Getting The 'Choreography' Sorted

As a relative newcomer to (single-handed) sailing with 3 sails I struggle with the choreography, wedging the tiller extension in places that really make my eyes water while I do battle with the fly-away pole, stamp on the main sheet and try not to crash into the other boats too often!

Can anyone offer their recommended 'steps' in the ballet that IS getting the spinny hoisted or lowered with the greatest effectiveness?

Harmonise55

I find the best technique for setting the spinnaker single handed is to have a long enough tiller extension that allows me to reach the mast and clip the guy to the pole.

In this way I can have one hand on the tiller extension with main sheet clamped under the thumb allowing me to still steer, the other hand can then be used to do all the things the crew normally done.

This has worked in all conditions, including winds over 30 knots.

There are a few modifications you can make to make life even easier when sailing single handed

<ul><li>A pole with a fork end, easier to clip the guy on and it normally comes out automatically when you bring the pole in </li><li> </li><li>Lead the sheets and other controls to the middle of the boat so they are nearer the helm </li></ul>

We are looking to organise some training specifically aimed at Single Handers, please express interest here.

MCA Secretary

Back in the 80's (yes I've been sailing mirrors for that long !) I used to sail in the regular singlehanded mirror opens held in the North West. These were the days of Neil Wooldridge, Stuart Hawkey and Dave Turtle, some of which are back in mirrors again with the next generation.

I set up a self steering system to allow me to raise / gybe lower the spinnaker without the boat careering off around the lake. To do this I fitted one of those old wrap around (horn type) halliard cleats under the tiller. I then had a length of shock cord anchored at the the two transom drainage holes/ hand holds. When I wanted self steering, I stretched the shock cord over the cleat, put the tiller in the position I wanted and then got on with the spinnaker handling. It worked a treat and gave me plenty of time for sorting things out whilst heading in more or less the right direction.

The fly away pole now makes things a lot simpler as it gives you only one string to pull. Unlike Simon , I have never got used to the fork end as I have always found that the guy pops out and have replaced it with a piston end.

You might find that cleats for the a continuous sheet / guy fitted to the side tanks forward give you a bit more control when sailing single handed, but they aren't essential.

Sailing the mirror singlehanded is great fun and very rewarding - good luck and I hope this helps.

Graham

Another struggling learner here so no answers, just embarrassingly basic questions !......... Like "supertonic" I have contrived an autopilot elastic loop to hold the tiller roughly central so a nudge with my posterior can correct steering if necessary. Like Harmonise I often put a foot on the mainsheet. I really struggled to clip the guy into the flyaway pole end with one hand so now have a fork which is great ....... so long as I am on the same side of the boat as the pole. I have been known to hold the spinny sheet in my teeth.
But ..... the part where I really suffer from short arms and lack of crew is cleating/uncleating the guy from the reaching hook. I have yet to figure out, even, when is the best stage in the launch or gybe to try and do this. Just as Harmonise is asking for a choreography, I have a mantra I recite to myself in preparation for tying sails in knots: "drop the pole, gybe the boat, don't forget jib, fork and relaunch." but that pesky little reaching hook is often my undoing. Set on the gunnels just in front of the shrouds as in the Guy Wilkins book, maybe it's in totally the wrong place for a single hander?

pigs might.....

As another virtual beginner (yet to reach a year) with a crew who doesn't trust me in anything more than a F2 wind I often find myself single handed and as it's too tempting to leave well alone attempting to use the spinnaker whilst following the rest of the club fleet.
Not having a forked pole I usually leave the pole on the foredeck clipped to the guy that I will need when I do pull it up and the aft end clipped to the opposite side shroud, this I find both reduces my confusion come spinnaker launching time and saves me from losing it when I go for an unplanned swim. As far as the exact choreography of the launch or recovery goes, I don't think I have done it the same way twice yet (unless you count hove to unwrapping it from the front and underside of the boat) so I can't offer anything practical on that.
For Flying Pig and the reaching hooks, I use the following method which whilst it may not improve my speed has saved me from being wrapped in the spinnaker several times already (I am still trying to get the hang of this relative wind lark). Basically all I do is put the two guy ropes through their respective reaching hooks and cleat them off before attempting to haul the spinnaker up, I then find it is a relatively easy task to uncleat and let them out as necessary without needing to have my hand further forward than the shroud

There is a rumour that someone is about to appear with a s/h boat that has got twin fly away launching poles that are permanently attached to the spinnaker sheet, one for each side of the boat.

If this works as it has been described it will be very happy days for all of us s/h in regard to launching the spinnaker. Unfortunately the spinny is not automatic and you will still have to control the sail, needing three arms, to make the boat go faster!

Also the downside to this is that there will be double the likelyhood of being skewered in the head by a pole when it is let in too quickly (scars to prove it!). With one pole this only happens when on a starboard tack.

No doubt some kill-joy will explore the depths of the samll print to tell us that 2 poles are illegal.

Angus
Not wishing to spoil your enjoyment:

There doesn't appear to be anything specifically prohibiting twin poles.
However rule 5.4 along with other references in the class rules to spinnaker poles is written in the singular.

Maybe its time to go look at the systems often found in a Merlin...

Perhaps it will end up like the 50mm ali' boom end track/car fittings or the maststep as a matter of interpretation of what's written.






Edited by - sinker on 04 June 2007 20:34:31

Sounds like even more ropes to get tangled up in. The course legs on our little puddle are so short I hardly have time to untangle the free end of the launching rope from the jibsheets, kicker and other bits of slack spinnaker related string... all whilst singlehanding the boat with 3 sails.. before the next mark.
Because of the design of the reaching hook-cum-cleat I still need to stretch forward even to uncleat it, but I will experiment with the both-cleated-in method and see if my guy is long enough. Well they keep telling me to get my weight further forwards....

pigs might.....

No No No dont clip both the guys into one pole. If you are a S/H with one pole look for a forked end or the new rabit ear end from P&B (i think) dont have the clip on ends, too hard to engage with one hand as a S/H.

The two pole method has special rigging lines within each pole to make the system work.

Sinker - I do believe touche! from a few years ago!