Josh, In heavy air, a chute can fill before fully hoisted even when blanketed by the headsail. Remember, in heavy air, you may be flying a smaller headsail with less blanketing potential. If the chute fills prematurely, the mast person is usually unable to complete the hoist and the chute must be ground up with a winch. Banding the chute (and not spreading the clews) allows full hoist before filling.
Some, but not all, crews can complete hoists prior to filling in small to medium size boats. Depends a lot on the mast person. Touche's usual mast person is a fairly strong and quick young guy. He can hoist the chute in a flash. The mast person and pit person must work together to ensure the tail is pulled through the rope clutch. Larger boats with tall rigs are more susceptible to premature filling since the hoist is longer. To hoist in heavy air, leave the clews in or near the bag. Spread the clews only after the chute is fully or nearly fully hoisted to reduce the potential for early filling. This also increases the potential for a twist so the guy trimmer and chute trimmer need to be really quick about spreading the clews once the chute is up. The key to eliminating twists if for the chute to fill from the foot up. This is where banding really helps. If the chute begins to fill above the bottom panel, chances are it will twist. Very different technique in light air. On Touche', we spread the clews early in light air. We usually pre-feed the tack to the pole jaw and then pull the pole back a couple feet several boat lengths prior to the windward mark. The bow person gathers the chute's foot and luff at the bag and holds it until hoist. The trimmer begins to spread the clews as the hoist begins, the bowman lets the chute go and it fills. We use a newer style rectangular bag with hook and loop closures. The closures release when the chute is hoisted. We start the hoist a boat length or so before the mark. Hopefully, the chute is up and filled within a boat length of rounding. Dennis C. Touche' 35-1 #83 Mandeville, LA On Fri, Apr 11, 2014 at 11:12 AM, Josh Muckley <[email protected]> wrote: > I guess I just thought you had a better way or a reason that our way > doesn't/wouldn't work for you. Maybe our way requires more crew than you > have or maybe your helm/tactician don't like going as far downwind to > shadow the spin? > > I guess, to put it differently, what value does banding the spin add > compared to a traditional launch from the bag or hatch? > > Josh > On Apr 11, 2014 11:55 AM, "Bill Coleman" <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Sounds like you are doing everything right, seems to be working for you. >> >> Not sure what your question is. >> >> >> >> Bill Coleman >> >> C&C 39 >> >> >> >>
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