# Parrell Beads



## HARDWORK (Mar 7, 2008)

I have recently aquired a new,to me , Endeavour 33. After going through all the extras that came with the boat, I found an assymetrical spinnaker, with sock. After much research I believe that I need something like the ATN tacker or the parrel beads that Niel Pride sells. Somewhere in my reading it was mentioned that golf balls could be drilled and threaded onto a stainless wire rope to make a home-made version. Has anyone tried this ? If so is it worth the effort, or should I spend the money?


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

The devices like the ATN Tacker were intended to help fly a symmetric chute as though it was asymmetric, by tacking one clew down low to the headstay (around the furled headsail) and thereby coercing it into an asymmetric shape. 

You shouldn't need one if you already have an asymmetric chute with a dedicated tack. Is there something peculiar about your boat that makes you think you need parrel beads or equivalent to fly the asym chute?


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## Bilgewater (Jul 17, 2008)

Hardwork; I built one using plastic coated wire (the kind used for clothes lines) you get in hardware stores. I crimped an eye on one end and a snap shackle on the other. But I used those practice golf balls (the hollow ones with all the holes in them). It worked very well but a few of the balls crushed slightly over time so I think golf balls would work very well.


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## HARDWORK (Mar 7, 2008)

According to the best I can determine that is the only way to control the the tack of the sail.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

HARDWORK said:


> According to the best I can determine that is the only way to control the the tack of the sail.


Nah. You don't control the tack of an asymmetric chute in this way.

The tack of an asymmetric chute "floats" at the end of the tack line. Preferably you would have an adjustable tack line to vary luff tension, but even that is not absolutely necessary. We have a fixed tack line and adjust luff tension as needed with the halyard.

I don't know where you found that diagram, but it is completely messed up. It shows the sail being flown inside of the headstay, which is not how or where any spinnaker is flown.

Trust me, if you have an asym chute, you don't need The Tacker, nor parrel beads.

You can see us flying our asymm in the photo below. No parrel beads necessary, nor desirable:


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## HARDWORK (Mar 7, 2008)

I stand corrected. After more checking I found a website File Summary - Quantum Sail Design Group :: Premier Sail Design and Development that explains much better. All that you find on the web is not neccessarily correct. Thanks for your help.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

HARDWORK said:


> I stand corrected. After more checking I found a website File Summary - Quantum Sail Design Group :: Premier Sail Design and Development that explains much better. All that you find on the web is not neccessarily correct. Thanks for your help.


That is a nice link. Quantum did a good job on that material.

The good news is you don't need to spend anymore money to fly that baby.


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## drgamble (Oct 28, 2008)

Odd - just received a brand new asym from UK Halsey last week (Matrix Flasher) and it did come with a tacker sleave. Their setup is similar to the graphic Hard submitted however they recommend trying to ensure the tack line block is out in front of the headsail/furler to ensure best setting. I haven't set it up yet - just going by what was shipped and their setup dvd...


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

drgamble said:


> Odd - just received a brand new asym from UK Halsey last week (Matrix Flasher) and it did come with a tacker sleave. Their setup is similar to the graphic Hard submitted however they recommend trying to ensure the tack line block is out in front of the headsail/furler to ensure best setting. I haven't set it up yet - just going by what was shipped and their setup dvd...


Let us know what you learn after setting it up. I find it odd that they would be encouraging you to secure the tack along the headstay. In my experience, the goal is to fly an asym as far forward of the mainsail as possible, where it gets the best air.

The best way to achieve that is to fly the asym chute from a sprit or spin pole (set-up like a sprit). Take a look at all the sport boats (Melges, J-boats, etc) with retractable sprits that fly asym chutes. They put the tack way out in front of the boat at the end of the sprit, where it is not secured to anything other than the adjustable tack line.

Many cruising boats lack a sprit or sprit-pole arrangement, but the next best thing is to let the tack float out in front of the boat as far as possible. Securing it to the headstay, which angles aft from the bow, seems counterproductive. It would also make inside jibing much trickier.

Then again, maybe the cut of your UK sail is more for reaching than deep reaching like many of the early asym sails. But I still don't think Hardwork needs anything more to fly his chute -- the absence of any tacker/parrel arrangement suggests to me that the previous owner flew the sail just fine without it.


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## TejasSailer (Mar 21, 2004)

Before we installed a removable bow-sprite we ran the tack line under the anchor roller. Two things to beware of at least in our case. In general, there can be huge forces on the tack line, so we run it to a winch rather than a cleat to avoid the danger of losing a finger when adjusting. Also, the tack line run under the anchor roller swept off our bi-light lens. I installed u-bolts above and below the bi-light as a guard.

As for parrel beads and an ATM tacker, we had limited success, but in the spirit of full disclosure, we've had limited success flying an asymmetrical spinnaker.


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## rikhall (Feb 7, 2008)

*Parrel beads* - these are the ones I made and they worked great.

Picasa Web Albums - Rik - Drifter

Rik


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## drgamble (Oct 28, 2008)

rikhall said:


> *Parrel beads* - these are the ones I made and they worked great.
> 
> Picasa Web Albums - Rik - Drifter
> 
> Rik


Rik, or others - it looks like you have a tack line block set up so that as you jibe the asym, the tack line will actually take a partial wrap or at least have some contact with the sail on the furler. Is that correct? and does it present any practical problems such as chafe? The dvd UK Halsey sent me simply recommended putting the tack line block as far forward as possible.


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## captbillc (Jul 31, 2008)

i think asyms are great! i fly mine from a block at the end of the retractable swinging sprit on my nimble 30 express. i can use it close to a beam reach.


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## Bilgewater (Jul 17, 2008)

drgamble said:


> Rik, or others - it looks like you have a tack line block set up so that as you jibe the asym, the tack line will actually take a partial wrap or at least have some contact with the sail on the furler. Is that correct? and does it present any practical problems such as chafe? The dvd UK Halsey sent me simply recommended putting the tack line block as far forward as possible.


My setup is quite similar to Riks however my tack line block is forward of the furler and my line runs between the pulpit and furler and it seems to work very well.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

I wouldn't drill out golf balls. They have all sorts of constructions and some of them might just fly apart while grabbing at your drill bit.

Better to buy large wooden beads at a craft store and soak in some "wot rot fix" to harden them up. Or to buy large Delrin ball bearings, if you can. Those should be available someplace, and take drilling well.

Nothing in the Yellow Pages under "Parrel Beads R Us" ?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Golf balls usually aren't solid inside...using wooden beads or plastic ones makes far more sense, as HS has pointed out...


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## rocinante33 (Dec 4, 2007)

To chime in here, the difference in using the parrel beads (or an ATN tacker) and not using one, might depend on what type of angles you are planning on sailing. If you are using the asym for broad reaching, then the parrel beads will be some benefit with the luff tightened down a bit. OTOH, if you plan to sail deeper angles off the wind you are better off without the parrel beads, allowing the sail to float out away from the headstay and out forward of the boat with a relatively loose, curved luff. 

Any way you do it, those sails are a lot of fun & can really give your boat a fun kick in the rear....like a turbocharger!


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## xsboats (Oct 2, 2007)

I make parrel beads by drilling halfway through a suitable piece of wood with a holesaw. I then drill through from the other side to finish the cut. This gives me something to hold on to to remove the piece from the holesaw. Then I use my router table and stationary beltsander to finish the shaping. If a large radius is desired, I use a smaller router bit first and then go to the bit for the radius. Taking too much at one time from the edge can lead to the bead splitting. A pencil inserted in the 1/4" hole made by the holesaw's pilot bit makes a good handle to save fingers from injury while routing.


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## rikhall (Feb 7, 2008)

For the price of the arge wooden beads from the craft stores, I bought three extra just in case. I did not treat them in any way. I used a lathe to "drill" them ensuring a center hole. When we sold the boat after seven summers with the beads, I still had the three extra new ones, un-touched.

Rik


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

JRP has it right. The ATN Tacker and similar bits of kit reduce the performance of asymmetric spinnakers. Adjustment of the tack line and halyard will allow you to fly the sail from a dead run to a beam reach. By easing the tack line on a broad reach or run you can get rotation of the sail to windward and expose more material to the wind and pick up boat speed. Tying the sail tack to the forestay will only slow you down.

The whole idea, in my opinion, responds to people wanting to "keep things under control" by constraining them instead of learning how to rig and trim optimally. Spins aren't nicknamed "kites" for nothing -- let them breath.


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