bronze nameplate, but an ancient Genoa carries the number 18 (?). It must have shipped from the factory in basic trim -- very little deck hardware, although someone did add secondary coaming winches. And the previous owners seldom or never raced it. So we are beginning from scratch regards advanced sail handling hardware & ideas.

I was browsing the ballad.de slide shows, and two things about spinnakers jumped out: Ballad sailors (or at least top racers) seem to use the spinnaker on the reaching leg, even at very high angles:



And the kite used by Strolch and Fliegender Stern looks even bigger (wider 'shoulders') than usual!


"Strolch" - Albin Ballad by winchman2010, on Flickr

Is that the extra-large spinnaker you mentioned?

[aemilia3]

shapeimage_1-1.png (74.37 KiB) Viewed 17867 times

Hello Bob,
I made a very short update on my website including a short movie of our trip last week. Although we didn't see any snow, it was quite cold! Often we saw daytime temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius.
Judging from the photo's you shared, the spinakers looks like the standard class spinnakers to me, indeed sailing in very high angles. In light winds this can be done quite effectively. I did that as well in some occasions. But as soon as it starts blowing a little bit more then 10 knots, it doesn't make much sense, as far as I have experienced. It also depends a little bit on the shape and the cloth weight of you spinnaker. Flat spinnakers can be used a bit longer, but since most spinnakers out there are made for allround purposes, they have generally quite a deep shape.

Frans - Aemilia III
http://www.aemilia.org

[Liese]

Just a short note regarding the 2 german Ballads 'Strolch' and 'Fliegender Stern'.
Both of them are active in race sailing and I asked them about the Spinnaker.

• both Spinnakers are according class rule
• Strolch is sailing an additional one , with a more flat cut (assuming reduced shoulder width) at 1,5 oz for extreme reaching (depending on wind speed up to 55° AWA)
• According the Skipper of Strolch, the Ballad can have more sail area (than other classes) on reaching legs at higher angles.
• The high angle/reaching leg with 'Fliegender Stern' has been taken at a relative short leg to cross the main waterway during Kiel - Eckernförde Welcome Race 2012.
• There was a protest after the race against 'Fliegender Stern' because according YARDSTICK System it is not allowed to use Genoa I & Spi at a time. Fortunately the Ballads are racing according Ballad One Design Rule and in fact it is allowed at a One Design Ballad Event (like it is at the Welcome Race)

Have a good season all,
and do not forget to register for this years WELCOME RACE 2013 at Kiel !
Jörg
Ballad.de

[Bob McGovern]

Yowza, that's a big sail. Thanks, Joerg. I have little spinnaker experience (they were never used where I learned to sail as a child, considered radical and dangerous), and our recent spinnaker trials have been on boats with little or no ballast. Small fractional spinnakers -- 150 and 250 sqft.




The first time we hoist the kite on the Ballad, we will be terrified at its size! Hopefully we can bring an experienced racing sailor out for a few days to teach us good sail handling. The big genoas do not worry me, they are manageable. We will need to become comfortable with the spinnaker, or change to a cruising asym arrangement. Much of our traveling will be two of us, and my partner is just learning to sail.

Best of luck with the Welcome Race & please post updates on this site!

[aemilia3]

Hi Bob,

As promised enclosed the detail of the spinnaker blocks setup on Aemilia. As she is a 1976 Ballad, I think this was pretty much the standard on any Ballad in those years. Not very difficult to copy, however.

Best regards,
Frans - Aemilia III
http://www.aemilia.org

[Bob McGovern]

Outstanding help! Thank you for those photos. It makes sense that such a big sail would need full-on chainplates for the turning blocks, which must see upwards of 1500kg force on a reach. Our 1972 Ballad has no such plates. (Presumably the spinnaker block was on the toerail track?) We will probably double-end our chainplates, so they may be used to tow a storm drogue. Next question is whether the secondary winches (Enkes) can be rebuilt. We're thinking about moving those to the coachroof, moving the big Lewmar 40s back for the spinnaker, then adding some self-tailers for the primaries.