The short version
- Bear away first
- Hoist only once the boat is on its downwind course and flat. A spinnaker filling on a close reach is how boats broach (spin out of control, heeled hard and rounding up into the wind).
- Hoist fast, trim late
- Get the head to the top before the sail fills, then sheet on. A half-hoisted sail that fills is the start of most wraps and swims.
- Douse early
- Have it down and stowed before you reach the mark, not at it. The rounding is worth more than the last ten seconds of spinnaker.
- Everyone has one job
- Decide who steers, who hoists, who trims and who handles the pole or sprit before the race, and practice it until nobody has to talk.
Symmetric and asymmetric: what's different
A symmetric spinnaker is the same shape on both edges. It's flown from a pole on the windward side. The windward corner is held by the guy, which runs through the end of the pole, and the leeward corner by the sheet. Two more lines, the topping lift and the downhaul, hold the pole up and down. You'll find symmetric spinnakers on boats like the J/24, the Flying Scot and the Lightning. They can be flown dead downwind, which is their strength.
An asymmetric spinnaker has a fixed front edge, like a big jib. Its front corner is tied to a bowsprit, often one that slides out of the bow, or to a fixed pole, and it has two sheets and no guy. The J/70, Melges 24, 29er and RS Feva all use one. It's simpler to handle, but it wants to be sailed at an angle rather than straight downwind (see sailing downwind fast).
Where the sail lives between legs matters as much as its shape:
- A bag or turtle clipped to the leeward rail or set in the companionway. Most keelboats, and dinghies like the Lightning. The sail goes up from the leeward side.
- A chute or launcher: a tube in the bow that the sail is pulled into and hoisted out of. Common on asymmetric dinghies such as the 29er, and used by the 420 for its symmetric spinnaker. It's fast and tidy, but the douse always goes back down the same tube.
- A hatch or the cabin. On many sportboats the sail is pulled down through a hatch and repacked below.
The details vary by boat. Which side you hoist from, whether the pole goes up before or after the sail, and how the sheets are led are all set by how your boat is rigged and how your class sails it. Use this guide for the order of things and the reasons, and learn the details from the best crew in your fleet.
When to hoist after the windward mark
The most common set is the bear-away set: round the windward mark, bear away onto the run, and hoist. If the course has an offset mark (a second buoy a short reach from the windward mark), most boats wait until they've rounded it and borne away before they hoist, because the short leg between the two is usually too close to the wind to carry a spinnaker. On some asymmetric boats, and on a broad offset leg, the hoist starts on the way to the offset mark. That's a judgement for the day: if in doubt, wait until you've rounded it.
The other choice is a gybe set: round, gybe straight away, and hoist on the new gybe. It's harder to do well, and it's worth it when the other side of the run has more wind, when the next mark is that way, or when you want to get away from boats behind who will take your wind. Decide which set you're doing on the last part of the beat, so the crew can get ready for it.
The hoist, step by step
On the beat: get it ready
- Check the sail is clear. Halyard, sheet and guy (or tack line) attached to the right corners and not twisted round anything. Look up: the halyard should run clear to the masthead, not wrapped around the forestay.
- Symmetric boats often put the pole up on its mast fitting before the windward mark, with the guy pulled back so the corner of the sail is near the pole end. Your fleet will have a word for this, and when it's safe to do depends on the boat.
- Asymmetric boats may pull the sprit out on the final approach or straight after the rounding. Some classes don't allow it out on the beat at all. Check your class rules.
At the mark: round, then bear away
The helm bears away onto the run and keeps the boat flat and steady. Bearing away a little deeper than your running angle during the hoist puts the spinnaker in the mainsail's wind shadow, so it goes up without filling.
Hoist
- The halyard goes up in one fast, continuous pull and is cleated the moment the head reaches the top.
- On a symmetric, the guy is pulled back to bring the corner to the pole as the sail goes up. On an asymmetric, the tack line is pulled to the end of the sprit.
- Only then trim the sheet. The helm comes up to the right angle as the sail fills, and the jib is eased or rolled away.
The whole thing should take a few seconds. If you're still pulling the halyard while the sail is full and flapping out to leeward, it's too slow, and the next step is often the sail under the bow.
The douse: leeward, windward and the "Mexican"
Whichever drop you use, the order is the same. Unload the sail, gather it in, then let the halyard go. A halyard let go while the sail is still full puts the spinnaker in the water.
Leeward drop
The usual way. The jib comes back out first, so you aren't sailing on the spinnaker alone. The crew grabs the sheet or the foot of the sail behind the mainsail, the guy or tack line is eased so the sail collapses into the main's shadow, and the sail is pulled in under the boom and into the bag, hatch or cabin as the halyard is lowered. It's the safest drop because the sail comes down in the mainsail's wind shadow.
Windward drop
The sail is pulled down on the windward side. Teams use it when the leeward side will be busy at the rounding, or to leave the sail ready for the next hoist on the side it will go up from. It's slower to learn, and in a breeze the sail is harder to control because it isn't behind the main.
The "Mexican" drop
Used when you have to gybe at the leeward mark, for example coming in on starboard gybe to a mark you leave to port. The sail is pulled down on the side it was flying while the boat gybes underneath it, so it ends up coming in on what is now the windward side. Done well, it saves a separate gybe and drop. Done badly, it puts a full spinnaker on the wrong side of the forestay. Only try it after the team is confident with the other two drops.
For the rounding itself, see how to round a mark and leeward gates.
Who does what
| Job | Hoist | Douse |
|---|---|---|
| Helm | Bears away, keeps the boat flat, sails a little deeper until the sail is up | Calls the drop, sails a steady course, sets up the rounding |
| Bow / foredeck | Pole or sprit out, checks the sail runs clear | Pole or sprit in, clears the foredeck |
| Halyard (pit or mast) | Hoists fast, cleats | Lowers at the speed the sail is gathered in, never faster |
| Trimmer | Guy or tack line first, then the sheet | Gathers the sail in, stows it |
In a two-person dinghy these jobs are shared, and who hoists depends on the class. In a three-person keelboat, one person usually does two of them.
Agree the calls as well. "Bear away, hoist", "made" (the head is at the top) and "drop" are enough. Say them the same way every time.
Common mistakes
- Hoisting before bearing away. The sail fills on a reach, the boat heels, and you either broach or spend the first minute of the run sorting it out.
- A slow hoist. A sail that fills halfway up twists into an hourglass (wrapped around itself in the middle) or blows under the bow.
- Sheet led on the wrong side of the forestay or over a guard rail. Check it on the beat, not at the mark.
- Letting the halyard go first. The sail drops into the water and the boat sails over it.
- Dousing late. The crew is still stuffing sail into the hatch when the boat should be heading up round the mark, and the rounding goes wide. A drop finished three or four boat lengths before the mark is about right. More in a breeze.
- The helm watching the sail instead of steering. The trimmer watches the spinnaker. The helm watches the water, the boats around them and the mark.
Doing it with Sail Tactician
Questions
When should you hoist the spinnaker after rounding the windward mark?
Once you've borne away onto your downwind course and the boat is flat. If there's an offset mark, most boats round that first and then hoist.
What is the difference between a leeward and a windward spinnaker drop?
A leeward drop pulls the sail in behind the mainsail on the downwind side, where the main shelters it. A windward drop pulls it down on the side the wind is coming from, which keeps the leeward side clear and can leave the sail ready for the next hoist, but it's harder to control in a breeze.
What is a Mexican spinnaker drop?
A drop done while gybing at the leeward mark: the sail is pulled down on the side it was flying while the boat gybes under it, so it comes in on the new windward side. It saves a separate gybe and drop but takes practice.
Why does my spinnaker wrap around the forestay?
Usually because it filled before it was all the way up, or because it was left to flap while the boat rolled downwind. Hoist fast, sheet on as soon as it's up, and keep it full.
Sources
Standard spinnaker handling as taught in club racing and keelboat crewing. Details of rigging and of what your class allows come from your class rules. Sail Tactician behaviour from the in-app User Guide, version 3.2.
What changed
- First published.
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