Asymmetric Spinnaker for BC23 wanted ..

[Andy Dingle]

I'm looking for an asymmetric spin for Equinox my BayCruiser23 if anyone has one they feel they would like to pass on please?
An old Bayraider/Baycruiser one would probably suit as well?

Contact please on equinox25@gmx.com or on this.

Regards

Andy and Equinox

[Andy Dingle]

I now have one! Very happy.

For those who may be interested, I'm making up a bowsprit from my old BR20 CF bowsprit, which is in two parts that makes it particularly useful as it can be easily stowed away when not in use. This will sit on a bracket on the bow roller then back to a stainless U bolt through bolted to the port side of the Sampson post.

I'm trying to think up a way to launch and recover from the unused anchor locker forward.

Andy and Equinox

[Sea Simon]

"An old Bayraider/Baycruiser one would probably suit as well?"
Glad you're sorted Andy.

On a similar theme...I think it relevant here?

Does anyone know of the differences, if any, between an Assym spinni for a BC 23, v  BRe v BR 20?

Also, there appears to be both a Mk1 & a Mk2 BRe assym sail?

I find mine (second hand, ex BR 20 - Mk 1 I would guess?) to be very much a reaching sail, and difficult to make good pace down wind, especially when racing against boats with conventional spinnakers.

And then there is the sail specifically to suit the new top-down furler, to which I aspire! That must be different again?

[Andy Dingle]

Interesting topic Simon.

You may have a sort of 'cruising code zero' sail not strictly an asymmetric? - Which would be a 'jack of all trades' and I suspect would be the type supplied to Swallow Yachts, hence not brilliant for down wind use - as you say, a true spinnaker is really the only sail for down wind only.

It seems to me that this would be the sort of sail - quite logically - specified by Swallow Yachts to overcome the limitations of the small jib on the BR range.

As I understand it a code zero is a cross between a genoa (overlapping or not) and an asymmetric - think 'gennaker', that can be used for close reaching, even broad reaching in the case of the 'cruising code zero' and has a flatter cut than a true asymmetric.

I've no idea of the differences between the various sails you quote but I suspect the sail providers to Swallows (Dolphin, Hyde and Crusader, just three I know of) all have their own interpretations and provide a general purpose sail with the only 'test' results of their sails are those produced by a computer.

Andy and Equinox

[Peter Taylor]

This is really "Technical forum" stuff, however!...

I supplied Andy with the asymmetric and before sending it to him I ought to have compared it to my new asymmetric designed for the top down furler (TDF). I didn't; however as I understand it, the main differences in my new sail are the luff length (presumably shorter) and the fan type reinforcing at the head, tack and clew which is designed to curl easier than the standard reinforcing when furling.

With the old sail on a run, I found that goose-winging it was very effective since it was then out of the wind shadow from the main. Also easing both the tack line as well as the halyard made it behave more like a symmetric spinnaker. I kept meaning to build a pole for goosewinging, the problem being that it needs to be telescopic else it would be too long to store (I didn't want it cluttering up the mast or boom as a fly-away type would). As it was, I made do with a boat hook of the telescopic type jammed against the cabin top hand rail and, amazingly, didn't lose it over board.

With the new TDF sail I tack down wind - the wind doesn't need to be very far round on the quarter to power up the asymmetric properly and with the TDF gybing is "easy".

Having said all that, for downwind work a symmetric spinnaker would be more powerful - but more than I fancy handling when single handed!

Peter