Genaker on an E34

I'm buying an E34 next month and want to put a genaker on it I'm having a difficult time figuring out how to tack it.There doesn't seem to be anywhere to tack it. I've gotten suggestions to secure it to the bow roller
which seems like a terrible idea, or put a shackle on the main stay. I'm beginning to think it can't be done. Any thoughts ?

tmjkelley said:

I'm buying an E34 next month and want to put a genaker on it I'm having a difficult time figuring out how to tack it.There doesn't seem to be anywhere to tack it. I've gotten suggestions to secure it to the bow roller
which seems like a terrible idea, or put a shackle on the main stay. I'm beginning to think it can't be done. Any thoughts ?

Click to expand...

There have been a couple of E-34's for sale in your area, and we looked at them...
Nice design!
Which one did you choose?

I do not hear much about 'genakers' any more, but folks usually buy an asymmetrical spinnaker, aka an "A-Sail". You need a strong point ahead of the bow pulpit, and other Ericson's seem to put a block on a shackle at the end of the anchor roller. Those ss roller assemblies are Very Strong. Friend of mine has an E-38-200, and that scheme is working fine for his boat, FWIW.
Other makes of boat do the same thing.

From that block, lead the tack line down the side deck thru a small block to two to the cockpit combing.
I imagine that other owners will check in with their suggestions.

Post up some pix of your new love when you can!


Loren

edit: just one link from a quick search of the site.
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...ymmetrical-spinnaker-on-E34&highlight=trogear

And:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...-Sprit-Installed-(finally!)&highlight=trogear

Gennaker for what is is worth

I have a 1.5 oz Gennaker for our 38. I don't use it much.
It works ok off the anchor roller.
There are many setups and the one you choose can be determined by What you want to use the boat for, How ez you want it to be and how much you want to spend.

If you want to race the considerations are the allowable size and the phrf rules in your area. A cruising asym will not work for racing.

If you want to race you need to check the phrf rules regarding Bow sprits in you area.

If you just want to cruise sail a bit and see how often you would use it? How big and how heavy is your number 1 headsail. Do you want to sail ddw or wing on wing with a whisker pole.

Once those choices are made you can look at the options available

1.Cruising chute with no ATN SOCK hooked to anchor roller (lowest Cost)
2. Same as above with ATN Sock
3. Option 1 or 2 hooked to a small removable Sprit
4. Option 3 with a top down furler. (big Bucks)

The above options can all be used with a racing chute but have different effects on phrf ratings etc

http://www.seldenmast.com/en/products/spinnaker_-_gennaker_hardware/gennaker_bowsprits.html

http://trogear.com/

http://www.atninc.com/atn-spinnaker-sleeve.shtml

https://www.google.com/search?q=asy...2.69i57j0l3.6726j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8


For cruising if I were starting from scratch without a budget I would have a light but strong all purpose headsail of around 130% and a code zero on small sprit with a furler. I would think that combination would be fast and ez from about 45 to 140 or so true wind direction

Loren Beach said:

I imagine that other owners will check in with their suggestions.

Click to expand...

my two cents, worth somewhat less than that:

i thought thru what I wanted for mostly-singlehanded cruising, and what I landed on was a light (.6-oz) racing style A2 asymmetrical runner, with an ATN sock.

The gap I wanted to fill was downwind (e.g., 120-150 degrees apparent wind angle) in light/moderate breeze (10 knots true or less), and easy to handle by myself. More breeze than that downwind I can wing out my jib and/or gibe broad angles and at be at/near hull speed. Beam reaching, the boat is very efficient jib-reaching with the lead on the outboard track. It works for me.

I fitted a strong stainless bail onto the anchor roller, held in place with the pin used to secure the anchor. As Loren says, a block clipped to that bail with the tack-line run aft makes it easy to adjust.

It works for me. Wouldn't be optimal for racing, but I'd offer two opinions: it's worth thinking through the conditions and usage you're targeting and get a sail made that suits your intended purposes; and, I'm not a fan of the "cruising spinnaker" model. They tend to be made of heavy-ish cloth, and cut to a shape that is a compromise for a range of conditions, but not really great at any of them.

$.02
Bruce

tmjkelley said:

I'm buying an E34 next month and want to put a genaker on it I'm having a difficult time figuring out how to tack it.There doesn't seem to be anywhere to tack it. I've gotten suggestions to secure it to the bow roller
which seems like a terrible idea, or put a shackle on the main stay. I'm beginning to think it can't be done. Any thoughts ?

Click to expand...

We initially tacked the assym to a bail on the anchor roller. The bail was held on by two non-descript screws, probably #10s or 12s and it always held just fine. The sail is 1050sf and is dragging a 19,000+lb boat around. This was only used in local bay racing and has since been replaced by a new anchor roller/forestem with a dedicated hole for block or fairlead attachment. I don't recommend using such small screws, but the point was it worked.

If you are fully crewed then I would not bother with an ATN sock. For those of us who sail and race shorthanded, a sock is essential and worth every penny. The spinnaker comes down every single time no matter what else is happening. We take off the sock for fully crewed races and put it back on for the rest of the time.

Chris