MERLIN ROCKET FORUM

Topic : Spi sheet trouble

When, following an incompetent manœuvre, the spinny sheet gets caught over the end of the boom, what is the best procedure to follow? I’ve tried shouting at the crew and it doesn’t work.


Posted: 10/07/2006 16:28:31
By: Rod & Jo
Congratulations on a wonderful piece of reporting - I haven't laughed so much at a one liner in ages.

Only solutions
1. Go ashore or
2. Undo the sheet from the spinnaker.
3. Capsize and take it from there
4. All of the above

Thank you


Posted: 10/07/2006 16:43:36
By: bill
Drop the kite quick and use the stowed pole (along the boom) to shove it clear? 
Not much use if its blowing hard though...


Posted: 10/07/2006 17:35:01
By: Mags
Make the boom short enough there's no overhand on the aft end after the main or put a piece of fishing rod top to make it too long for it to catch. Or use the paddle you bought for the tideway with a notch in the end to push ot off!


Posted: 10/07/2006 17:40:39
By: Helpful
We've also suffered from this a fair bit recently (two out of our last three sails...) Does anyone know how it happens in the first place?  

Is it me flicking the main at the wrong time..? I don't think it's that.

Where's it all going wrong?


Posted: 10/07/2006 17:41:33
By: Fluffy Poles
If there's not much wind we can normally just push the nose into wind for a second, pull in the boom and I can free it with my arm.. if the wind pipes up, this becomes too tricky.


Posted: 10/07/2006 17:45:20
By: Fluffy Poles
Andy, I'm guesing here, but it might be caused by the crew pulling the kite to windward before the gybe, as they should, but not cleating in the 'new sheet', the kite will fly high when the pole comes off pulling out sheet and then if you roll the boat instead of keeping it flat the kite will collapse as the boom comes overs dropping the sheet possibly over the boom.

Or maybe it is something else.

It has never happened to us (yet!)


Posted: 10/07/2006 18:08:50
By: Alan F
Shorter sheets?


Posted: 10/07/2006 19:39:04
By: Ben 3634
Our usual procedure in a breeze was for the helm to start franticly gurgling gibberish at the crew whilst wildly gesturing towards the boom.

My solution of sorting it out from sitting on the leeward bouyancy bag didn't seem to help Dickie's jitters!!


Posted: 10/07/2006 20:51:05
By: Chris M
Since fitting twinning lines we have not had this particular hiccup, and yes, I am well aware that even by saying that we are destined to be blighted by it all Salcombe Week!
The mirrors suffer this particularly, and have 2 solutions:
1 a short piece of line from 300mm up the leech to the end of the boam
2 a sort of short version of twinning lines, ie a plastic ring on a fixed length of line just long enough not to interfere with the sheet on a tight reach. Cheap and may be worth a try?

GGGGGGGG


Posted: 10/07/2006 21:37:25
By: Chairman GGGGGGG
I think this is a steering fault!
Or maybe a teamwork problem?
As a helmsman it is tempting but WRONG to luff onto a reach after a gybe (or hoist) until after the crew has the pole fixed on and is ready to sheet in.
How to sort it out - takes a lot longer than waiting a few more seconds before luffing. It never happens running downwind or broad reaching.


Posted: 10/07/2006 23:20:41
By: Pat Blake
Doh!


Posted: 11/07/2006 08:16:19
By: Fluffy Poles
I thought this was rarer in the Merlins than other classes, as the spinny sheet leads are so much further forward. 470s have them right on the transom dont they?


Posted: 11/07/2006 09:02:55
By: Mags
Pat, it was certainly a teamwork problem; the last thing I remember was tacking head to wind with the spi up but I can't actually tell you why since was lying in the bottom of the boat at the time having tripped over something. I have the scars to prove it.


Posted: 11/07/2006 10:55:24
By: Rod & Jo
Give the helm the kite sheets as you gybe or drop. kite stays filled, sheets are under control, no worries.
On the drops when it hooks the boom - i think this is due to the pole comming off the mast to early. A partial drop then remove pole seems to help.


Posted: 11/07/2006 12:36:35
By: Hamish 3321
This problem is as old as spinnaker reaching and GGG's first solution (The original.) - (50 years old!!)- the line from the leach about 12" up to the end of the boom (Very end!) -fishing line, very soft shock cord or model airplane elastic or anything; garden strimmer twine even,are equaly good the purpose being self evident, no matter how good your timing / team work; accidents / mistakes can and do happen this just stops one of the results of such day to day things and lets you get on with driving the yot and trimmin' the sails. Going faster in the right direction (The next mark / Finish line.)
By the by looking at the pictures of HBSC might the kite not set better with a slightly shorter pole? There is a tendancy if a max/min is set to go for it. AS A Measurer would GGG like to comment on a longer thinner kite that would given the biase of the formula give more projected area, the pole mounting could be lower the pole shorter and maybe the downwind even prettier?


Posted: 11/07/2006 13:20:18
By: Old man of the sea
Another of my idle idiot postings, but I found it strangely reassuring that Rod and Jo had managed to find a way of tying the spinny in knots that I had not yet managed for myself.

If you are on a run and it's not blowing old boots surely you can just sheet in the main and reach over and unhook it?

The spinny wrap that has caused me most grief in the past is the drop on the run that goes wrong when you actually sail over the sheet and it ends up going up the centreboard case the aft side of the board. Only way out of that one is to untie the damned thing and rethread from scratch hoping for a long beat on one tack


Posted: 11/07/2006 13:55:35
By: Andrew M
Or do as Tom and I did at Whitstable a couple of weeks ago in Krakatoa, Come head to wind give tiller to younger brother, hop in and swim it free from under the boat. It was a baking day though!!


Posted: 11/07/2006 14:59:45
By: Hywel jnr
Not sure about Hamish's idea of giving the sheets to the helm on the gybe, might work when you are the only boat rounding but if there are 15 of you the helm should really be steering. But, Andrew, on the drop, that is definately the safest way not to run over the sheets, and normally you should be going in a straight line so not an issue for the helm.

Most boats now also have an elsatic take up of the down haul that pulls the end ring up higher than the fore deck, this definately helms avoid the sheets dropping over too.

The safest sequence is, kite half down, pole off, kite down. Taking the pole off first there is a risk, if your blocks run free, that the whole of the kite will drop into the water before you have pulled it in at all.


Posted: 11/07/2006 17:13:06
By: Alan F
The cause is simple 'Its the nut holding the tiller's fault' prevention is simple to, when dropping the spin the 'nut' should pull the spin sheets to prevent them flapping about or dropping under the bow, the crew should not remove the pole until the spin will not go any further into the chute. Gybing the crew should square off the pole as much as possible before the pole is removed and cleat the sheet, once gybed the crew holds the new windward sheet while attaching the pole this ensures that the spin does not flog (flicking the sheets about)and fills easily and quickly on the new gybe.This requires some practice but when it works its great.


Posted: 11/07/2006 17:14:46
By: a crew

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