Text: Courtesy of ATN
The main concern of every sailor is not to hoist the spinnaker but to get it
back on the boat. That's when the spinnaker sleeve makes the average sailboat
owner a sailor. Without any help, he makes that very powerful and expensive sail
disappear with a minimum of effort in a safe way. And the sail is ready to be
hoisted again immediately, no more packing!
While it would seem that a spinnaker sleeve is a simple sailing tool, and that
any one with a sewing machine could design and fabricate one, when dealing with
large sails, the problems increase rapidly in complexity and cost. It is very
plausible to get hurt or to inflict great injury to others, and to one's wallet,
if the system used is inadequate. But there is no need to rub it in, especially
at sea: it has to work and be reliable.
Problems solved by a Spinnaker Sleeve or Dousing
Sock:
The main problem to solve was the mixing of
the control lines and the sail.
A separate channel (which contains the control line) is sewn alongside the main
sleeve which contains the spinnaker. The spinnaker and the control line are completely
separated . The separate channel (side sleeve) is made of a different colored
cloth than the main sleeve which shows the eventual twists of the sleeve prior
of hoisting it. There will often be some twists in the sleeved spinnaker as it
comes out of the bag, especially after long periods of storing and moving it
around the sail locker. Needless to say, those twists are to be removed before
hoisting the sleeve.
Another problem to address was the opening, the mouth of the sleeve.
It had to be rigid to remain open when pulled against the sail, slippery to enable
it to slide over the sail without chafing it, light (weight aloft should always
be avoided) and sturdy enough not to break in the bag when stepped on or stored.
Fiber glass was, from the beginning, the material of choice by its versatility
and ease of manufacturing. While the round shape seems obvious, the oval shape
is more spinnaker friendly for it doesn't have the tendency to rotate around
the sail as it is guided by the spinnaker leeches and it is easier to slide through
the hatch when storing below deck. We make them out of Kevlar and glass which,
while expensive, offers a good combination of strength and lightness.
The control line is a closed loop, made of 2 different lines. One side is to
hoist the sleeve. It must not kink and it should be small enough to travel in
the side sleeve and through the top turning block. The other side must be much
heavier as it is handled by the operator to douse the sail. It also must not
kink as well as be long enough to be lead through a snatch-block, as Steve Dashew
suggests in his very thorough "Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia", in
the fore deck and then to a cleat or a winch on bigger boats.
The sail can dry when in the sleeve and it will not cling to the sail when hoisting
the sleeve, even after long period of wet storing.
Finally, the spinnaker is fastened inside the spinnaker sleeve with a swivel
shackle to allow gibing.
The hoisted spinnaker sleeve must always remain in the same position at the mast
head, on top of the flying spinnaker, while allowing the spinnaker to rotate
under itself. This also gives more flexibility when loading the sail.
FEATURES OF A DOUSING
SOCK
1. Single hand any spinnaker, reacher, gennaker, screecher or mizzen staysail.
2. High-tech, ultra-light Kevlar Hoop matches shape of the spinnaker and will
not warp under load.
3. Single control line led through separate sleeve eliminates fouling.
4. Contrasting visual reference stripe.
5. Wire pennant with swivel at head of spinnaker prevents sleeve from affecting
sail shape by allowing the sleeve to accumulate on the pennant.
6. Mesh construction allows sail to breathe, so that sails dry quicker, even
while stored.
Text courtesy of ATN INC. |
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