BRe Asymmetric

[Jonathan Stuart]

Hi,

I didn't get an asymmetric with my BRe but having seen a picture of a BRe + asymmetric on Facebook I am tempted. Can anyone tell me how, on a BRe, they are rigged, how are they deployed/retrieved and what are they like in use? I've seen a few BRes with bowsprits for asymmetrics so would be interested to hear how they are setup and your experiences of using this sail.

Thanks,

Jonathan

[Peter Cockerton]

Jonathon

I rigged my BR20 with a mast fixing about 18 inches above the jib bracket and rigged a halyard block and spinner with a fixed snap shackle for the head, i rigged an RWO continous furler on my pole with the furling lines back to the central rowlock position in the cockpit area. The furling lines kept under tension by having a block on the cockpit end kept under tension with shock chord.

With light winds < 12 mph the spinnaker unfurled, set and furled very nicely, we found it useable from a full run right round to almost a beam reach and using ratchet blocks for the sheets not to hard to keep it under control.

The problem we had was furling it when the wind got stronger the spinaker would furl tightly at the bottom and loosely at the top, this then gave problems when the wind caught the loose sail causing it to flog. We the had to drop the spinnaker and bring it into the boat.

Unfortunately some kind person has relieved me of my furler and cut my reefing lines to free some shackles and blocks they wanted so no more spinnaker play time for a while.

Another member uses a more expensive furler and his asymmetric i think has a rope sewn into the luff which would help with getting the sail to furl better, also getting pressure of the sail first by putting the main in front.

A top down furler is the answer i'm told this is where the continous furler spins the head whilst the foot is held on a swivel bracket and not turned.

Snuffer seems to be the common approach but the you have more lines up the mast and i'm not sure if the hard plastic funnel would clear the gap between sail and mast fitting.
Suppliers seem to scoff at requirement for a snuffer on a 20 foot boat.

So when i use it again it will be launched from the bag, with a tack line through a block on the pole into the cockpit, and recover by dropping and pulling it all back into the boat, just can,t see how else to do it without spending a lot of money on a top down furler.

Your question was for the BRe but hopefully these notes are also usefull

Peter

[Peter Cockerton]

Jonathon

As an update and after looking carefully on the photo's posted by Jim Levang, his spinnaker is rigged with a mast fixing just above the Jib fixing, a long tack line through a block on the end of the pole and the tack line appears to be routed back to the cockpit via a mast fitting and i expect routed back across the foredeck to the cockpit.

Peter

[Jonathan Stuart]

Peter,

Thanks, that's very useful. I'm on holiday at the moment and have limited Internet connectivity so will look at Jim Levang's pictures when I am home.

I am interested to hear how the rigging has been tackled on the BRe but you hit on my main area of interest - managing the sail. Everything on the BRe really needs to be done from the cockpit so I want a setup that avoids any issues managing the sail and especially in stronger winds. I will look in to the top furlers and speak to Matt to see what his standard solution looks like.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Sam Levang]

On our BC20, we rigged the tack line from a block at the end of the bowsprit directly back to a jam fairlead/jam cleat about 18" up from the bottom of the mast. This was enough to clear the bulwark forward, and it can be reached from the cockpit for adjustment. It is slightly annoying there as it cuts the foredeck in half and would be better run through a series of fairleads to follow the deck or cabin top, but this was easier and required minimum hardware. The geometry may differ for a BRe.

Setting an asymmetric of this size is not so bad without a furler or snuffer. Rather difficult to do single handed but I have pulled it off in light conditions (much easier with a tillerpilot). Usually I pull everything out of the bag when tying on the control lines to make sure there are no twists, and then lay it out loose on the leeward deck. It will stay there long enough to make your way to the cockpit, and from there a single person can haul up the halyard, pull down the tack, and then sheet in as needed. If you have a separate helmsman or autopilot to steer downwind, the kite can be hoisted in the shadow of the main and go up with little drama. If single handed, I have had success by heaving to with the jib backed, hauling up the kite and then quickly returning to the tiller. Sometimes this results in violent flogging but can be quickly cured by falling off.

I am thinking about having a go at sailmaking and sewing a nylon drifter of similar size to the spinnaker, but cut flat and set on a tight luff rope (spectra or dyneema) for light air upwind work. The asymmetric provides huge power and can actually be carried onto a close reach, but causes excessive healing and requires a careful touch at the tiller on this point of sail. I think a drifter would provide good excitement on a beat or reach but with less drama setting and striking.

[Reg Barker]

Hi Jonathan
Alice Amy Bre: I do have an asymmetric sail. To save me describing how it's rigged I have taken a number of photos. It would probably be best if I email them to you rather than send via Association.  I found it very easy to rig.   

[Jonathan Stuart]

Thanks Reg, that would be very useful. I'll PM you my email address.