after the crew releases the spin halyard and starts pulling on the retrieval/snuffer line the helm controlls the speed of the halyard line passing through their hands
I do appreciate all the input, but as i mentioned above, i sail solo (almost all the time)
Question: What are you doing w/ the spin halyard before the drop??? most of my friends toss it astern and let it drag in the water this adds some tension also because of the friction of the water on the halyard
That sounds good if you have 2 lines, or allot of slack...
my method is this:
pull in any slack from the retrieval end.... let out the tack a few feet.... pop the spinlock (halyard) and hand over hand, feverishly pull in the retrieval line before my boat turns upwind (no extra hands for the tiller)... and hope i don't get a turn in the line or knot ...
I think Jakes advice and getting the continuous line to the right length should help allot
