come chit-chat on SPINNAKERS.....

[micah202]

.
..from an initial comment after the last event......an interesting note on spinnakers---I have 2 identical chutes from 49ers--one is stock,,1 is shortened 3' with a chop from the centre...the fullsize in theory is the 'right' size,,,,but in reality only performs well in 6-8kts DDW.....the larger chute is much harder to keep flowing when one runs ahead of a puff,,,,much more restricted to deep angles,,,and has people ,boats fall all over themselves a lot more when it's breeze-ON!.....if anyone cares,,I could share some measurments

....some further investigation shows.......Luff......mid girth,,,,,,,,,,,foot
.......Melges chute(cutdown)...............28'10''......15'9''...............18'
.......49er(stock)..............................31'6''.......14'2''...............14'5''
.......49er-shortened.........................30'9''.......14'2''...............14'5''..........important note on heights below***

....Height....after extensive use in multiple races,,in various conditions,,with some changes of chutes between races,,my preference is the cut-down 49er chute !!....I'm amazed to realize the difference of only ~9'' is even noticeable(!!),,,but indeed,,I changed back and forth between these sails 4x during last weekend's event!
....in light winds ,the extra luff-length makes it harder to re-fill the kite when the boat out-speeds the wind,,,,in stronger than 10 kts,,,the stock size chute has a lot less flexibility to side-angles,,reaching------only is a benefit in steady winds in the 6-10knot range DDW.

...GIRTH.....more interesting discoveries---I had long ago dropped using the melges kite,,noting the 49er chute filled,,drew nicely,,,,and I -never- had boatspeed or angle issues downwind with other boats with MUCH bigger kites.........many times sailing a much lowerangle,,keep moving better inlight winds,,,,or passing boats who've 'tripped-up' in the stronger breeze

....CONCLUSION.....after a fair bit of empirical research,,,,I'm coming to the conclusion that even though 550 kites are virtually unrestricted in size,,,sometimes....BIGGER AIN'T BETTER!!

.........***...NOTE!....other measuring shows my mast to be 11'' short of the rule(!) ,,and my spin-pole is deck mounted,,,so with a lower pole and full-height mast,,the magic #for spin luff(for me) would seem to be close to 32'

[i550sailor@aol.com]

Thats some really good info Michael, this is really helpful info to us guys who are in the building phase.....What are the rest of the active boats seeing with their sails?. Some detailed info like Michael gave would be great. info from anyone using a viper mast would be helpful for me also.

[micah202]

Thats some really good info Michael, this is really helpful info to us guys who are in the building phase.....What are the rest of the active boats seeing with their sails?. Some detailed info like Michael gave would be great. info from anyone using a viper mast would be helpful for me also.

....in relation to the other active fleet racers,,I'm usually 'making-time' downwind--seem to be more often upright in the stronger stuff,,,able to sail lower,,keep going easier in the light stuff......I find the tack-line is a major play--tighter in heavy ,,up to 3' loose in lighter,,but a quick draw-in when the boat outspeeds a puff helps it stay filled,or re-fill quicker. As I say,,if it was a steady midstrength breeze..I'd be happy to fit the fullsize chute,,but only a narrow range--there's too many times in multifleet racing that you want to sail high to clear something.

......I'll likely be sorting a viper mast myself,,realizing mine's a foot short!,,,heck,,probably be doing a full deck rebuild after the gorge-fun I'm planning,,,,,still looking for a (madman) crew for that