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Spinnaker Pole on an E32-2

Macgyro

Amazingly Still Afloat
Blogs Author
Hi all,

Once again, I have a question that is probably on a forum somewhere but I can't find it.

Has anyone had trouble with the little halfway shrouds (my technical term) that come forward of the mast in regards to the angles you can use the spinnaker pole. I haven't used the spinnaker yet (still waiting to find friends with experience in that area), but I've raised the pole up with the topping lift, and it seems like I can't get the pole positioned beyond 60 degrees from the bow before it hits the forward shroud. I would imagine that this would make going within 30 degrees of downwind difficult including gybes.

If anyone has suggestions, or experience like "You don't need a pole when you're within 30 degrees of downwind." please let me know.

Thanks,
Dean

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The photos would illustrate better if I was on top of the mast looking down. But in the second photo, I would think the pole should be hitting the boat next to me instead of pointing forward 30 degrees.
 

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Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Shrouds, Poles, Angles !

All boats with double lower shrouds will have this problem. If... the wind is dead astern... and you want to square the pole to run dead down wind you will only be able pull it back until it about reaches the forward lower. If you are in search of the last nano-knot and the most projected area, you would not quite achieve that. OTOH the "loss" is pretty minor, in my opinion.

Like all rig permutations, your boat's rig has plusses and minuses. For instance our O-34 has parallel shrouds which enables us to bring the spin. pole back further and also let the boom out further. Against that, our rig can potentially allow the mast to pump forward and so in a seaway we use running backstays ("check stays" actually) to hold the mast firmly in column.

Your standing rig is more rigid, and that's a good thing too.

A story: many years ago I was crewing on a boat with a rig very much like yours and amidst all the excitement and hubbub of setting the chute and adjusting the pole....... it was pulled back to the forward lower shroud... and a bit further (!). We put quite a bend in it, truth to tell. :0

Nowadays we have an "ATN snuffer" for the boat's tri-radial chute and we use that sail only for cruising on light air days.
Altho, a couple seasons ago there was this windy reach, with pole nearly on the headstay and speed popping up over 9. :)

Cheers,
Loren
 

markvone

Sustaining Member
Hi Dean,

All you can do is pull the pole back to the max angle allowed by the forward lower shroud and then drive the boat deeper downwind while easing the sheet if you need to sail further downwind. The chute will fly at those angles even without the pole so all you are loosing is projecting the maximum area of the chute to collect a little more wind. With the light wind we get in the Chesapeake most of the time, you will find that you will rarely be sailing that far downwind. You will be sailing higher angles to the wind to generate apparent wind and keep the boat moving. You may only run dead downwind as described above for a limited time to get around something and avoid a gybe, since gybing the pole quickly takes a few trained people, and problems (spinnaker wraps) occur in light wind while gybing slowly with only 1 or 2 people (ask me how I know this).

I generally determine whether to use one of my chutes based on 1) how motivated I feel to rig it 2) how far I'm going downwind 3) how much help I have to gybe and 4) how windy is it. I have an old North cruising Genaker in a sock that I use often, no pole to rig and I can gybe it myself from the cockpit while I talk my driver through how fast to turn. If I were going a long way downwind without the need to gybe I would always use one of my symmetric chutes because they are considerably larger and better shaped than the Genaker. With banding or a sock they are pretty safe to hoist and once up, take almost no effort to run, and with proper technique are no problem to drop even if the wind really comes up during the run. It's the gybing that can get you without trained crew. I've heard of people who use a sock for hoists and drops, also using it to gybe with a small crew, which sounds like a good idea, but I've never done it.

Mark
 

Macgyro

Amazingly Still Afloat
Blogs Author
Thanks!

Thanks guys!


That's a lot better than removing the pole from the mast, swinging it around the lower shroud and reattaching it to the mast aft of the forward lower shroud.


We had a great opportunity to sail on Mother's Day with near perfect conditions. We hoisted the big red free flying drifter sail (may be a small gennaker) for the first time, and it got me to thinking we should have tried out the spinnaker. But, with in-laws, and Mothers onboard, we decided it wasn't the best time for learning something new. I've got a couple sailing friends that want to try out a spinnaker, so hopefully this year we'll get a good day.


My boat was set up for a spinnaker when I got it, but I did have to replace the block at the top of the mast. I'll probably post photos with questions about that as well. It seems like the spinnaker halyard block gets in the way of the jib furling system. I've got it pulled off to the side now, and it seems like it's keeping out of the way, but when I was putting up the jib this spring, I did get a little halyard wrap at the top. The block rests on top of the furling foil so that the spinnaker halyard is outside of the fore triangle, but this is where my halyard wrap came from. I think keeping the spin halyard pulled tight and attached to a lifeline stanchion abeam the mast has helped. If you guys have tips here as well, they'd also be appreciated.


Pictures are fun, so here's two of the big red drifter: I did try to pole this one out going downwind, but I used the wrong sheets, and couldn't ease them out far enough to get the pole on it. It's funny how much you learn every time you go out.
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markvone

Sustaining Member
Dean,

That's a drifter. A genaker or small spin would have a radial head and be much fuller with more area up top. That's good, since you already have the spinnaker, you can use the drifter in those really light days. It should be much better going upwind/close reaching in the light stuff than a genaker since it is flatter. Since it is free flying, you can use it without having to mess with your furled jib. Your sheets need to be run just like a jib. In the left picture, your sheet is lead too far aft, causing the top of the sail to twist off.

My spin halyards exit the mast just outboard the center jib halyard which has a cover/shield at the mast exit. I don't have an external block for the spin halyard. I keep the spin halyards on the bow pulpit when not sailing to avoid mast slap but I move them to the mast base and tension them to keep them out of the furling jib. I get the spin halyard wrapped in the top of the jib if I don't furl it before I hoist the spinnaker and drop the chute before I unfurl it. My masthead is really setup for racing jibs hoisted up in the foil and not furled. One solution is to extend the spin halyard block further away from the mast on a longer crane, but the crane must be strong enough to handle to loads. I just furl first, then hoist, drop the chute, then unfurl. The only downside to this is not having the big genoa help block the wind into the hoisting chute but you also don't have to work around the unfurled genoa when rigging the chute. Your approach to get the block out of the way and keep the halyard tight is probably the best you can do unless you add the longer crane. I would consult a professional rigger. They might have a cheap and easy way to add a crane to move the block out.

Mark
 

Macgyro

Amazingly Still Afloat
Blogs Author
Awesome, Thanks again for the knowledge!

You guys are a wealth of knowledge, thanks for the info! I didn't know there was an actual thing called a "drifter."

-Dean
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I finally figured it out. You have a 32-2, not a 32-200. Our rigs are different.
32-3 rig.jpg
 
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