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Went out for the maiden voyage in a Hartley Wayfarer.
Many in our club seem to be having trouble with raising an dropping (especially) the spinnaker.
Can anyone list a step by step guide of a technique they have found successful in using the spinnaker on a Mk 4 please.
I also asked in a previous post about an idiots guide to the changes to the 2009 -12 racing rules. The RYA have now produced a slide show with diagrams available on their website. Trust this helps some.
I think that the difficulty comes in the drop because the helm has to use both hands for the retrieval and therefore cannot control the spinnaker sheet during the drop. This increases the danger of the spinnaker dropping over the bow. I have crewed a Mk IV a few times and have kept control of the spinnaker by holding onto the sheet at the same time as releasing the pole, whilst the helm pulls the sail in. The crew can therefore safely control the sail until most of it is stowed.
Hoisting is more straightforward; but care must be taken when attaching the pole so that the sail is not pulled out of the chute before it is hoisted.
Does the crew effectively collapse spinnaker by collecting the foot while helm lowers?
I originally thought with a spinnaker shute the helm simply pulled it down when spinnaker is flying but friction takes over and it difficult/impossible.
sEcond question how much slack do you have on on the uphaul/downhaul ?
step by step guide for both crew and hem would be useful.
eg
1. Helm takes downhaul in hand and releases halyard uphaul cleat while also holding uphaul2.?crew /hem?????
Use the sheet and the pole to hold up the foot of the spi by leaving the pole in till the spi is on its way into the chute.
When your lowering the the spi, pull back the pole and the sheet so the foot is held up against the forestay, not hard but tort.
Then the halyard is released and the downhaul pulled into the chute with the spi following.The spi is then in half and going down the chute.
When it is about to pull against the clews at the pole end and tort sheet, release both sheet and guy, through the pole which is still in position and feed sheet and guy till most of the spi is in the chute.
NOW! take out the pole.
Think people are taking the pole out too soon, leave it much longer than before and use it to hold the spi up and out of the water. I Think!!
Two points to think about and maybe try,
Can the crew pull down the spi instead of the helm ?? RS 200/400 way? Helm holds the sheet and then releases it at right time, then releases the guy through the pole.
Crew then stowes the pole after ?How about a double patch system for the downhaul, RS 200 again??
C P 😕
Thanks for answers.
Jane being the helm found friction too much simply trying to pull it down while it was still flying I had heard about leaving pole in until last but friction was too much for Jane as leaving pole in keeps the spinnaker flying unless crew pull the pole back and crew start to pull down on the foot . The only way we found worked in our inexperience was for crew to collapsed the spinaker and pull it down as if to go into a bag as in a wooden wayfarer then Jane could pull it in easy and sail foot just slipped along the deck to the chute. Rather than re-invent the wheel I am hoping someone can advise in a step by step idiots guide how they do it.
Does anyone still put a bent bit of tubing projecting from the bow to prevent the spinnaker sheet from falling under the boat or is it not necessary on a Mk4?
I have marked the sheet at the point at the cleat to ensure it doesn’t quite reach the bow and have piece of shock cord protruding from the bow .
I or the crew start pulling the spi into the shute before releasing the pole height control .
Crew detaches pole from mast and stows on boom .
Crew or I pull in rest of spi .
I release pole height control and guy detached from pole and pole stowed on boom .
A few inches of spi is round front of jib and that is corrected at a convenient moment up the next beat .
BUT MIKE MAC’S ADVICE AT SHOPEHAM …GO BACK TO BAGS !!!!
Sail Free, You talk about all this friction where is it,in what ??
When are you letting the halyard go ? Does the spi not drop down when you uncleat the halyard ?
Do you take up the slack in the downhaul before you let off the halyard?Al, why are you bothering with the pole height just too stow it or is it the only way to lower the spi into the chute ?
C P 😕
Colin Parkstone wrote:Sail Free, You talk about all this friction where is it,in what ??When are you letting the halyard go ? Does the spi not drop down when you uncleat the halyard ?
Do you take up the slack in the downhaul before you let off the halyard?Al, why are you bothering with the pole height just too stow it or is it the only way to lower the spi into the chute ?
C P 😕
Colin – we did have limited experience on our one excursion last Saturday but the spinnaker seemed to want to keep flying against a taught downhaul and not collapse – hence my question.
Just seen a photo of Michael Macs boat and notice that he has gone back to using spinnaker bags and not using the chute at all!
Obviously its all not so easy as some think!
Interested in others replies especially from experience racers that do use the spinnaker shute
We keep the pole height high for as long as poss – if we release it it drops down to fore deck level and the spi blows over the front of the boat .
Al, Sounds like you need a stopper knot in the uphaul system to stop it when level with boom.
But then you would know that so you must have your reasons ?CP 😕
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