Hi Folks,
I want to build my own snuffer because I think that the prices are high for the fancy ones.. I though that I would use a tennis racket as the hoop and get someone to make the sock. I have a Nacra 6.0 and so I thought that i would tie it somehow in front of the foil and to the side of the pole..

Has anyone done this?

Pros, cons?
Dave

Or, what about getting a 12" light weight tube of some kind and cutting one end off at a 45' angle. Then somehow putting a flare on this end and then tying it to the spin pole?

Well, Randy Smyth uses a tennis racket and no sock -- just feeds it through the tennis racket back to a bag on the tramp.

get an extra mainsail bag and attach it to the hoop.

Yes I saw that...pretty clever. However, won't the jib get in the way, and won't the chute start to fill with wind on the way out before it gets to the hoop?

I have slowed on this project but will be picking it back up again soon.

How to - snuffer ring Nacra 6.0

Randy's system is cool! I've sailed with him and it worked really well. The newest version with the sock built into the tramp is nice. If I remember right, the idea came about during the CFR development and it also only works on uni rigs. Filling during deployment and snuffing was not a problem and on the HT and deployment is FAST.

Will

Dave:
All you do is drill two holes in the Bowfoil and use a 2" stainless U-Bolt to support it. Works great!
Bunch of the guys are making their own hoops, Try Anthony Aquila or Jake Kohl, Both of their Products show great craftsmanship. Might try the SpinnakersandSnuffers group of Yahoo, too.
Cary Palmer
Inter 20

We use a low-tech approach to get the best result at a reasonable cost - less hi-tech than Jake`s vacuum-bagged snuffer (which looks great, but requires a lot more effort & equipment than ours.)
I`m intrigued by the tennis-racket idea, someone please post a pic !

Our snuffer ring is made from a ABS plastic moulded chute which is made for a dinghy or keelboat, I`m not sure which. We buy the ring from North Sails, it`s a little big for a 16ft cat, but would work really well for 18-20 footers without modification.
We cut a piece out of the middle & just glue it back together with PVC-Weld. The sock is made from snuffer-chute cloth from North Sails & just ties on over the lip of the chute, and is then tied back to the trampoline, either under or over the tramp, whatever you prefer.
Total cost to me was about R400-00, about $53 at today`s exchange rate.
Attached is a pic, I have more if you`re interested.
Works a treat - the Hobie Tiger guys are envious, as it works better than their fancy fibreglass model, at 1/10th of the cost !

Cheers
Steve

Here's a pic of Randy Smyth and his tennis racket on F-18HT. It was taken at the Tradewinds Regatta in January and was in Catamaran Sailor magazine.

Here's another shot of the tennis racket on the HT Jeff Losapio and I were on at the C100. You may need the extra "open" height of the unirig bridle to use this. Didn't have much chute time in the race, but this worked well, and the narrow under-tramp bag worked great.

that's a 'sock' for a cruising keelboat spinnaker isn't it? the one that rides bunched at the top of the sail?

Hello,

Yes I've made a (mid pole)snuffer out of a tennis racket. Used an "oversized" tennisracket and connected it to a tube that slides over the spi pole. the racket is connected to the tube by "winding" some layers of woven carbon with epoxy resin over the parts that are joined. It appears to be strong enough.
It does work reasonable, better than the e-o snuffer that i used before. Even though I do think that the snuffer in the following link has a better section. see: http://www.catsailor.com/forums/sho...ew=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1
Quite a lot of people on "round texel" were using this system of sailcenter.

a photo is attached, unfortunately don't have a better one.

Geert

I use my hoop out of an e-o snuffer, lash it to the pole and the front of the foil on my N6.0na, and use the same
e-o bag which goes under the tramp some. The turning block for the snuffer is at the rear crossbar, and the retrieval line goes from sail, thru bag, under tramp, block, above tramp, to a spinlock and up the mast for a hailyard. I choose this cause I already had all the gear, and use some old lines for the lashing to the pole and foil. Works well, and won't get ripped under the boat in larger waves without the chute up like it did when it was at the end of the pole! The poles, snuffers, etc. are very low on a foiled, low jib boat!

These are some great variations and ideas, good work!

hey jake, just picked up a bunch of your rings from wal mart for $3.87 CANADIAN.