32-3 Spinnaker rigging

[boyle_brian]

Greetings,

My Ericson 32-3 was set up for cruising when I purchased it. I'm in the process of setting it up for racing and I'm looking for ideas / suggestions on location of the foreguy block, the leads, etc. We anticipate doing end for end gybes. I would be grateful if anyone would share their set up ideas with me. Thanks all!

Brian

 

[Christian Williams]

Hi Brian,

Sorry about the lack of response, probably means the 32-3s here aren't being actively raced with a spinnaker. But any sailmaker can advise.

Christian

 

[e38 owner]

I use chute on a 38. We do dip pole but our forguy block is placed to do either. Added about 2 feet of t track behind the anchor locker. Placed block on the t track.


Another method that we use may also work. Use three snatch blocks. One on the bridle and one the port and starboard stantions. Run a line from cockpit to stantion block to bridle block to stantion block to cockpit. Forguy can be adj from either side and less holes in deck.

If racing and dropping the jib not furling make sure you preplan the method to change sides of the jib around the forguy if the jib needs to go up on the opposite it was dropped

 

[Michael Bender]

Asymmetrical tack line rigging

Greetings,

My Ericson 32-3 was set up for cruising when I purchased it. I'm in the process of setting it up for racing and I'm looking for ideas / suggestions on location of the foreguy block, the leads, etc. We anticipate doing end for end gybes. I would be grateful if anyone would share their set up ideas with me. Thanks all!

Brian

How did you rig your tack line? Here is how I am rigging my tack line on Seascape (E32-3); minus the snap shackle on the tack block in he pictures, I settled on E#3 - Port Rope Clutch design. Links to the top-level folder for my tack line experiments:

Seascape Tack Line Rigging

Mike

 

[Michael Bender]

Ericson 32-3 Asymmetric Spinnaker

Well I finally flew my a-kite on Seascape, an E32-3, for the first time on the Delta Ditch Run 2016. It was an interesting experience because we had only flown the kite in the slip to test the rigging mechanics and practice gybing and working with the sock, so the race was the first time I flew it while sailing. What better time to fly a complicated piece of boat gear than on an 11-hour race ;-) It all worked out well and I really like having a spinnaker as another tool I can use on a race. We were all learning how to drive the boat with the kite up and just how deep we can sail with the kite. Not as deep as a symmetrical, perhaps 40 degrees max, so there were times when we did a lot of gybing in the Delta. I am going to try to fly the kite as a symmetrical by poling out the clew and having the tack fly on the other side of the boat rather than being tied to the bow. Not sure how well that will work because of the cut of the kite, but it's worth a try, and if it works ell enough to allow me to sail deeper when I need to, it's a win.

Here are a couple of links with docs and pictures that I'd like to share:

Seascape Delta Ditch Run 2016 Race Folder

Seascape Spinnaker Rigging - E#04

I hope you all find some of this useful. I'm happy to help folks that are thinking about rigging a spinnaker on their boat.

Mike

 

[Loren Beach]

The photos from the Ditch Run are great!
I see that the original national sail number was assigned not too long prior to the one on our boat, sold in SF in '88.
We have sail # 28400.
Small world...


Loren

 

[Michael Bender]

The photos from the Ditch Run are great!
I see that the original national sail number was assigned not too long prior to the one on our boat, sold in SF in '88.
We have sail # 28400.
Small world...


Loren

Thanks Loren! We had a blast on the DDR this year. I have done it for a few years prior to this year, but never with a spinnaker. I've got a great crew of young, strong guys that have good balance, middle aged guys (me for example) that would probably fall off the foredeck if we were heeling ;-) and older guys that have been sailing since they were kids and bring a lot of practical experience to the crew. Most of us have been sailing and racing together for the past five years so we know how each of us is on a boat with makes adding something new like a spinnaker a fairly easy thing.

I don't understand how sail numbering works, I had always thought that you could choose whatever designation you want. Some of the boats I race against have just letters and some don't have anything at all.

Seascape was sold new in 1985, so that would mean that in the years between out two boats, there could have been as many as 74 E32-3's sold, if that's the way numbering works.

Do you race your boat?

Mike

 

[Loren Beach]

The "R" word

Thanks Loren! We had a blast on the DDR this year. I have done it for a few years prior to this year, but never with a spinnaker. I've got a great crew of young, strong guys that have good balance, middle aged guys (me for example) that would probably fall off the foredeck if we were heeling ;-) and older guys that have been sailing since they were kids and bring a lot of practical experience to the crew. Most of us have been sailing and racing together for the past five years so we know how each of us is on a boat with makes adding something new like a spinnaker a fairly easy thing.

I don't understand how sail numbering works, I had always thought that you could choose whatever designation you want. Some of the boats I race against have just letters and some don't have anything at all.

Seascape was sold new in 1985, so that would mean that in the years between out two boats, there could have been as many as 74 E32-3's sold, if that's the way numbering works.

Do you race your boat?

Mike

IIRC, blocks of sequential numbers are available for each sailing geographic area of the country. For instance the first two numbers are different for boats first registered with UYRU (as it used to be called) up here in the NW.
The idea is that when traveling around to enter races, each competitor would have a discrete number on their sails.
For local racing in my area, an entrant just needs something for the RC to look at that is distinctive to each boat.... so an Ericson that races locally might be ID'd as "E-32 # 324". I used to do a lot of RC time and boats with missing logo's and some (!) sort of sail numbers were the bane of our existence. Occasionally it took the threat of not scoring a boat to get the owner to apply numbers.

After all, Every (!) sailboat potentially has a discrete sail number and class emblem showing unless the owner or sailmaker was too cheap-__s to put it on the main, and also their number on the overlapping headsails.

Grrrrr........


So, your assigned national number has nothing to do with how many other Ericson's were registered.

Racing. Well, other than the occasional cruising distance "race" we have never done any buoy racing with this boat. I did a ton of racing with the Ranger 20 (all one design) and a couple full-tilt seasons with our former Niagara 26.

Close-order racing "in traffic" is pretty risky with 11000# of Olson 34, against some skippers with no regard for gel coat, and performed in a constricted venue like our river. That is just my opinion, and worth less than a penny.


Cheers,
Loren

 

[bgary]

IIRC, blocks of sequential numbers are available for each sailing geographic area of the country. For instance the first two numbers are different for boats first registered with UYRU (as it used to be called) up here in the NW.

Adding to that, In The Old Days racing numbers were assigned by region, so you knew where a boat was originally registered (with USYRU) by their number.

For example, Southern California was the "7" series, so the "thousands" digit of every sail number was a 7 (e.g., 7099, 57608, 67401...)
Northern California was the "8" series
Hawaii was the "9" series.

So, 28400 means your boat's sail number was originally assigned in Northern California (Bay Area, Monterey, Santa Cruz, etc).

 

[PDX]

Well I finally flew my a-kite on Seascape, an E32-3, for the first time on the Delta Ditch Run 2016. It was an interesting experience because we had only flown the kite in the slip to test the rigging mechanics and practice gybing and working with the sock, so the race was the first time I flew it while sailing. What better time to fly a complicated piece of boat gear than on an 11-hour race ;-) It all worked out well and I really like having a spinnaker as another tool I can use on a race. We were all learning how to drive the boat with the kite up and just how deep we can sail with the kite. Not as deep as a symmetrical, perhaps 40 degrees max, so there were times when we did a lot of gybing in the Delta. I am going to try to fly the kite as a symmetrical by poling out the clew and having the tack fly on the other side of the boat rather than being tied to the bow. Not sure how well that will work because of the cut of the kite, but it's worth a try, and if it works ell enough to allow me to sail deeper when I need to, it's a win.

Here are a couple of links with docs and pictures that I'd like to share:

Seascape Delta Ditch Run 2016 Race Folder

Seascape Spinnaker Rigging - E#04

I hope you all find some of this useful. I'm happy to help folks that are thinking about rigging a spinnaker on their boat.

Mike

I used to crew on a boat flying an asymmetrical reacher in upwind-downwind races. We got killed by boats flying symmetricals. Not only did we waste time (and distance) gybing but we were giving up huge amounts of sail area.

Hard to tell from the photos if your sail is a runner or reacher (A sails come in about six different cuts and there are variations within those cuts among different manufacturers). A pole will probably help, but a reaching asymmetrical is still giving up a lot of sail area to a symmetrical on an upwind/downwind course.

They are making some monster running asymmetricals now with sail areas very close to symmetricals. These would be A-2 and A-4 runners. If that's what you have, I would be interested to know how you do flying it from a pole racing against symmetricals. No one on the river here has tried it to my knowledge (I also don't know whether it incurrs a penalty).

 

[bigd14]

An old thread I know but one of the few that has some photos of how to run the tack line. We got a used asymmetrical last summer, cobbled together the deck fittings and tried it out twice in light air. I have tons to learn, but one thing that is stumping me is whether to run the tack line from the bow roller bail and block forward of the pulpit or aft of it. I initially ran it forward and it fouled on the bow light as the wind shifted and when we gybed. If I run it aft, it will press on the pulpit. Neither solution seems good and I would like to avoid installing a bowsprit. Has anyone else solved this issue without a sprit? Or is this a particular issue with the 30+? Thanks.

Doug

 

[Kenneth K]

I remember bgary posting about this:

Bowsprit Anyone??

Hey all, I just got a second hand asym and the associated top down furler gear. Since Cinderella came with 4 symmetrical kites, we have never flown an asym.. I’m very excited at the prospect of a roller furled light sail for double handed cruising. Our bow is so narrow, and our anchor is so...

ericsonyachts.org

Assy spinn tack line....

Curious how any of you have run your assy spinn tack line. Over the house to a stopper or down the toerail. I have seen it run both ways and looking for opinions. Mine is coming from the anchor roller and down the toerail now.

ericsonyachts.org

Speaking of Bruce, haven't seen him here in nearly a year. Sent him a PM but got no reply. Hope he's okay.

 

[Dave G.]

I've only flown my kite once but I used the anchor roller fitting. That being said my bow lights are mounted on the deck so no problem. Maybe you could fabricate a deflector around the light like clamp a bent piece of rail across the back ? Where does it hang up on the light ?

 

[G Kiba]

I have been flying my A-sail all winter. My tack is mounted on the furthest point out on the bow and I run the tack block inside of the pulpit shackled to the toe rail. I noticed you can probably soft shackle to one of your forward cleats.

 

[PDX]

An old thread I know but one of the few that has some photos of how to run the tack line. We got a used asymmetrical last summer, cobbled together the deck fittings and tried it out twice in light air. I have tons to learn, but one thing that is stumping me is whether to run the tack line from the bow roller bail and block forward of the pulpit or aft of it. I initially ran it forward and it fouled on the bow light as the wind shifted and when we gybed. If I run it aft, it will press on the pulpit. Neither solution seems good and I would like to avoid installing a bowsprit. Has anyone else solved this issue without a sprit? Or is this a particular issue with the 30+? Thanks.

Doug

Doug

If you're doing outside jibes you have to run it in front, from the bow roller. The unusually short bow roller is a problem. I can't tell from the picture if it is integral to the stem head or bolted on. If bolted on you might want to look around for a longer one or even have one fabricated. It would be easier than buying and installing a sprit. My bow roller overhangs the bow by about 15 inches. I've never had a problem with a spinnaker snagging on the lights.

If you're doing inside jibes, run it from the stem head, aft of the furler. I have done this too and if you give the sail a lot of tack line, flying it, it will fly in front of the pulpit. The tack line will press on the pulpit but the sail will fly above it. Then tighten the tack back down when you need to jibe.

 

[bigd14]

Great info, thank you all! PDX, we started out with outside jibes. The bow roller is short and it is an integral part of the stemhead so there is no way to fit a longer roller on there. Dave, the tack line tends to bind on the support for the bow light and puts an immense amount of sideways pressure on the pulpit when it does. So I think I will have to relocate the tack line aft of the pulpit and do inside jibes. I’m worried about getting the A sail caught on the furler or pulpit or other equipment up there but maybe that will help prevent us from sailing over the sheets like happened last time! I’ll have to find and cover all potential snaggy items in that area. Grant, soft shackle- great idea.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Dave G.]

Doug, That makes sense & may make more sense for me too as I have to do inside jibes because of where my spin halyard sheave is currently.

 

[G Kiba]

Great info, thank you all! PDX, we started out with outside jibes. The bow roller is short and it is an integral part of the stemhead so there is no way to fit a longer roller on there. Dave, the tack line tends to bind on the support for the bow light and puts an immense amount of sideways pressure on the pulpit when it does. So I think I will have to relocate the tack line aft of the pulpit and do inside jibes. I’m worried about getting the A sail caught on the furler or pulpit or other equipment up there but maybe that will help prevent us from sailing over the sheets like happened last time! I’ll have to find and cover all potential snaggy items in that area. Grant, soft shackle- great idea.

Thanks for your help.

Hey, in the beginning, I was using an ATN Tacker which attached around the jib (boat came with it). But you can't roll out jib with it!
Now, I use the block, line and cleat that was used to adjust the ATN Tacker's height off the deck directly to the tack. I can raise the foot of the kite just above the pulpit - no interference or load!

 

[Christian Williams]

Note: I heard from Bruce Gary, who's fine, busy, planning to haul out Makana soon for bottom paint, watching the developing member rendezvous plans.

 

[goldenstate]

Doug -

I too bought a second-hand asymmetric spinnaker I haven't used yet and I too am very interested in this tack-attachment issue.

This is a basic question, so forgive me. An outside gybe means you're sending the sail out forward of the forestay, correct?

Does that mean that the sail has to have really really long sheets (because the lazy sheet has to go from the clew of the sail, out forward of the forestay, and then all the way back to the windward side of the cockpit?)

My self-help research yields this article and based on the photos I think using long lightweight sheets (like 1/4 or 3/8"?) would be the move:

Short-handed sailing: the outside gybe – Yachting World

A great alternative for crews with less muscle power using the outside gybe with an asymmetric can be less risky than an inside gybe, says Pip Hare

www.yachtingworld.com

Thanks in advance,

Tom