CaptnChaos wrote:
Even minor up and down with a lever on that topper over a period will disintegrate it. That spinnaker jumps around so it wouldn't take long. The flexing of a pultrusion will batter the heck out of those bearings.
I am starting to come around to CaptnChaos implied observation that maybe the SpinKit is not for everybody - and specifically not for me....
Here's a pic of what the rear portion of the halyard line does to my main on one tack:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1081497986 ... 2792895474When actually sailing, it looks
much worse that what the pic shows - but I don't have a waterproof cam, so had to take the pix on the beach with my cell phone. ..... It
really messes up the sail's foil/shape.
I don't think I am going to sell this thing - more like keep it in the gear box to fool around with on the occasional light air day. .... Who knows? .... Maybe I will eventually see the light and learn to love my SpinKit.
I had hoped that it would be harmless when not used and I'd keep it installed-but-snuffed most of the time.
However between what it does to the sail's shape, the lingering possibility of mainsail furling being disabled at the wrong time, and the obvious entanglement issues with those extra lines laying around - all when snuffed - it seems like the pluses do not outweigh the minuses sufficiently for Yours Truly's everyday use.
To the end of more interesting light-to-moderate air sailing, I think my next step is to shop for a TI mast/sail and see what shakes out of that.
Bigger main gives more oomph on all tacks with no downside exposure because it can be easily reefed to approximate the stock AI sail ..... Seems like there is no downside save the cost - and, besides, I don't want my survivors to have
too much fun...
Maybe Greater Minds Than Mine can see something negative, but I perceive a better solution there than with the complexity, limited wind angle range, and exposure to furling malfunction of the SpinKit.
And my hands are really sore..... -)
maybe its just me but i dont see how this could happen if one followed Hobies instructions and furled the sail to the first batten when making a tack, maybe i am missing something but thats my observation.....