Seemed to me that the biggest problem I had in snuffing was fighting the halyard itself. If the head of the sail fell off to leeward (and stayed out of the water), the large hoop easily accommodated whatever amount of spin I could pull in there.

If the halyard wasn't easing fast enough, I was pulling against that (tight luff), as well as whatever fabric at the snuff points into the hoop, at a vertical angle (and the clump of sail had to go around the hoop edge)