Attaching Spinnaker Sheets

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Elliott S. Milstein's picture
Elliott S. Milstein
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Attaching Spinnaker Sheets

I have an asymmetrical spinnaker. When I first bought it, on advice I attached the sheets to it using plastic or nylon shackles. We believed that metal shackles could do damage to person or boat in a flapping situation and that tying the sheets with a bowline would make it difficult to remove a sheet in the event of a wrap or other urgent situation. The light plastic shackles have worked well (I use the sail infrequently) but last weekend they gave way. In a gust of approximately 12 to 15 knots, both the sheet under load and then the lazy sheet popped free. Since I have an ATN sleeve, no big problem but there was some excitement.

So, what are the best ways to attach the sheets?

Thanks,
Elliott

Elliott Milstein
Collaboration #1469
1995 C-36MkII
Port Annapolis Marina

Nimue's picture
Nimue
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Plastic shackles are marginally strong enough on a Catalina 27. The 36 is a load machine and the best solution for this job is a Tylaska T8 shackle - easy to trip free if required, not too heavy, and plenty strong. I have equivalent Wichard shackles on my boat, just 'cause they were cheaper.

Jason V
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Elliott S. Milstein's picture
Elliott S. Milstein
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Thanks. Cheaper sounds good. I assume you mean the Wichard Quick-Release Shackle. There are 3 sizes. Do you have a sense of which one would work? The sizes are approximately 2 1/2, 3 1/2 and 4 1/2.

Elliott Milstein
Collaboration #1469
1995 C-36MkII
Port Annapolis Marina

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Nimue
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I use the middle size one, not sure of part numbers I had a couple of them lying around from my last boat.

Quick release is not strictly required but I've had other standard type shackles where the split ring gets hooked on stuff and then the whole shackle explodes.

Jason V
Vancouver, BC, Canada

BudStreet
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[quote=Nimue;18480]I use the middle size one, not sure of part numbers I had a couple of them lying around from my last boat.

Quick release is not strictly required but I've had other standard type shackles where the split ring gets hooked on stuff and then the whole shackle explodes.[/quote]

+1 to that. We have a Wichard on our genoa sheets and that explode thing happened in 25 knots during a tack. Certainly great fun trying to get the flailing genoa back under control. I now mouse the hook shut and tape the whole thing up so it doesn't catch on anything. It never comes off until haulout anyway so there's no downside, for me, as always YMMV.

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Chachere
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Relying on very helpful advice in another thread ([url]http://www.c36ia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=974[/url] -- thanks again to TomSoko, Nimue, and Howlin!) we only just last weekend rigged our boat with another halyard so we could fly the AS (see [url]http://www.c36ia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2310[/url] ), and once I climbed down from the mast we simply tied the sheets on with bowlines and let fly (both the head and tack attachments are quick release shackle).

But reading this thread I realize that attaching the sheets with a QR shackle may be advisable, too.

However, I see "shackle" being used in the plural form by all of you. So, perhaps a dumb question: Should each sheet to the AS have its own shackle, or can both sheets be attached to 1 common shackle (would cut expense in half, obviously)?

By the way, Elliot and Nimue, there appear to be at least 6 sizes of the Wichard Quick release shackle: 2-3/4" WIC 2673, 3-5/32" WIC 2674, 3-17/32" WIC 2675, 4-5/16" WIC 2676, 5-3/32" WIC 2677, 5-15/16" WIC 2678. I am assuming that you are suggesting the 3-17/32" (WIC 2675)?

Matthew Chachère
s/v ¡Que Chévere!
(Formerly 1985 C36 MKI #466 tall rig fin keel M25)
2006 Catalina Morgan 440 #30.
Homeported in eastern Long Island, NY

Nimue's picture
Nimue
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Couldn't tell you what model out of that list! A bunch of those are the same basic shackle with larger or smaller bales on them, and the bale doesn't matter much.

I'd do one shackle for the pair of sheets - keep the weight off the clew and you can use the sail in lighter wind. Also less weight flailing around and bashing into things.

Jason V
Vancouver, BC, Canada

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For cruising though I also think a bowline is a perfectly suitable form of attachment. We have three different spinnakers on our boat so the ability to switch the sheets from one sail to the other quickly makes the shackle work well for us.

Jason V
Vancouver, BC, Canada

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Chachere
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[QUOTE=Nimue;18495]For cruising though I also think a bowline is a perfectly suitable form of attachment. We have three different spinnakers on our boat so the ability to switch the sheets from one sail to the other quickly makes the shackle work well for us.[/QUOTE]

Thanks -- you may have just saved us a quick $100 bucks (I'd buy you a drink if you were close to the right coast!)

By the way, I did pretty much copy your suggested halyard installation last weekend, including the addition of a cheek block near the top of the mast to keep it pulled to the side. Only difference being that its on the starboard side, like Soko's (oddly enough, which there were two unused exit holes at the bottom of the mast, there was only one at the top).

Matthew Chachère
s/v ¡Que Chévere!
(Formerly 1985 C36 MKI #466 tall rig fin keel M25)
2006 Catalina Morgan 440 #30.
Homeported in eastern Long Island, NY

Elliott S. Milstein's picture
Elliott S. Milstein
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Me too! I have only one spinnaker.

Elliott Milstein
Collaboration #1469
1995 C-36MkII
Port Annapolis Marina

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Whispering Eye
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Posts: 30

I used a 3 Part splice where each sheet will be independent from each other as well as the strop. That way if something goes wrong, you are not compromising the whole sheet. The sketch will give you an idea.

NEREEU38 New England Ropes - Endura Braid Euro Style - Solid Color 3/8 in. - 10 mm.
Color: Blue
MPSSPL113 Spectra / Vectran Single Braid Eye Splice
MPSSPL115 Jacket Splice for Stripped Rope
MPSSPL106 End Whipping
NERE12316 New England Ropes - Endura 12 - 3/16 in. - 5 mm.
TYLS8 Tylaska S8 Spool Shackle

The use of eye splices make the sheet, yoke and spool shackle easy to connect. The tapered sheets, yoke, and spool shackle greatly reduce the weight on the clew of the asymmetrical spinnaker.

I also installed a Selden removable bowsprit and a Selden GX top down furler for my asymmetrical spinnaker. Now it is easy to handle the spinnaker short handed.

Whispering Eye
C 36 Mk II #2201
Std RFM, WK, M35b

s/v Whispering Eye

2004 Catalina 36 Mk II  #2201

SRFM/WK/M35b

St. Petersburg, FL
 

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