There are pictures posted on the Florida Multihull Sailor from the St Augustine Regatta last month. I was racing F16HPU and there are a couple of shot of me with the spinnaker set on my Taipan 4.9. The results are posted at St. Augustine Summer Sizzler Results

Jennifer Lindsay
Taipan 4.9 #262

Looks you've got some decent speed here :





I'm however not sure wether I should ever use the third picture :

http://www.floridamultihullsailor.com/staug2003/sund3/p3t2r3c3.htm

Your face looks rather red, was it very hot ?

Looks like the low PN class was pretty much a singlehander class as all these were found above the doublehanders.

Wouter

On Sunday, the winds were strong enough to fly a hull most of the time with the spinnaker downwind. Too bad they didn't get a picture then. When sailing the Taipan 4.9 uni without spinnaker, you get a break on the downwind legs but not so when sail with the spinnaker. I have found that sailing the F16HPU is quite a workout and often find myself breathing quite heavy by the end of the race. (As you can see in the third picture.)

When I first started sailing with the spinnaker, I had the sheets running through 2 ratch blocks on each side of the boat like everyone else but still had difficulty sheeting in because of the load. I have since then added a purchase simmilar to the way it is done on the jib. There are 2 blocks attached to the clew of the spinnaker and only 1 ratch block on each side of the boat. I can sheet in alot easier with the added purchase and I have found the spinnaker dumps alot faster when I let go of the sheet because it only travels through 1 ratch block. On the down side, the blocks on the spinnaker clew sometimes get caught on the forestay when jibing and the spinnaker sheet is almost twice as long as before. I keep making adjustments to this setup so some day I hope to minimize these drawbacks. Without these changes though, I do not think I would be able to sail the boat with the spinnaker by myself.

I hope to see more F16HPU's on the race course soon.

Jennifer Lindsay
Taipan 4.9 #262

Great to hear some others experiences with F16HPU. I'm still very new to the taipan and have tons to sort out still. But I've sailed 3 times now uni with spin and really enjoyed it. I'm not a small guy, and I can tell you I was very tired after the experience--flying a hull down wind and sheeting in and out on the spin plus steering deeper as speed picks up--I found it to be a challenge. It's not that the spin sheet load was really heavy, it's just that you've only got one hand and I found I had to work it quite a bit.

I'd be interested in hearing how others steer and hoist at the same time, how they trim the main (and jib) downwind with spin up, and where they try to keep the apparent wind (~90 deg?).

I sail my Taipan 4.9 Cat rigged with NO Spinnaker and find that I don't have enough arms!!!

Hats off to you guys that are sailing with a kite as well.

Rob.

Eric,

I'm still learning the uni/spi game, but here's a little bit of how I do it....

Hoist-ease traveler 6 inches, point the boat dead down, leave the tiller to it's own devices and hoist like a fiend, grab spin sheet, move back on the tramp, and steer up as far as you dare!

Trim/Steering - I typically steer to the heel, trying to keep the hull just off the water and sheet the spi appropriately. I've put 3 sets of tell tales on the spi, which is VERY helpful. If it's blowing, I usually get on the trap and use my legs to sheet...ie, stand up to sheet in, crouch to ease. I normally don't mess with the main at all once I get going...Probably not optimal, but I'm not good enough to steer, sheet the spi and screw with the main. No jib by myself, but if I have crew, I get them on the trap, let them deal with spi and I stay on the hull handling main and jib.

Hope that helps...will be interested to hear the methods of others madness.

Jeff.

Jennifer,
Thanks for the post.
Would you mind telling me the diameter of the spinnaker sheet that your usings,and the length of the sheet that allows the double purchase system that you use when single handing.

Regards,
Phill

The spinnaker sheet length is 72 ft (21.9m) with the added purchase and the diameter of the line is 5/16 in (8 mm). 72 feet seems to be on the long side and I have been tying the sheet so the working length is only around 55 ft (16.8 m) I have only sailed with the added purchase in light air and I don't know if I will need more length (more than 55 ft) in heavier wind. I don't want to cut it shorter until I find the right length. Hope this information helps.

Jennifer
Taipan 4.9/F16HP #262

Jennifer,
Thanks.
I was thinking about your problem of sometimes catching on the forestay. So I just wondered what you were working with.
Possibly a small block sewn either side at the clew of the kite just in from the leach and foot (but still in the reinforcing patch) with a heavy dacron flap sewn over each side would prevent it from catching.
This could be trialled quite easily with a needle and whipping twine. If it worked out Ok the kite could be modified by a sailmaker or not.

Just an idea.
I'd like to see you get all the bugs out.

Regards,
Phill