I am looking at a used spinnaker for my 21SE Hobie. My current spinnaker measures 26' clew and 29'1" tack with a 14"4" foot. The used one is 25' on both the tack and clew with a 14'4" foot. Would this work on my boat or should I focus on getting a spinnaker pole and find a more up to date style.

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Bill 404 21SE
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Well ... lemme see. The class rules say:

g) Third sail parameters are: 7. Maximum luff 30 ft. (9.15 meters) Maximum foot 20 ft. (6.1 meters) Minimum S.M.G. 13 ft. (3.96 meters)

I think the S.M.G. is semi-mid girth and and is intended to make the sail fatter in the middle so it looks like a spinnaker and not like a genoa. My first generation kite had almost equal luff and leech and the second generation one had dimensions much closer to yours. Unless the used spinnaker is a bargain I'd pass. It's probably useful as a spare but that's it. If it were me I'd look for a Tornado kite so I could set up a snuffer arrangement on the pole. I couldn't get a snuffer to work with my kite since it was way too fat in the middle and just got all balled up.

Also depends on your intended use. If you're just going sailing then a simple pole will do. A couple of minutes getting it up or down won't mean anything. If you're racing you want the snuffer. If you're racing there aren't any one desing type races anymore so you'll get a DPN number, without spinnaker, plus a spinnaker correction. Since they don't care whether the spinnaker or pole is class legal or not then any pole length and spinnaker is OK.

Have fun!

Charles

How about a kite from an F18HT?? The luff is ~28 feet. The turning blocks were mounted on the shrouds, so the foot is pretty small, like 14 feet.

I would go with a pole and snuffer system, no matter what you get.

Fack that thing must be fast, Bill. I'm going to go out on a limb and say next week it will be too windy for spinnakers, for the most part.

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Nacra 6.0 NA
Ogden Dunes, IN
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Let's hope it is that windy at Caya Costa state Park,FL..


Today, I detailed out two 16 mast and my 21SE mast. New black halyards for all lines. Install two tramps (one new) and removed my 21Se tramp for a small sew job. It should snow tomorrow but be in the high 50's Tuesday and Wednesday. So Tuesday I lace up all three boats with black line and have them ready for next weekend.Only 5 days to my holiday along Florida's southwest coast.


Lots to think of....

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Bill 404 21SE
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My cat is ship shape. I replace the jib halyard the other day. I pretty much gave it a full restoration to some extent last fall. The new tramp could use a tightening though. and the trailer got news wheels and tires. The latest plans are for a 10am departure out of West Lafayette Friday

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Nacra 6.0 NA
Ogden Dunes, IN
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The best market for used spins for your boat is probably the F18 class, plenty of competitive boats part with a spin after a season or less. Or the nice one's Dan has off the HTs. To get the intended performance of an assymetrical you do need a pole that gets the tack out in front of the bows. You can deck launch with skilled crew, but the snuffer is much faster and usually more secure/less likely to get away from you while hoisting/retreiving. Maybe you can get a spin this year and a snuffer next. I haven't check lately, but Elliot Pattison had one or more developmental spins for sale for around $350.

Dave

my first spin was a beat up f18. Great first spin for me (on my 5.5).

Cheap and came with lots of ventalation (burn holes)





Edited by MN3 on Mar 07, 2012 - 01:04 PM.