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I just bought a custom Doyle spinnaker but did not buy the dousing sock. I didn't see the point for a couple hundred dollars more. Does anyone have experience flying a spinnaker with/without one? What are the pros/cons? Thanks!

Mine came with a sock. It makes it easier to handle, I guess. The lines still get entangled even so, but once the sock is in place, rolling it up and storing it away poses no problems. If the breeze is strong as it is likely to be when you douse the spinnaker, fighting the sail through the front hatch and wrapping it up neatly would be a pain in the neck. I'd pay $200 to avoid that, if I were to fly the spinnaker more often than I do. As things stand, the sock and the spin are part of the equipment that I do not use all that often, but I still like it to be ready for deployment

Having used both with and without I would never get a spinnaker/asym/drifter without a sock ever again, unless you are on a fully crewed boat or racing the sock makes life so much easier.

I use the spinnaker in the sock all the time makes gybing and tacking easier, dowse, gybe/tack then reset. If I did not have the sock I doubt I would use it very often because of the hassle. There is just insufficient room on a Mac to get it past the jib/genoa and outside gybing in light air is hit and miss. Given it a few salt water baths before I started dowsing to gybe.

With the sock, as soon as the wind is below 8knts out she comes, without the sock it would probably stay bagged in the v-berth until I had experienced crew along, which unfortunately is not very often

Agreed, it is very hard to douse the spinnaker in anything stronger than a light wind when you are single handing...and even then, I only do it with an autopilot I can trust. Now if you have crew on board, that is a different story, but the sock makes easy work out of it. And another advantage is that you can leave the spinnaker hoisted up and dowsed with the sock...just wrap it up a couple times near the bottom (because the sock does not go all the way down) and it will behave itself until you are ready to deploy it again. Without the sock, you will have to drop the halyard each and every time you douse the chute.

For example, here I am last March at La Costa Island taking a break at the beach for a bit so the kids can go for a swim and with the spinnaker still hoisted. In fact, with the offshore wind, I just undoused it right off the anchor without ever starting the engine when I left there.

I agree that with a sock you will absolutely use the spinnaker more.
As for wrapping the bottom when doused....Great idea....had it come open once just as I was coming in to dock ina very stiff wind. Luckily my crew had some experience and I had set it up so either sheet could be thrown off quickly.
Had to throw off both and then my crew let out most of the halyard. In the end, there was lines and sail in the water and after making sure all lines were clear, put the engine back in gear and hauled everything in.
No damage other than my skipper pride.

get the sock and wrap the bottom.

couldn't ya make one for like a $100.00 in Material and a hours sewing? I Mean if someones really on a budget $100.00 is nothing to sneeze at?

It's been a couple years.....but I think I only paid around $100 for the chutescoop ready to install.

The Chutescoop is a fine addition, but do be aware that the and spinnaker may be too long for the shortest (20 ft) Chutescoop. Mine hangs out more than 5 ft, and that's just to the leach - the tack hangs out even further, which it should.

The next size up would have been the right unit for mine, and I'll probably sell mine (it looks brand new) and get a longer one.

Check out this thread where I figured out what's going on with mine, with help from Judy B.

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... op#p235998

And another advantage is that you can leave the spinnaker hoisted up and dowsed with the sock...just wrap it up a couple times near the bottom (because the sock does not go all the way down) and it will behave itself until you are ready to deploy it again.

How are you wrapping the bottom of the spin? What are you wrapping it with?

I'm just wrapping it with whatever extra lines are lying around, or, can even just get a line out of the locker and wrap it with that so as not to have to disturb sheets that are already in position, etc. I think the line that I tie the tack down with also has some excess on it that I use. Its the same concept as tying up the roller furler when it is not in use (I use the jib sheets for that). I was always taught to put an extra knot in it just in case your furling line were to give way, you wouldn't want it accidentally unfurling at the dock for example.

Dimitri,
Do you attach the tack line somewhere on deck or run it aft?
Pedro

One of the best additions we bought for the boat was the chutescoop, still have to go forward to douse it but it's a breeze and great when you need to get it down in a hurry, love using the spinnaker and for some reason so does the wife which is strange because if the winds a bit choppy it can get hairy.

Hey Bob did you buy it locally????chutescoop

Sea Wind wrote:Dimitri,
Do you attach the tack line somewhere on deck or run it aft?
Pedro

Hey Pedro, I just use a quarter inch line attached to the extra hole in the forestay tang. I've thought about putting in a fancier set-up using a turning block but its never bubbled up the priority list. I suppose you can change the shape of it by shortening or lengthening the tack attachment length depending on how far downwind you are pointing, etc.

Dimitri-2000X-Tampa wrote:

Sea Wind wrote:Dimitri,
Do you attach the tack line somewhere on deck or run it aft?
Pedro

Hey Pedro, I just use a quarter inch line attached to the extra hole in the forestay tang. I've thought about putting in a fancier set-up using a turning block but its never bubbled up the priority list. I suppose you can change the shape of it by shortening or lengthening the tack attachment length depending on how far downwind you are pointing, etc.

Got it. BTW, that is a great picture. Is that on the ocean side near Pelican Bay?