Spinnaker handling on Sunshine 38

[me1982]

Can anyone upload pictures and advice about rigging spinnaker on a Jeanneau Sunshine 38?
Placements of blocks especially in the cockpit, running lines, jybing and working with the forward baby stay, etc.
Would appreciate any information and advice.

[so36idavid]

Are you thinking of putting on an asymmetrical (cruising chute) or a traditional symmetrical chute?

I'm not familiar with your boat, but it's roughly the same size as mine (36i). I have an assymetrical rigged on a Selden retractable bow sprit . There are a couple of folding padeyes through the deck just outboard and forward of the primary winches. The spin sheets have dedicated blocks with snap shackles that snap into the folding padeyes when we rig the chute. If you have an inner forestay (baby stay?) then you'll need to lead the lazy sheet forward of the forestay and do "outside gybes", i.e. the sail rotates in front of the forestay, not through the foretriangle. You don't really need the sprit for that matter, you could just clip the tack of the sail to the bow roller.

Not much to sail handling really, I just fly it like a big jib. It helps to have a dousing sock particularly if you fly it singlehanded, which I do occasionally. 

Gybing is pretty easy, the main thing to remember is that you have to get most of the sail around to the new leeward side before the wind fills in on the new gybe. So basically head DDW, blow the old sheet, haul in the new one like there's no tomorrow and when it's mostly in head up on the new gybe and ease the sheet to trim. If you have a bowman then have him grab the new working sheet as you go DDW and run it back to the cockpit. Otherwise just haul it in as fast as you can from the cockpit.

If you're looking to fly a symmetrical chute and your boat's not set up for it then you have a bit of work to do. You'll need to rig a topping lift and foreguy for the pole, maybe some tweakers and then put blocks somewhere outboard and aft of the primaries. I wouldn't go there unless you're planning on racing the boat and it buys you a big rating gain. I'm not going to talk you through sail handling this scenario if you're not familiar with it. I would advise you to go find a racer in your area and have them show you how to gybe a symmetrical chute. It's not hard but it takes good crew work or it can go pear shaped in a hurry.

[me1982]

Thank you very much for the reply.

I do have some experience with flying both symmetrical and asymmetrical on my boat.

I have all the necessary equipment set on the mast with a proper car, topping lift and down-haul.

The thing I was not sure I was doing right was the placement of blocks in the cockpit and on the rail, and this is mostly what I wanted to see how is done elsewhere. I would of course appreciate any other Sunshine 38 specific advice.

The main problem when using the spinnaker is that the lines tend to rest on the railing wire and posts.


I also truly enjoyed your detailed description of setting up and jybing.

[so36idavid]

It sounds like you're planning on flying a symmetrical chute. There's no one good place to put the blocks because the lead will change as you raise or lower the pole and also depending on how far back the pole is squared. As you pointed out, at certain times the sheets will chafe on the lifelines or the boom. Most racing boats solve this problem by putting tweakers (aka twings) on the toe rail at the maximum beam of the boat, this lets you pull the sheets down below the boom, etc. They then usually put a block on the toe rail about 2 feet aft of the primaries and lead the sheets from the tweakers to the block, under the lifelines and up to the winches. If you walk around any marina and look at older generation racing boats of roughly your size you'll see this setup replicated. Here's Harken's illustration on how to rig "standard sheets". 

If you don't already have a chute I would definitely advise you to go with an asso. Honestly, cheaper and so much less effort, but you'll need to sail hotter angles. That's what all newer generation racing boats do. Since your boat already has all the gear, maybe you already have a symmetrical chute. If so, I hope this helps. Sorry I don't have any Sunshine 38 specific advice. 

[ejmorgan]

Attachment Deleted

Here is a picture of our asymmetrical, sailing last month from Seattle to San Francisco on our newly acquired Sunshine 38. Snatch blocks are positioned along the rail and lines run back to cockpit. Very straight forward, as so36idavid,stated "Not much to sail handling really, I just fly it like a big jib." Hope this helps.......

[MartyB]

Both chutes have plus and minus's. If you are racing doing mostly windward/leeward, the design of the sunshine and my smaller version Arcadia, frankly do better with a symetric. BUT, I can also with some practice, have gotten to the point I can gybe my boat with an asym all by me lonesome! Altho with a sock, no auto pilot, I need two to raise and drop the spin. I know of some couples that have no issues with gybing a symetric.

I've also flown the asym with a spin pole on the tack, this allows my some better straight down wind angles, as I can get the luff side to the other side of the main. THis works very well at times.

Marty