What's knot to like? Improving your Island

One of the few advantages of being stuck in hospital for a month (and counting) is that I have plenty of think time.

Vetgam (Greg) has already got the best way to manage both a headsail and a Hobie spinnaker, by using a snuffer for each, but I have thought of an improvement.

As you may know, the Hobie tackle for the tack of the spinnaker uses a knot to determine the distance between the bow and the tack of the sail. I propose inserting a knot (maybe supplemented by a small plastic ball for a gentler interaction with the masthead topper) into the halyard just above the head of the sail.

Let's separate the potential benefits.... if the halyard/backstay is tightened against the new stopper, it will be possible to induce some mast bend (assuming there is tension existing from the headsail/spinnaker and the mainsail). This will steady the mast a little (and not interfere with the ability of the unstayed mast to spill excess air in a big gust), and also tend to put a slight bend in the middle of the mast (mainsheet tension at the top being reduced, but not in the middle of the sail), reducing the depth of the "belly" of the sail, and moving the CE (centre of effort) of the sail, slightly improving pointing ability.

Not bad so far for one little knot!

Ahead of the mast, by adjusting the overall length of sail, tack system and any line from the head of the sail to the halyard, you can set "headstay tension", so the tightening the backstay directly increases it. This will materially improve pointing capability with the headstay.

With the spinnaker, you could set it up so cranking on the backstay tightens the luff just enough to improve close reaching without hurting the sail by stretching. Of course, off the wind, releasing backstay tension will increase the belly of the spinnaker and let it breathe.

So there you have it, that little knot is gonna earn its keep!

As my health adventures won't see me back on my TI till July (next spinal fusion surgery in mid May), I am hopeful that one of you will give my suggestion a try. Who knows, it might actually work!

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

Tony, I can tell your on to something by your excitement but my mind can't follow this. Can you draw a picture? Once I set the spinnaker, I like to pull the halyard line on the side of the boat in the reverse direction by hand to lift the spinnaker off the bow by about 2 ft. This lets me sail downwind with 360 visability. Will I loose this ability with the knot your talking about?

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Greg

2016 AI - Spinn & Jib

“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.”
– Charles G. Davis

I don't have an easy way of drawing this Greg, but imagine, one you have the spinnaker set nicely, with that distance under it for visibility, if you had a knot in the halyard sitting snugly against the front o the mast topper.

Now if you pulled more one the halyard (via the backstay), you will move the masthead towards the stern, tightening the spinnaker. (if you don't want more tension in the spinnaker, you could set the knot further from the head of the sail).

Now when you fly your headsail, you would adjust the distance from the knot to the head of the sail (some on it in the halyard, but perhaps also a small extension from the head of the sail), o that you can now increase tension in the leading edge of the sail by pulling on the backstay

As I mentioned above, this would also tend to flatten the mainsail, which will improve pointing.

I wish I was in a position to actually set up my mast and make a video.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

I get it now Tony. That sounds logical. I have to use Shark tubing at the mast head to prevent halyard line snags and my spinn head engages the Shark tubing much like you describe. Unfortunately this likely negates any real forces on the mast so I'm not sure I can benefit from your ides. I'm amazed that more people have not complained of line snags when furling. You don't have any?

Interested to hear back when you give your idea a try.

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Greg

2016 AI - Spinn & Jib

“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.”
– Charles G. Davis

I know it seems strange Greg but tangles just don't seem to be as common.. Generally, I just keep an eye on things at the masthead, until the square top of the mainsail is wrapped around the mast (or at least tucked in under the topper). If a wrap occurs at that early stage it is a doddle to just reverse the pull until it is cleared.

Partially furling the main first also helps.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker