Cruising Spinnaker - The "Fun" Sail
by Rich Fox
(Article Appeared in March 1999 TellTales Publication)

The cruising spinnaker is a sail design that sets up like a genoa and offers the downwind excitement and performance of a spinnaker without a whisker pole. It is my favorite sail and makes cruising more fun on Se Plaire (#14411).

Known by many trade names including Gennaker, Flasher, MPS, and Spanker, the cruising spinnaker is asymmetrical and has an unvarying luff and leach. It is smaller than a standard spinnaker but larger than a 150 genoa. At a weight of 0.75 ounces, it is a light sail that performs best in wind up to 10 knots. With the combination of Se Plaire’s wing keel and 10 knots of steady wind, the cruising spinnaker provides a very fast ride downwind.

Caution is always necessary when the wind increases as the cruising spinnaker will quickly heel the boat if you sail on a reach or are caught by a gusty wind shift.

The cruising spinnaker easily attaches to the forestay using only two snapshackles located at the head and tack of the sail. It is raised and lowered using the genoa’s halyard. The only additional hardware I purchased to sail the cruising spinnaker were two small cam-cleats and two small blocks. The sheets for the cruising spinnaker are run aft to two small blocks located near the stern, then cleated just forward of the block. I added a tack downhaul utilizing a single swivel block to pull down on the tack and allow me to
sail on a close reach.

Want to add fun to your cruising, consider adding a cruising spinnaker to your sail inventory.