OK, this may be the dumbest confession to ever appear here, but in the 14 years I've owned my boat, I've never had the need to pull out the V-berth mattress and access the storage area underneath. Lately, however, I've been thinking of adding a bow water tank like I had on my last Cat 36, so the other day out came the mattress so I could do a bit of measuring and scoping out of the area. What to my wondering eyes should appear, but a SPINNAKER in a bag marked "Cat 36 Spinnaker". I know my PO did a Mexico cruise and there IS a spinnaker track on my mast and a spinnaker halyard, but I never thought to ask about it since there was a lot of gear (like the watermaker) that he took off the boat before I bought it. There was also no spinnaker pole in the place where one would be stored on the mast, so I never thought to ask about one. I'm mostly a casual Santa Monica bay day sailor and I usually go sailing either alone or with non-sailor friends, so flying a spinnaker always looked like too much work to bother with. Needless to say, I know little about them. I took it home and pulled it out of the bag (it's HUGE) and what I have is a beautiful red, white and blue Catalina sail contained in a ChuteScoop. I'm thinking if this is an asymetrical spinnaker, I should be able to handle it pretty easily with the sock. If it requires the pole, I'm not as sure. Along the foot, the corner which I believe to be the tack has just a ring for attaching to the bow (I assume) but at what appears to be the clew, there is a 15' sheet attached. I would have assumed if it was an asymetrical spinnaker, it would have had a longer sheet attached to reach the winch in the cockpit. So, my question to those of you who know about spinnakers is...What does it sound like I have here? I plan to take it back down to the boat and hoist it to get a better look, but it was windy today so I'm waiting on that. In the meantime, ANY thoughts about this sail or why there is only a 15' sheet attached to the clew would help me figure this out. Also, how hard are these to work with alone? Lastly, what is this thing worth? It's in great condition having been unused for the past 14 years. :D
Thanks,
Mike (The Idiot :D)
Deja Vu
1991 MK I # 1106
Marina del Rey, CA
Mike,
Nice find, I was going to claim it was mine since it took you so long to find it.
I have never flown a chute but, are you sure the 15 ft sheet is on the clew, could this be the tack. The sheets, two of them would need to be close to sixty feet would it not.
Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas
Mike,
I agree with Steve. The 15' "sheet" is most likely your tack pennant. When you took it out of the sock did you notice if the luff was longer than the leech? If it came with a sock, it's most likely an asymmetrical. Even if it's not, I've heard of people flying symmetrical chutes as if they were asymmetrical, using a tack pennant instead of a pole. The shape of the chute may not be optimized for this, but it can be done. I'd suggest grabbing someone from your marina or club who is familiar with flying a chute, and go do some experimenting on some light-air day. It sounds like all you need is a sheet or two and a snatch block or two. Have fun!
If it really is in great shape, with a sock, I would think it's worth at least one boat unit?
Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT
Mike, that's hilarious! 14 years! I doubt there is any nook or cranny anywhere in my 10-year old boat that hasn't been thoroughly explored by me, and usually with a little blood spilled in it...or at least some essential body fluid.
Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
Nice Find! You just hit the Community Chest card and recieve about $2500.00 or better. Here some friends in front of my Gen-naker.
Enjoy!!
[IMG]https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/301392_2380729168618_1489734...
Mark Holzmann
"Hawkwind"
Sail #1246
Rose City Yacht Club-Portland OR
If you, um, find that the spinnaker is a bit, shall we say, too much for you to handle on your own, I'm sure one of your comrades here in the Association might be interested in perhaps buying it from you. You know, if you were interested. *cough*
David
s/v Portmanteau
Hull #2133 -- 2003 MKII
Seattle, WA
Steve & Tom - Yes, I think you might be right. I took the sock out of the bag, but didn't take the sail all the way out of the sock (hey, my living room ain't THAT big). The more I've been reading however, it would make sense that the 15' line is the tack pennant to attach the sail to the bow cleat or bow roller and allow it to rise above the lifelines. The line is spliced on, so it's definitely supposed to be there.
Larry - Ha Ha, you're right. I've been all through my boat too, but there is absolutely NOTHING under the V-Berth to look at or check (other than the odd sail or two apparently) so I never went there.:D
David - I might be back here selling it once I figure out what it is and if I can handle it without a pole. What are these things worth BEFORE the "C36 Comrade Discount"? It is a beautiful sail and in great shape by the looks of it.
I'll report back after I unfurl this thing....any other thoughts?
Mike
Deja Vu
1991 MK I # 1106
Marina del Rey, CA
Mike, nice find!
Things to consider:
--- do you have a spinnaker halyard?
--- do you have a way to work the sock?
--- what arrangement do you have at the cockpit end for controlling it? IIRC, asymetricals may not require separate spinnaker winches, but you have to figure out that you'd have to furl your jib first, for example, plus turning blocks for the new spinnaker sheets
--- what's the weight, to be able to figure out what wind ranges you can fly it
--- for the cost of two sheets, you might have a "keeper"
Those are the questions I'd ask myself if I was in your position. All I got when I bought my boat was very clean area under the V berth. In fact, the entire boat was very clean, wish the PO would come back and clean it up again! :)
Good luck, happy tryout day.
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)
Hi Stu, thanks!
Yes, I do have a spinnaker halyard rigged. As far as the ChuteScoop sock, it is rigged with lines to raise and lower the sock. Per the YouTube videos I've been watching, you DO need to furl the genny first. As for cockpit controls, I'll have to figure that out. The weight for every Cat 36 Spinnaker I've found on the internet is 1.5 ounce nylon. I note that this is apparently a stock Catalina sail based on the Catalina labeling. I'll be trying her out when these winds die down a bit (and I get my taxes done).
The GOOD news is that after scouring the internet, the ONLY spinnakers I've found for the Cat 36 are asymetrical "cruising" spinnakers, so this might well work out for me.
I'm trying to forget the number of times I have drifted back into MDR going 2 knots when I had the "turbo sail" hiding there all along.:o
Mike
Deja Vu
1991 MK I # 1106
Marina del Rey, CA
I've always just run my spinnaker sheets through Garhauer standup blocks on cars at the very aft end of the outer track, then to the winches. While I know that the blocks should be as far aft as possible, this has worked out fine for me, and blocks further aft have never percolated to the top of my list of things to do (along with lots of other stuff).
I have my spinnaker halyard tied off at the base of the mast. I can raise the spinnaker in it's sock, tie it off and raise the sock. I wrap the sock's line loosely around the cleat as well.
I'm usually single handed and this setup has worked out fine.
Gary and Cathy Price
1997 C36 Mk II Tall Rig/Wing Keel Imagine...
Hull # 1617
Worton Creek, Md.
Northern Chesapeake Bay