Hobie Cat Forums

Dry sailed only, wasn't enough wind to push my little truck...

Soon, soon, I shall have a day off and try it out!

Cheers!

J

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2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker!
also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny...
&
the TI3 rear ama mod

You got forward facing radar on that thing? Looks good though!

Lol! That's what my girlfriend said, actually it sounded more like, "how are you going to see? Seems stupid..."

I have no idea how to resolve that minor issue yet. I might have to tack downwind and keep the sail on one side or the other. Maybe I can see when on the hakas?!?

It's all part of the fun

Cheers

J

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2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker!
also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny...
&
the TI3 rear ama mod

Actually, I am sure you would make a much better average speed downwind by zigzagging, unless the wind is strong enough to semi-plane. In those conditions, the kite will tend to lift the bow, which will reduce wetted area and allow higher speeds. Sounds awesome!!!

Woah !!!! That's a giant spinnaker. I agree that seeing where you're going will be quite the challenge. Have you done anything to reinforce the bow? What about the mast topper, are you able to still furl and unfurl the mainsail with the spinnaker in place?

After digging my bow in and pitching completely over on a fast downwind, I'm now a bit more cautious of a spinnaker unless there's a way to douse it quickly. I was thinking of trying the triak spinnaker on my AI at one time.

Hope you get some video of it working well for you. Good luck and be safe !

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Jim

Awesomeness with some HolyCow !! sprinkled on top

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Alan W.
'07 Hobie Adventure Island #1
'07 Hobie Adventure Island #2 Golden Papaya AI LadyJane
... both in Golden Papaya
'06? Hobie Outback SUV

That's what I said when it was laid out at the sail loft (Masthead Sailing Gear, nice people)




no, there's nothing attached to the bow. the sheet and the lazy sheet are on pulleys on the amas, tied off to cam cleats



yes, i think so. i need to experiment some, though. there is a pulley at the masthead with a line rove to lift the sail. when i have everything the right length, it should work nicely



i think if i let the sheets out it should lift the front, which may help correct the submarining.

_________________
2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker!
also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny...
&
the TI3 rear ama mod

I would be tempted to remove the two bottom panels so the spinnaker was straight along the bottom. Sure you might lose some of the drive, but you won't get a sore neck trying to see what to avoid.

How do you douse it? I assume you let go the brace (one side), and haul in the sheet (the other side) while dropping the halyard. But I guess doing that you would need some way of bringing the sheet in from the ama turning block.

cutting down the sail is probably a good idea, but might cost as much as the sail itself.

It has dousing line, I am planning on letting the sheets fly and hauling everything in from the center of the sail while slowly lower it.

j

_________________
2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker!
also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny...
&
the TI3 rear ama mod

Gulp

That thing's going to fly. It looks ready to plane, sitting on the trailer.

Reminds me of the 49rs they are racing at the olympics:



You BETTER be on the Hakas!

A dousing line will do the job. A lot of racing dinghies have a long mesh tube into which the spinnaker gets sucked, and then spouted from when hauling.

That thing is gorgeous!! Could you post a picture of your masthead?

What are the dimensions on that spinnaker?

Hi,

This is the second generation mast top, I replaced the first one after the mast top came off in my hands.



It's 1.8mm spyderline wrapped around the mast. It's 100 pound test, in theory, it should fail before over stressing the mast.

The sail has 17'6" luffs and a 14'6" foot, so upwards of 200 square feet!

j

_________________
2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker!
also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny...
&
the TI3 rear ama mod

kayakman7:
I love it, once you get used to using a spinnaker you won't ever leave home without it (it opens up a whole new world). On mine I have pulleys attached to the ends of the rear AKA's with a single loop of rope tied to each lower clew of the spinnaker. Once I get the sail set where I want it I tie it off by wrapping the line around paddle clips on the rear AKA (really works nicely). With the control lines mounted nearer the back of the boat you can use the spinnaker anywhere from 90 to 270 degrees (if you look at most spin setups on the bigger monohulls you will see they always have their control lines as far back on the boat as possible).

One thing I discovered on mine that could cause a problem for you... If you open the front hatch and look inside you will see the metal triangle brace setup is very strong to prevent side to side movement (you shouldn't have problems with that). However if you study where the stresses are from the spinnaker (mostly forward) you will discover the mast reciever acts just like a giant lever for the forward and backward forces. The pivot point is about a foot up from the bottom of the mast, you then have a 17 foot lever pushing forward (the sail). This create a backwards force at the base of the mast cup that is huge (could be several thousands pounds of force). Think about it, if you took an 18 ft pole and put a brick under it 1 ft up from the end, when you push down on the long end you can probably lift your car easily with the short end (17 to 1 ratio 200* 17 = 3400 lbs lifting force if I stand on the end ). Now if you look at what is holding the mast cup from forward to back movement you will see a tiny 1/4" stud that is all that holds the mast cup. Without doing anything you will surely snap that stud when you deploy your spinnaker (been there done that). If you go to my old Ultimate Tandem Island postings you will see I have a 1/4" stay line attached to the rear of the boat, with this stay in place I can furl and unfurl both my main and spinnaker at will without fear of breaking the mast or mast cup (the spinnaker has been deployed in over 20 knot winds many times with out damage). PS Mine is around 130 sq ft, with that I have got over 18mph on several occasions. Don't worry about the bow diving with the spinnaker, it typically pulls up, I have never had a problem with the spinnaker pulling the bow under, but have had problems several times downwind with the main and jib deployed as a gull wing (without the spinnaker) ( I call it nautilus mode LOL). But your spinnaker is much larger than mine, so you may want to wear a mask and snorkel the first time out ( LOL).
Another option for you with your setup (if you don't want to run a rear stay line) would be to make sure anytime you deploy you spinnaker you make sure you have your mainsail furled about halfway out and pulled tight. This will likely be enough to counteract the forward force of the Spinnaker ( I was told some people with Cat's do this).

Not trying to bore you here with details (too late LOL). I think with the type of spinnaker you have you may need a spinnaker pole to keep the sail from lufting. Mine is an assemetric spinnaker (like a G2) so one of the lower corner clews is attached to the bow, when tacking from one side to the other I pull the sail thru the center (around the bow) with the big loop rope. You may be able to do something similar by tying a loose rope between the two lower clews, then running it through a pully attached to the bow. This would allow you to pull the spinnaker tight to either port or starboard on a reach without the need of a spinnaker pole.

Before I got my rotofurler setup, to take the spinnaker up and down, I would turn downwind then lower the halyard while pulling the sail in from the bottom, then stuffing into a sail bag (can be kind of tricky in higher winds). With all the ropes flying around always carry a knife in your life jacket pocket.

And most important have fun.
Fusioneng