You Don’t Need The Hottest Boat and Socking the Spinnaker

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We offer the photo above as proof that you don’t need the latest and greatest to enjoy cruising. This is a 30 year old Compass 48 owned by a Dutch couple we recently met. They are surfing along in a fresh northerly, having a wonderful sail. But what happens when the wind goes forward and the two of them need to douse the chute?

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We were hoping the breeze would stay aft so we could get more photos, but as they headed south the wind started to go forward.

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Marianne and Jerard use the same dousing technique that worked over the years for the two of us.

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Run off before the wind, ease the main out, and collapse the spinnaker in the lee of the mainsail.

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This makes pulling the sock over the sail a lot easier than if the spinnaker is filled.


Posted by Steve Dashew  (June 18, 2010)




3 Responses to “You Don’t Need The Hottest Boat and Socking the Spinnaker”

  1. RayG Says:

    Does anyone have experience with a roller furling spinnaker system such as the RollGen Spinnaker Furler (http://www.bamarusa.com/bamar-rollgen.htm) or see any obvious problem with them other than price?


  2. Gerard Wielenga and Marianne de Groot Says:

    Thanks once more for the wonderfull photo’s. We are honoured to figure on your website. Hope to meet you once more further south.
    Just to give the builder and designer their credits.
    The boat is a Contest 48. Designed in 1980 by Dick Zaal. It has building number 6 and was first owned bij an American couple: Gisella and Borge E Larsen.


  3. Klaas Jan Hoeve Says:

    Hi all,

    So nice to see Gerard’s boat under full canvas (we have met with a common interest in sailing and media).
    One more suggestion. With a cutter-rigged for-triangle, it helped sometimes to have the inner jib up while dousing the gennaker. Even more windshadow.
    As far as RayG’s remark: rolling a light weather foresail only worked for me with a sail that is build for more or less upwind work (e.g. a Code 0 or screecher). Rolling downwindsails with a belly is not feasable, then the sock or just ‘cold-turkey dowsing’ is the solution.
    Fair winds to all!