Retriever patches for H16 spinnaker ? ?

I have a stock Hobie H16 spinnaker without any of the retriever patches needed to be compatible with a mid-pole snuffer setup. Can anyone provide specific details as to what I should use as a quality "patch" (where do I buy these and how are they secured?) and more importantly, where exactly on the H16 spinnaker will I need to put them?

Thanks

Dave

Just take the length of the bag that you will use with the snuffer mouth - and place the patches the same distance as that from the head, and from the clew and tack interesect, then the third patch goes between those two.

On a Tiger those are 1.95 meters - it would be less I'd imagine on the 16.

There is no kit sold that will adapt to the standard pole, since we use a totally different extrusion size here - the Euro pole is 40mm diam, so something custom would need to be made aftermarket....Hobie doen't do that. (they only sell the complete kit from Europe)

The patches are just extra material sewn onto the sail with a gromett punched through the center each of them.

I copied this off a website, sorry I can't give credit or tell you who wrote it.

Spinnaker Snuffer patches


A lot of people (mainly sail makers!) stuff the retrieval patches up.

To do it right follow these instructions for a 3 patch system:-

1. Measure the length of your chute/bag. Let’s say that it is 2.15m long.
2. On your kite mark the intersection point measured at 2.15m from the tack and the clew. This is your lower patch point.
3. Then measure 2.15 from the head to roughly the centre of the kite. This is the top patch.
3. Your middle patch simply goes at the halfway point between the top and bottom patches (hopefully there is less than 2.15m between each of the patches now!
If you get to step 3 and the distances are to large then you need to make your bag a bit longer and adjust your patch points accordingly. Not much cause the effect is 3 fold on the kite.

Hope this helps.+


With regards to the sail pulling out the rear of the bag, most modern bags have one or two nylon straps that are sewn across the back of the back (forming an "X"). in the center of these straps is a brass grommet - you run the snuffer line through the grommet before going to the sail. The grommet will stop the sail from coming out the back of the bag.

_________________
1989 Hobie 18 Worlds Boat, Magnum Wings & Spinnaker
1987 Hobie Holder 20 #273

dale.vanlopik"at"att"dot"net

Thanks for the info guys, it is very helpful. A few specifics though: Can you provide any more detail on the patches? Such as, does the gromet go right through the sail as well? How much "extra" material should be attached for each patch and is this a sewn-in patch or a self-adhesive patch? Any details on the retriever line?...is it simply an extension of the halyard or do I have to splice in a smaller diameter line to run up the face of the sail?


Thanks

Dave