# gennaker rigging and jibe



## sailcougar

I have a Hunter 42 center cockpit. The boat came with a gennaker and I am new at this. I rigged the gennaker with an adjustable tack line and ran the sheets around the outside (forward of bow) of my boat. I have looked at several pictures on rigging and they all show the sheets passing between the forestay and the tack line. I do not understand how I can complete a successful jibe like that. I did complete a successful jibe rigged as I said. If the gennaker moves past he front of the boat, it seems like the sheet would get twisted if routed between the forestay and the tack. My method could have issues as it would allow the sheet to fall in front and below the bow, consequently getting hung up under the boat. Can anyone explain the proper rigging, and what should happen through the jibe?
Happy Sailing


----------



## jackdale

*It depends*

The outside gybe works with a spinnaker halyard that is mounted above the forestay. If you gybe inside with this setup you will foul the halyard on the forestay.
The inside gybe works works with a halyard (usually a spare jib halyard) mounted below the the forestay. If you gybe outside with this setup you will foul the halyard on the forestay.

I have tried on outside gybe with a jib halyard. Not pretty.

Jack


----------



## svHyLyte

With all due respect, if one is using the spinnaker halyard one can do an inside gybe or outside gybe depending upon how the sheets are led. If one is using a jib halyard, one can only do an inside gybe as an outside gybe would result in the jib halyard leading over and across the headstay. Given the foregoing, we only use spinnaker halyards for our Assym.

With the spinnaker halyard, in relatively light air (i.e. <=10-12 knts), inside gybes are somewhat easier. Accordingly, prepatory to hoisting the sail, one leads what will be the lazy sheet when the sail is first hoisted, foward of the headstay but behind the tack line of the sail. With this arrangement, once hoisted, the lazy sheet is behind the "luff line", the line between the tack block forward of the headstay at deck level and the masthead. To gybe, one bears off to a run, brings the main across, eases the working sheet until the clue is just forward of the headstay and then hauls in the formerly lazy sheet pulling the clue through the gap between the luff and the headstay. When the clue passes through the gap one heads up and continues to haul in the new working sheet smartly, at which point the sail will begin to fill away from the clue up on the new gybe and will pull its upper portions through the gap and fill away nicely.

In "heavy air" (i.e. >12-15 knts), we lead the lazy sheet outside of the tack-luff line so that, when we gybe, the clue blows forward of the tack/luff line as the working sheet is eased and is hauled in on the new gybe by the formerly lazy sheet (with which the head of the sail "rotates" at the masthead). The difficulty with this is method is that the former working sheet must be kept taunt at all times to prevent the sheet falling down forward of the bow when the yacht is dead-down-wind and being swept under the hull, potentially fouling the prop, or rudder, or both. (Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt!). Frankly, once the wind gets upwards of 15 knts or more, I prefer to simply "snuff" the sail in the lee of the mainsail with our ATN sock, gybe the main, and rehoist the sail on the new gybe. Of course, I'm in my 60's now so the younger "hot shots" may disagree with such a conservative approach but I like returning from our cruises quickly but with all our gear undamaged.

FWIW...

s/v HyLyte


----------



## svHyLyte

A further note to the foregoing comment. If one intends to "snuff" the Assym using a "sock" such as the ATN version, on a different gybe from that which it was hoisted, one will need to pass the downhaul forward and around the forestay to get it on the same side of the forestay as is the sock at the head of the sail.

FWIW...

s/v HyLyte


----------



## sailcougar

*gennaker gibe and rigging*

Thanks for the response. While some sailing terms are not comfortable yet, I understand and it does make sense. My halyard is above my jib forestay. I could see very quickly how I could get into trouble in a gibe with my lazy sheet falling in the water and going under the bow. I will need to practice this and good old mother nature can always throw a curve or two along the way.

Sail Cougar


----------



## blt2ski

For what it is worth, if short handing, I find the outside gybe to work the best! as then you can let the old sheet as far forward as you can, the pull the clew around with the new sheet. It seems when we inside gybe short handed, the AS gets caught in the forestay, and I usually need someone up at the bow helping to feed the clew of the AS through, so it does not wrap around the forestay. Just my own 02 on this. Reality is, with a spin halyard, either works, I just find with say 2 people, both in the cockpit, that the outide gybe works better a higher % of the time.

marty


----------



## jackdale

UK Halsey has a site worth visiting for instructions on rigging a gennaker.


----------

