Rigging for an Asymmetric Spinnaker

tonywright · February 22, 2010, 03:00:34 PM

This year's purchase at the boat show was a cruising spinnaker, with a very good deal offered by North Sails. (I asked three or four different companies for a quote. Only North actually ever gave me one...). So that is now on order, and I have perused the boards archived wisdom on how to rig. But I still need some help.

The options for the sheet blocks seem to be:

1) a stand-up block on the aft end of the outer track
2) an eye bolt thru the base of the pushpit, and a sheet block attached to that
3) blocks with a Dyneema straps attached to the aft cleats
4) a new padeye with stand-up blocks

The easiest of these seems to be option 1, but I would like to know if anyone has strong arguments for or against? What else would I need - cam cleats to transfer the genoa sheets to? (I don't want to get into extra winches.)

The options for the tack block seem to be

1) attaching a block to an eye bolt on the anchor roller
2) attaching to the bail on the anchor roller
3) Attaching to a pennant on the tack of the genoa on top of the furler.

I am not sure whether the anchor roller is designed to cope with the upward force of the tack, although generally I don't plan to use the spin in any weather that would likely rip it out of the deck! Thoughts on this?

On the other hand, I assume that any pennant on top of the furler has to be installed and removed for every use. Can anyone tell me what a boat equipped from the factory with cruising spi has for the tack downhaul?

I can see from the manual that I need the spinnaker crane on top of the furling mast. I will have to go the the yard to inspect mine, but I suspect that this was not standard.

Thanks for any help

Tony

Ted Pounds · February 22, 2010, 05:16:04 PM

Tony,
For the sheets I like option 3. On my boat, a MK I, I replaced one of the aft cleat bots with an eye-bolt. that was the old style, 2-bolt, Shaeffer cleat. A dyneema strap on yours would do the same thing. You do need good backing plates for your cleats of do that. I made them out of 2 inch aluminum bar stock. SS would be even better, but harder to work with. I also used becket blocks and ran bungee cord from the becket to the stern rail to keep the block from flopping around. The blocks also had snap-shackles so they could be removed when not in use.
For the tack I used a block on the anchor roller. That should be securely bolted and backed too.

Ron Hill · February 22, 2010, 06:13:59 PM

Tony : The first thing that you need to look at in a post that you are interested in is the production year of the boat's writer. All C34 are NOT the same !!

Case in point - the early boats 1986/ 87/ 88 all have a double SHORT anchor roller that is an integral part of the bow stem head stay fitting. That fixture is more than capable of holding a tack block. I'm not too sure if I would do that with a 1989 and their subsequent C34 bow roller.

On the turning blocks for the A-spinnaker sheet lines, I found the easiest way was to attach a single block to a carbiner(snap shackle) and snap it on the stern docking cleats. A few thoughts

tonywright · February 23, 2010, 02:04:49 PM

Good point Ron. The anchor roller sounds very different.

I look forward to hearing from MK II owners that fly spinnakers..

Tony

Wayne · February 23, 2010, 04:26:10 PM

I have a Mark II, which I have rigged for a cruising spinnaker. I use a couple of upright blocks on the outside track, and really like that setup. Adjustability, and no blocks banging around. I had a funky bobstay installed consisting of a long turnbuckle that is bolted onto the stem fitting (if that is the right name) and into the bottom of the anchor roller. My first setup utilized a snapshackle to attach the tack of the sail to the bail of the anchor roller. My A spin is a type of Code 0; as such I always have a tight luff (no tack line to adjust). The problem with my first setup was that the sock I used to furl my spinnaker rubbed against the rolled up jib. I used a couple of West Marine tangs (cut down and drilled a couple of new holes) to create a support that angled upward and forward to a new bail where I not shackle my tack. Works great. I'm still just typing off my jib sheets; I'll be interested to see what others are doing with theirs . . .

Wayne · February 23, 2010, 04:44:06 PM

I have a picture of the bow of my boat, I'm hopefully going to attach it now . . . fingers crossed . . .!!!

tonywright · February 24, 2010, 10:03:50 AM

Wayne

The funky bobstay looks inspired! Thanks for the photo, this helps a lot. You say you "had it installed", so this sounds like someone did this for you. Any extra details available, like did you use an eye bolt on the stem fitting (term sounds good to me!). Was all the bobstay hardware off the shelf, or any of it custom work?

Good to hear that the stand-up blocks work, this seems like the cleanest solution for a MK II.

Tony

Wayne · February 24, 2010, 05:15:03 PM

Yes, I think it is an eyebolt replacement for one of the bolts holding the stemhead fitting in place. It was done by a local boatyard with simple off-the shelf parts.

sail4dale · February 24, 2010, 07:48:01 PM

We've been flying an A-sail on True Luff for years. I had my CAt30 spinnaker re-cut for this purpose. I have been racing (cruiser style) with a tack line through a block attacked to the anchor bail and run back to a ratchet block attached to my stern cleat. I can use winch to tighten if necessary.

I use snatch blocks on cars all the way aft on my outer rail for the sheets.

I also have spin pole that we use to sail lower downwind and fly it like a conventional spinnaker with the pole out at about 30 -40 degrees. The tack line is the down haul (foreguy), the windward sheet clipped to the tack, as an after guy, and a spare halyard serving as a topping lift. With this arrangement, we can sail downwind at about 16o+ apparent. Since the tack line is led aft, we let it out as we swing down and take up on the sheet. Jibing however is a bit tricky but doable.

This gives the A-sail a greater range that it can be flown.

Tom Soko · February 25, 2010, 06:43:07 AM

Wayne and sail4dale,
If you ask the designer (Gerry Douglas), he will tell you emphatically that you should NOT attach a tack pennant to the bail on the anchor roller. It is NOT designed for those loads. You could rip the anchor roller up and off with the leverage, if the bail holds up. Yes, you can probably get away with it in relatively light air, but eventually you will have problems. Do NOT do it! It is a better idea to attach a tack pennant to something that does not extend beyond the stem fitting, and something that has a sturdy backing plate.

Wayne · February 25, 2010, 08:08:35 AM

I agree with Tom; the upward pull as the anchor roller comes from the factory is scary. I know lots of people do fly their spinnakers this way with no problems, but I feel much better with my funny little bobstay in place to give some extra support.

dbpaul · February 25, 2010, 08:27:29 AM

Quote from: Tom Soko on February 25, 2010, 06:43:07 AM
Wayne and sail4dale,
If you ask the designer (Gerry Douglas), he will tell you emphatically that you should NOT attach a tack pennant to the bail on the anchor roller. It is NOT designed for those loads. You could rip the anchor roller up and off with the leverage, if the bail holds up. Yes, you can probably get away with it in relatively light air, but eventually you will have problems. Do NOT do it! It is a better idea to attach a tack pennant to something that does not extend beyond the stem fitting, and something that has a sturdy backing plate.

Tom
Are there any pictures of the setup you are talking about?
Thanks
paulj

Rick Johnson · February 25, 2010, 10:08:38 AM

It's not perfect but I still like my tack solution. I still need to add a short length of cable that Ron Hill recommended to get the block away from the bottom of the furler, but with the spinnaker up the block is pulled forward and away from the furler. It works for me. Just an extra wide shackle and an unused hole in the stem fitting. I found some plastic spacers at the hardware store that slid onto the shackle pin to keep the shackle from shifting.

This picture is old. After this, I did bolt 2 pieces of aluminum bar to either side of the shackle to keep the shackle from pulling upwards.

Cheers,

Rick

Ron Hill · February 25, 2010, 02:50:27 PM

Guys : What Wayne and Rick have come up with are good ideas for attaching a tack line on C34/36s in 1989 and subsequent production years.
The factory bow roller of those years (was a narrow roller according to Windline) was not made to withstand an upward pull.
Wouldn't be surprised if that same bow roller wasn't used in other Catalina's like the C32 and maybe others !?!

Tom Soko · February 25, 2010, 03:19:57 PM

Paul,
For my MkI C36, I cut off the "ears" of the stbd anchor roller, removed it, and installed a URM-6 anchor roller. It is similar to the roller now installed on the MkII's, but without a bail. You don't need to replace your anchor roller, but I would suggest you do two things. First, take the anchor roller off so you can measure the holes for a backing plate. I used scrap 1/4" plate aluminum. Second, drill a hole on each vertical side of the anchor roller, near the bolts. To these holes you can attach either a single block for the tack pennant, or you can double the purchase by using a shackle at one of the holes, up to a block with a shackle for the tack of the A-chute, down to another block with a shackle at the other hole, then aft to the cockpit. Using a backing plate, and having the attachment point(s) for the pennant near the bolts, and not at the end of the anchor roller, is a much better arrangement, IMHO. The arrow in the picture below shows the hole. Hope this helps.