Practical | Spinnaker handling CONTROL OF THE SPINNAKER IS KEY. ESSENTIALLY YOU WANT TO KEEP IT OVER THE BOAT sail will unwrap itself; it won’t. If the problem but, if it does occur, ease the wrap is high up, ease the halyard halyard and bring the sail back down, a few feet to give the swivel at the untwist (this might be easiest by head of the sail room to untwist. flipping the head round, rather than To prevent a wrap in the first place, swapping the clews over) and rehoist. keep an eye out for the luff of the sail starting to fold in. Head up a PROBLEM SOLVING little before it tries to furl around the Concentrating on the spinnaker forestay. You can set an anti-wrap net is key at all times. Essentially you between the forestay and the mast want to keep the boat underneath (as mentioned in last month’s issue), the sail. If you allow the spinnaker or set a scrap of headsail. Unfurl a to hang too much off to one side little and sheet it off to the centre of or the other you are inviting the boat. This will act like an anti- trouble. Using tweakers to lead the wrap net and prevent the spinnaker spinnaker sheet inboard can help from curling round the forestay. to improve shape and alignment. Another thing to watch for is a fouled halyard on hoisting. Often the spinnaker halyard goes through a block at the top of the mast. Preventer Check that the halyard is clear to Set a preventer for the main run before hoisting, and hoist the from the end of the boom before setting out. Take it along the spinnaker behind the headsail. boom to the vang/kicker and If when you hoist the spinnaker store it here, so it is ready to set. behind the headsail you notice the Take the free end to a cleat on kite is wrapped on itself, this has the bow and back to the cockpit happened because the clews have to secure, or try a boom brake - been mixed up, probably in the bag. see February issue for our test. In an ideal world, good seamanship KOSPICTURES.COM would mean you wouldn’t have this TROUBLE CHUTING IN THE SECOND PART OF OUR SERIES ON TAKING THE FEAR OUT OF SPINNAKERS, DUNCAN WELLS ADVISES HOW TO AVOID AND RESOLVE COMMON PROBLEMS hen flying cause a wrap. Or, if you are sailing l FACING PAGE If that doesn’t unwrap it, gybe Rolling out a small the kite, you too directly downwind, air coming amount of headsail Size matters the main over and again sail low. particularly off the front of the mainsail can can stop the spinnaker Now air coming off the front of from wrapping It is worth considering that while want to avoid blow the spinnaker through the round the forestay a spinnaker on a 30ft (9m) boat the main will hit the wrapped a spinnaker fore triangle and cause a wrap. might be quite manageable for spinnaker from the other side wrap, a a couple, on a 35ft (10.6m) boat and it should unwrap itself. Then Wbroach and a Chinese gybe. UNWRAPPING WRAPS it might be half as big again. On gybe back onto the original tack Spinnakers can wrap themselves There are a number of things you a 45ft (13.7m) boat it will be and try not to sail too low again. round the forestay for a number can do to unwrap a spinnaker. First, nearly 2.5 times the size and on If the wrap is low in the sail, of reasons. They can wrap when try sailing slightly by the lee, being a 60ft boat about four times the release the halyard, lower the sail being set – if you don’t raise them careful not to go past the gybe point, size. And that’s quite a different and see if you can unwrap it by hand. behind the headsail, and sometimes and see if wind from the wrong matter for a couple to handle. Don’t bring the pole back or head even if you do. A gust of wind can side will unwrap the spinnaker. up to windward in the hope that the DUNCAN WELLS 68 DECEMBER 2016 sailingtoday.co.uk sailingtoday.co.uk DECEMBER 2016 69 Practical | Spinnaker handling Broach AVOIDING A BROACH the sail) try this: sail downwind so To stop the boat heeling to leeward, the spinnaker will fly forward of the depower both the spinnaker, by boat and then send a crew member easing the sheet, and the main, by up the mast with a line. Attach releasing the kicker and possibly this to the head of the sail and lead easing the main sheet. The sails are the end down to a block on deck overpowered and you need to dump and back to the cockpit. Haul on some wind. It is possible to anticipate this line to bring the sail down as a broach – you’ll feel a lack of grip you ease the halyard and the crew on the rudder. As the boat starts to gather the sail onto the foredeck. heel to leeward, release the kicker and ease the main sheet. This may well ASYMMETRICS/ wind bring the boat upright again, in which CRUISING CHUTES CALISTA PAXTON case you can put the kicker on and You can get the same issues when l With too much power in the l Less rudder control, more l The boat rounds up to windward and lies harden the sheet. If it doesn’t bring using cruising chutes but to a spinnaker, the boat heels to leeward heel and loss of steering follow with the mast to leeward, sail in the water the boat upright, ease the spinnaker lesser degree. You should apply sheet until you do reach vertical and the same principles and care as for then set up your trim again. If you symmetrical spinnakers. Chinese gybe feel the boat wanting to broach, you might well have too much sail up and might want to consider dropping the ABOUT THE AUTHOR spinnaker, putting a reef in the main Duncan Wells is principal of and setting a reefed genoa instead. westviewsailing.co.uk, author CARTHY C of Stress Free Sailing and creator AVOIDING A JOE M of moblifesavers.com CHINESE GYBE To stop the boat leaning to windward, you need again to depower the depower the spinnaker by releasing 25 spinnaker, this time by easing the the halyard. Make sure you maintain sheet and also easing the guy so the the tension on the sheets at this point. NEXT pole goes forward. Then to flatten After the boat rights itself get the MONTH wind the main, pull the kicker on, halyard crew to recover the spinnaker, easing Setting up windvane tight and outhaul tight – the aim is to halyard and sheets as they do. steering open the leech and spill wind until the On sale 25 November l Side-to-side ‘death roll’ l The roll increases, the l The boat is flattened on the water starts when the main traps rudder loses grip and the boat and the boom, momentarily held aloft, boat is upright again. Then re-trim. RECLAIMING A FREE- DUNCAN WELLS too much air aloft heels too far to windward comes crashing down with force Overall, you should aim to FLYING SPINNAKER keep the spinnaker flying over If you end up with the sheet and Watch out for chafe the boat, rather than letting it the guy running free and the You might imagine that ropes will chafe against each other or against BROACH will start to roll because the go to one side or the other. spinnaker trailing out above you stainless steel wire but you might not consider that metal on metal, THANKS TO: This happens when there is too mainsail is trapping too much air at the mast head attached by just Universal Yachting shackles and fittings, will chafe too. Reduce rope chafe by leading lines much power in the spinnaker and aloft; probably the kicker is off, RECOVERING FROM A the halyard (it can happen as lines RYA sailing school carefully to avoid as much contact with anything else as possible. And the mainsail, and the spinnaker which allows twist in the sail. BROACH OR GYBE get snatched out of hands and it is and yacht charter on you can eliminate chafe on metal shackles by using ‘soft’ shackles, l BELOW 01243 687274 and wanders off to leeward. This will As the boat rolls, so the spinnaker Recovering a free- If you’ve been caught out and haven’t why you should never put stopper universalyachting. made from Dyneema. They are just as strong as metal shackles and introduce leeward heel. Less of the moves from side to side and with flying spinnaker managed to get out of the situation knots on spinnaker sheets and guys, com for the loan yet they are soft to the touch and won’t rub against other fittings. will mean sending of their Beneteau rudder is in the water and you lose each roll it moves its centre of effort someone up the mast in time and the boat is on its side, because you might want to dump Oceanis 37 Splash steering control. So the boat heels further outboard. This is a ‘death more until you have no rudder roll’. The roll increases, the rudder control at all and the boat rounds has no grip and eventually the boat up to windward.