Rigging Spinnakers - Boats with chutes
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Spinnaker emerging from chute. We'll follow the halyard (rope that pulls it up) to see how that works. It's a white rope with black flecks which goes from the head of the kite upwards.

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The halyard has turned red in this shot, as this mast is attached to a different boat. It goes into the topmost pulley on the front of the mast, just above the forestay. It then goes down the inside of the mast to...

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the bottom of the mast, where it magically turns back into a white rope with black flecks and emerges through a slot in the side of the mast. This slot could have done with being a bit longer - say 1 to 1.5 inches. Then it goes through a pulley screwed into the boat below the mast foot, and whizzes along the centreboard case...

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to a pulley and a cleat at the back of the centreboard case. On most boats the cleat is on the side of the case with the pulley, so when you pull the halyard, you are pulling directly through the cleat.

From here, the rope loops forwards again, but with enough slack that it will reach to the aft inner transom first. It runs though an eye under the thwart, either on the centreboard case or on the side of the cockpit.

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(It's on the cockpit side in this boat - the white rope with black flecks)

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Then it goes straight to the tag in the middle of the kite, so you can pull the kite down again.

Obviously, you need to release the halyard from the cleat before you start pulling it down.

 

For details on how to rig the guy and sheet, and some info on the pole, click here.

For details of a far sexier pump-up / pump-down system, click here.