Spinaker rigging Ericson 27

[hwynn]

I was wanting to get information on how to rig the spinaker on my Ericson 27. I'm not familiar with them and I believe I have a cruising spinaker in a sock. Wondering if I need, or should have a spinaker pole with this.

 

[Landlocked Capn]

You should run a whisker pole w/just about any spinnaker you raise. My '73 E25 came with one and I wouldn't consider raising it without it. I've raised spinnakers on Catalinas, Cals, and Starwinds, and each and every time, we ran a whisker pole to the windward side opposite the main boom.

You can find basic spinnaker rigging for any generic boat of your size in a good learn-to-sail book. There are several books available at www.westmarine.com, Colgate's Basic Sailing in particular.

 

[hwynn]

Thanks for the reply. I do have a whisker pole that I use with my 150 Genoa. I have obtained a "tacker" for the tack of the sail, which fits over my roller furling system, and allows the chute to move up and down, controlled by a line through a pully at the stem and led back to the cockpit. I understand that a cruising chute does not do well directly down wind because of its shape, and that it is more efficent to sail on a broad reach jibing to maintain course.

The way I have it rigged now does not require a pole. I only have a single ring on the mast to attach my whisker pole to. I do not have a track and car or topping lift to control the whisker pole. I guess I will have to experiment and see what works best.
Thanks again for the reply