How to Shorten a Spinnaker Sock

A spinnaker sock, sometimes called a "dousing sock" or a "spinnaker sleeve" is a fabric tube that goes around the spinnaker to deploy or retrieve the spinnaker. At the bottom of the sock is a steel ring and at the top a block. Strings are attached to the ring and block to raise and lower the sock. It is a difficult and unnecessarily complicated process to remove the block or steel ring, so if you need to shorten the sock, remove a section from the middle of the sock itself.

Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape
  • Scissors
  • Double-sided spinnaker tape
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure the length of the leech on your symmetrical or asymmetrical spinnaker.

    • 2

      Measure the length of your spinnaker sock. On an symmetrical spinnaker, the sock should be about one meter shorter than the leech, but on an asymmetrical spinnaker, the sock should be approximately the same length as the leech.

    • 3

      Subtract the length of the sock from the length of the leech. This will be the length of sock you will need to remove on an asymmetrical spinnaker. Subtract an additional one meter from the result to determine the appropriate length of sock to remove from a symmetrical spinnaker.

    • 4

      Cut the length calculated in Step 3 from anywhere in the middle of the spinnaker sock. Discard this piece of sock.

    • 5

      Apply double-sided spinnaker tape along the bottom of the outside edge of the top portion of the sock.

    • 6

      Press the inside of the top edge of the bottom portion of the sock into the adhesive. Press it firmly in place to ensure proper adhesion.