How to Rig Cruising Chutes

Spinnakers are used on sailboats to capture the wind from behind the boat. Symmetric spinnakers use a pole to support the bottom of the sail. Since cruisers like doing things the easy way, a cruising spinnaker or asymmetric spinnaker needs no pole. No crew member is necessary on foredeck when changing courses. Rigging a cruising spinnaker is similar to rigging a jib sail, with the exception that all lines lead outside of the deck's hardware and the spinnaker is often attached to a bowsprit in front. Cruising spinnakers may be used with a roller furl, eliminating the need for repeated rigging.

Things You'll Need

  • Cruising spinnaker
  • Turtle (storage bag)
  • 2 sheets (ropes) connected with one shackle at end
  • Spinnaker halyard
  • 2 winches
  • Port and starboard blocks on tracks
  • Bow attachment
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Instructions

    • 1
      Corners of the sail

      Identify and locate the three corners of the sail that should be packed at the top of the turtle: the head or top corner, the tack or bottom front corner and the clew or back corner.

    • 2
      Coiled sheets

      Uncoil the port (left) and starboard (right) sheets on either side of the boat, starting from the shackle placed at the bow outside of all hardware. Make sure that lines are threaded outside of all the boat's hardware on the sides. Thread sheets from front to back through port and starboard blocks.

    • 3
      Lifelines and halyards

      Remove sail from the turtle. Attach the tack to the spinnaker attachment at bow of the boat (this could be a bowsprit). Attach the head of the sail to the spinnaker halyard. Attach the clew shackle to the sheets shackle, keeping all above the lifelines.

    • 4

      Wrap the sheets around the port and starboard winches and remove slack. While at the dock, hoist the spinnaker halyard while giving slight tension on the leeward (away from the wind) sheet. If there are no twists in the sail and no tangles in the lines, you are ready to go.