© Attainable Adventure Cruising Ltd and the authors, all rights are reserved.
Nothing on this website or in direct communications received from us, or in our articles in the media, should be construed to mean or imply that offshore voyaging is anything other than potentially hazardous. Dangers such as, but not limited to, extreme weather, cold, ice, lack of help or assistance, gear failure, grounding, and falling overboard could injure or kill you and wreck your boat. Decisions such as, but not limited to, heading offshore, where you go, and how you equip your boat, are yours and yours alone. The information on this web site is based on what has worked for the authors in the past, but that does not mean it will work for you, or that it is the best, or even a good way for you to do things.
My previous boat, a Luffe 40.04, had a line from the clue that was permanently attached. This line was about 3 meters of so and ended with a loop where we could attach the sheet with a snap shackle. We used to sail with only one sheet attached on the lee side. When gybing, the mentioned loop was close enough to reach so that we could attach the new sheet and let the working sheet go (using the snap shackle). I found this a good method. Perhaps the shackle can be dangerous if whipping around, but we never had that problem (mostly sailing in calm waters).
Cheers and thanks for a great forum.
Hi Christian,
That’s interesting but I don’t think it would work on an outside jibe and I would worry about the time taken increasing the chances of a headstay wrap on an inside jibe. What was the advantage over just having two sheets?
Hi John,
I think there are pros and cons. It makes it simpler and faster to manage only one sheet instead of two (I’m always a bit concerned one could go under the boat). On the downside you’ll have to go up on deck to release the snap shackle. We use it sailing two handed. Perhaps not such a good idea for single handed.
Hi Christian,
Hum, I guess I’m still having trouble seeing this. To me pulling the clew in toward the boat and messing with is just upping the chances of a headstay wrap. Ditto slowing the gybe down. To me anyway, the goal here is to keep the sail as far away as I can get it from the headstay, and on my boat that is aided by the 6′ sprit.
That said, I hear you on the danger of getting the lazy sheet under the boat, but there are two answers to that: a “rhino horn” on the sail just above the tack to catch the lazy sheet (what we have) and/or a batten extending a foot or so past the sprit end for the same purpose. Also, I would rather have a sheet go under the boat, annoying though it is, rather than headstay wrap. More here: https://www.morganscloud.com/2021/12/13/john-goes-sailboat-racing-and-learns-stuff/
Hi John,
Point taken. The headsail wrap hasn’t happened to me yet when jibing, but of course it could and I agree it is not very pleasant (an article on how to get out of a headsail wrap situation would be interesting).
I enjoyed reading about the rhino horn or batten. I’ll try that on my new boat (a 55ft aluminum built Bermudan cutter).
Hi Christian,
I wrote this a while back: it might be helpful. Dick
Poor man’s spinnaker net
A couple of thoughts on spinnaker/asym use.
The most likely, almost predictable, times I have gotten headsail wraps were in light air and swells/wakes. The swell/wake gets the boat rolling and the asym collapses around the headstay (the light air keeps the asym from being well behaved). The continued rolling serves to tighten and extend the wrap: a real mess.
A friend suggested what he called a “poor man’s spinnaker net” and it is simple and easy.
I unroll the jib 6-8 feet and sheet it hard amidships (more effective with a higher clewed jib topsail than a low clewed genoa): a poor and lazy man’s spinnaker net. The extended sail and the sheets interfere some with getting the wrap in the first place, but excel in keeping the wrap from being tightly wound around the rolled-up jib. If the wrap occurs, the wrap is far easier to loosen: and, one can roll in or out the jib a bit to ease tightness and facilitate loosening and freeing the wrap.
The other “hack” is to have high modulus sheets: not so much for their strength than for their not soaking up water and becoming quite heavy. In light air, the sheets will occasionally dip into the water. Dacron sheets soak up water like a sponge and will become heavy enough to drag the sail out of shape in light air.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
Hi Dick,
Many thanks for sharing. Sounds like a good method in light air and swell.
Best regards,
Christian
Hi Dick
That seems such an obvious solution. No wonder I didn’t think of it.
My days of spinnaker wraps are thankfully in the past but I recently managed to wrap the, new to me, furled Code Zero or what thought was a furled Code Zero around the furled Yankee.
Best
Mark
What diameter and material are the sheets?
Hi Thomas,
12 mm LIROS Dynamic Plus Cruising Dyneema. I could have gone with 10mm but went with 12 for handling.
The Poor Man’s spinaker net is interesting. I have always wondered why spinaker nets ate not more common, particularly on short handed boats.
Hi Carl,
Now that you mention it, I believe the first I heard of this spinnaker net hack, it was called a single-hander’s spinnaker net. Dick