jolanni said...
Hi, Performance question. Have any of the races fleet 46 has run, been with spinnaker and boats on the wing together and how did they compare? Thinking of a new deck, and one without a tube, for my own purposes. Thanks
December 28, 2009 4:57 PM
Pete said...
Fleet 46 has for many years raced with only two sails by tradition rather than any local rules. During the 2009 Invitational one of the competitors did use a chute on one downwind and one broad reach leg but against the other lead boats little advantage was gained. It should be noted that there is interest amongst the fleet to bring back our ability to launch the chutes so we can compete with other fleets which use them. Also important is the fact that Fleet 46 sails most weekends in light breezes.
December 28, 2009 9:31 PM
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3 comments:
John, I've thought about your question some more and wanted to add a bit more. The launcher seems like the neatest manner in handling the sail, versus a bag or sock on the foredeck. Bringing the chute into the crew's area of the cockpit with all the lines and cleats seems to me to be just asking for trouble, not to mention the space is already small. Having said all this I have considered eliminating the scoop on my wood boat as it will likely only race on the lake. Finally, there is some work being done in Newport with a async chute which I think is exciting and someday I hope will be on furlers and tracks or something to make handling easy.
The spin launching chute is a project requiring some way to handle/avoid water coming in the hole in the deck, some strategy to get the chute up quickly, good control lines and layouts, and a way to get the chute down without taking attention away from other things. There are many ways to do this poorly, and a bunch of ways to do it pretty well. FWIW, I am moving the spin launch/retrieve task forward to the crew area, so that the skipper can focus on steering the boat.
In almost, but not all, conditions where you would bother to fly a chute, a boat without one will not do well. Many classes do use "bag" launches, and I have had good luck with the "up and down" where the chute merely descends through the forward deck hole, makes a doubled-up 90-degree turn aft over a piece of sideways schedule-40 pipe, and stows in a turtle or long bag leading astern.
This, of course, is none of my business, as I do not and never have sailed on your lake, but, discussing, designing, and building the materials to launch a spinnaker would seem to be a good fleet-growing project.
- Marty
Fleet 57
Rockland, ME
Marty, your comments are always welcome. Hopefully, you will correct that issue of having not sailed on the lake this spring when the ice melts and I will be able to return the "jesture" there at your new fleet home in Maine.
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