>I have one, which I sewed from a Sailrite kit. It works splendidly, but
>a whisker pole is needed to sail within 10 degrees of dead downwind.
>I do use a sleeve/snuffer and have found it to work flawlessly -- so far.
>I've only got about 8 hours of time with the sail (icluding, however, one
>hand-
>burning knockdown), so some surprises are no doubt in store.
>
>The most outrageous aspect of the sail is that you can carry it upwind!
>Not upwind by much, mind you, but upwind nonetheless.
>
>Most of my spinnaker time has been singlehanded. It gets a little busy
>sometimes, but with careful attention to block and cleat placement it is
>possible. In a previous post on this topic I believe I likened it to
>that old thing about a monkey and a football. That still applies, and it
>sure can get exciting!
>
>If you -- or anyone -- decides to get a P19 spinnaker from Sailrite (which
>I do heartily recommend), get in touch with me first. I think mine was the
>first they did, and I have suggestions for a few minor dimensional
>changes.
and then:
>I'd not sewn inch one before doing Ursa's spinnaker and still managed to
>get thru it, even having some fun in the process. I reemphasize the need
>for a *good* sewing machine. Learn two or three techniques from a tutor
>and you're laughing. I'm projecting, of course, since I did a spinnaker
>rather than a jib, but I suspect the added difficulty of using stiff
>dacron sailcloth rather than nylon would be offset by the much shorter
>total seam length.
>
>The instructions are quite good and all supplies are provided, right down
>to the thread if I recall correctly.
and to reiterate:
>I ordered what I think was the original P19 spinnaker from
>Sailrite after a phone exchange of descriptions and dimensions.
>Singlehanding it is possible and *very* :-) interesting! I belive
>I once alluded to it here on the WestWightWeb as smacking of the old
>monkey/football simile.
>
>The sewing was not a burdensome task, perhaps even fun for a novice like
>me.
> A standard machine works OK on the light fabric, but I'd opt for a
>*quality* standard machine, as the recommended "multiple zigzg" stitch
>requires a lot of precision over, what seems like miles of seams.
>
>I'm still tinkering with the running rigging, but the basic requirement
>is a snuffer of some type. I'm using the the companion Sailrite snuufer
>and find the diameter a little too large for best operation; it's clearly
>scaled down from a plan for much larger chutes.
>
>It works *so* well that I sometimes lose track of rising wind and get
>a real workout beating back home again. To me the most shocking
>discovery was that you can **point** with the blasted thing! Like
>maybe within only 75 or so degrees of the wind, but point nonetheless.
>
>Although I'm still trying to make up my mind, I tentatively think that
>were it to be done over, I'd have the luff cut 6"-12" shorter. After the
>coming outings (Bosnia & Keys & Bahamas), I expect to have a more firm
>opinion
and the down side:
>That's with the fractional rig, of course. Not too long ago, I was blown
>all the way down (minimum 75 degrees, I kid you not) when a vicious,
>veering gust caught us forward of the beam while broad reaching with the
>assymetrical spinnaker. Proving that one has to be an idiot to fly a
>chute singlehanded without gloves, I burned a nice groove in one palm
>getting the sheet out of the camcleat. I think I (the person, not the
>boat) was upside down at the time. Once again, she popped back up --
>though the spinnaker was a tad wet. I wasn't even as frightened as I
>should have been. Dog was asleep on the V berth and ended up on the
>starboard side in a great heap of duffles and such.
Regards,
Bill Combs
WWP 19 #439, "Ursa Minor"
Fort Walton Beach, FL
ttursine@gnt.net