Boats & Stocks

[Francois+Goelo]

>>> Bill, reaching under Spinnaker...

You have one on board with sock and it's one of the most useful sails for trade wind sailing... It virtually pulls the boat and makes the work of the auto-pilot much easier... The shoulders - in the case of a symmetrical spi - will help control the usual rolling, when running downwind...

http://www.geocities.com/seageme/Spinnaker_reaching.html?1004677876672

It's easier to set on a catamaran, as no pole is needed, but once your pole is rigged on a monohull, most of the hard work is done... I got my heavy displacement monohull doing 12 knots, once under a storm spi that I had bought from a bigger boat... When the autopilot started to have trouble holding course, I finally snuffed it down, but it was an incredible ride while it lasted...

Tension on the sheets must have been huge, as the stainless steel rings to which they were attached, had become oval...

FG