Hoisting

#1. Load the sail into the snuffer. If this is your first time using a snuffer we recommend doing this on land. Make sure that there are no twists in the sail or the snuffer. Check the sail by running your hands along the tapes of the sail (Leech and Luff). Attach your Gennaker sheet(s) to the sail.

#2. On the water, put your boat on a broad reach course, if possible, attach bag to a stanchion base on the foredeck.

#3. If not already done attach your Gennaker sheet(s) to the sail. Make sure that the Gennaker sheets lead outside everything shrouds, stanchions and lifelines!

#4. Furl your Headsail

#5. Attach the tack pennant to the bow cleat (leaving just enough slack for the tack of the sail to raise to a height at or about the height of your gooseneck or to predetermined location)

#6. Break open the sail bag

#7. Attach the halyard and hoist the snuffer and/or sail to the top.

#8. If you are using a snuffer, pull down on the control line for the snuffer. The snuffer will rise requiring some sail trim. This will cause the sail to fill and also assists the snuffer to the top of the mast. Try to do this rapidly and smoothly.

#9. Tension the sheet until the clew of the sail is about even with the mast.

#10. Hoisting the gennaker on a broad reach is ideal. If not on a broad reach turn the boat onto a broad reaching angle and continue to use the control lines to raise the snuffer. If you are sailing DDW (dead down wind) the sail may twist around the headstay and cause a blinding mess of twisting sail. On the other hand if you are sailing on a close or beam reach the sail may fill before trimmed or the crew is ready. You may find yourself short one bow person.

#11. With the snuffer fully hoisted and the sail full, pull the control lines for the snuffer tight and secure them on a cleat on your foredeck or mast.

Trimming the Sail

Reaching:

Range of performance
Light breeze (8 to 10 knots): Can sail angles up to 72° to 74° apparent
Heavy breeze (15 plus knots): Can sail angles up to 170° to 175° apparent

Tack Pennant
Adjust the tack pennant to desired height, if you are not sure then use your gooseneck as a guide (keep in mind every boat is different)

The lower the tack the flatter the sail shape

Close reaching approx. gooseneck height

The higher the tack the fuller the sail shape

Broad reaching approx. bow pulpit height

Curve
The sail should be trimmed or eased so that it develops a slight fold or curve in the top 1/3 of the luff. If the sail isn't luffing, then your sail is trimmed properly.

Avoid Over-trimming
If you over-trim the Gennaker it will cause the sail to collapse. If this happens, simply ease the Gennaker until it fills again. Over trimming the Gennaker can cause an increase in helm causing the boat to be unbalanced and making steering very difficult. (The only exception to this rule is in heavy air, on a close reach, over trimming can allow you to dump some of the excess air from the Gennaker to maintain control of the boat)

Don’t forget to trim the mainsail accordingly and maintain the smooth curve on the luff of the Gennaker. If all sails are trimmed correctly then there will be a slight helm.

Running:

Asymmetric sails are made for reaching purposes this can make sailing directly downwind tricky. Often times at the lower angles the Gennaker will get caught behind the mainsail and collapse. To improve the sails ability to go downwind raise the tack and ease the halyard a bit to allow the sail to be fuller. By doing this you also allow the sail to rotate to windward freeing it from the shadow of the mainsail.

Tacking and Gybing

Tacking:
DO NOT tack a Gennaker

Gybing (The Safe Way):
Assume sail is full and you are reaching downwind, simply snuff the sail with the snuffer (or douse the sail), gybe the main and walk the gennaker to the other side of the boat, then open it again on the new course and tack. Make sure that the halyard is not twisted around the headstay. I.E. Don’t forget to look up! If the tack line feeds to a fitting foreword of the headstay the sail must go outside the headstay.

After you are comfortable with the sail you can perform a proper gybe without using the snuffer. This will be performed differently depending on how your sail is rigged.

Gybing (Ideal Situation):
If the tack line leads to a fitting forward of the headstay chainplate this is ideal. In one fast motion ease the loaded (leeward) sheet so that the clew (corner that the sheets are attached) has moved forward toward the bow. The sail must pass between the luff and the headstay so moving the clew forward enables the crew get a head start trimming the new leeward gennaker sheet. This is most easily done as you are turning downwind just before the gybe because the sail will not be as loaded. Gybe the mainsail and pull hard and fast on the new leeward gennaker sheet. The Gennaker will fill and begin to fly on the new course.

Gybing (Another Option):
If the tack line leads to a fitting aft of the headstay chainplate then the gybe will be slightly more difficult due to the fact that the sail must go around the boat entirely in front of the headstay. In one fast motion, ease the sheet and let sail luff in front of the boat, gybe the mainsail. Due to the fact that you are gybing the sail this way you will need to pull hard and fast on the new leeward sheet to trim the sail in on the new tack and course.

Remember its better to not trim enough and adjust then to over trim and stall.

Take Down Dousing

With a Snuffer:

Find sail bag and prepare it to receive the sail

Uncleat the control lines for the snuffer and make sure the boat is sailing on a broad reach angle

Ease the loaded sheet about even with the mast, if the tack line is adjustable easing may help the dousing process go smoother. Two people are preferred when raising or dousing a gennaker.

Douse the sail with the snuffer and lower the halyard allowing the sail to fall into the bag.

Without a Snuffer:

Blowing the Tack Line vs. Easing the Sheet

You can blow the tack or ease the sheet to douse the sail and get good results. When you blow the tack for a take down you will also want to pull in the gennaker sheet to hold the clew close to the boat. This prevents the sail from getting away from you and the boat. Also the sail will be somewhat hidden from the wind because of the mainsail. To make this work you need a quick release snap shackle at the tack that can be "spiked" open with a marlinspike while under load. When you spike the tack shackle the pressure is completely released from the sail and the sail is blanketed behind the mainsail. It is an effective technique for getting the sail down in moderate or windy conditions. If you don't have this type of shackle rigged on your tack line, you would need to ease several feet of tack line to achieve the same results.

Another approach, the stronger the wind is, the more important it will be to relieve the sheet pressure on the gennaker before pulling the snuffer down. Keep the halyard and tack line in the normal sailing positions. Then try easing the sheet several feet until the sail starts to luff. Don't let the sheet go completely. If the sail is flogging when you ease the sheet, have the helmsman bear away from the wind to an angle where the breeze is coming across the windward corner of the transom - an apparent wind angle of about 160 degrees. That should blanket the spinnaker behind the mainsail so that there is very little pressure on it. When you bear off this far, it is important for the helmsman to keep an eye on the spinnaker in case it starts to wrap around the headstay before you can get the snuffer down. If the sail begins to blow through the foretriangle, the helmsman should steer towards the wind slightly to make the airflow through the foretriangle, blowing the gennaker back out to the leeward side of the boat.

When it is time to pull the snuffer down, you should be positioned in the middle of the foredeck, rather than at the base of the mast. By moving further forward, you are pulling from between the luff and leech edges of the sail so it is easier to collapse it. I prefer to sit down on the deck instead of standing up. Then, if I lose my balance, there is nowhere to fall!

If you try these techniques and find that it is still very difficult to pull the sock down, you may have a twist in the retrieval line. To check for a twist, take the sail and snuffer off the boat and lay it out straight on a lawn or porch. Feel the retrieval line inside the colored sleeve at the top. The line goes through a block on the inside of the sleeve and it can develop a twist if the block flops over. If you and a helper run the sleeve up and down a couple of times on the lawn you will be able to tell if it is hanging up from the friction of a twist.

If you have any questions feel free to call Cruising Direct at (888) 424-7328