Submitted on May 15, 2002 by Ed Cecil

Question: Good Morning, Could you tell me the proper way to rig a gennaker on a sabre 425. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you, Ed Cecil

Answer: Hi Ed, To rig a gennaker on your boat you will need the following:

1) A spinnaker halyard that exits your mast above - or directly to the side of - the headstay.

2) Port and starboard spinnaker sheets that lead from the foredeck aft to turning blocks on the rail, just forward of the pushpit, and then forward to winches.

3) A tack line that runs from the tack of the gennaker, through a turning block on the foredeck or anchor roller, and aft to a winch and stopper or cleat. The most common set up for the tack line is to position a snatch block on a robust part of the anchor platform forward of the pulpit.

There are a number of variations on the procedure for hoisting the gennaker, depending on how you store it. We recommend the following steps for hoisting the sail, (in this example the sail will be hoisted and flown on the port side of the boat):

Attaching the sail

1) Pack the gennaker in a spinnaker turtle bag with the tack corner at one end of the bag, the clew at the other end and the head in the middle.

2) Secure the bag to the center of the foredeck, with the tack end of the bag forward.

3) Bring the starboard sheet around the headstay and aft to the back of the bag. Clip it to the clew of the sail. Clip the port sheet to the clew.

4) Bring the tack line over the top of the starboard sheet and clip it to the tack of the sail.

5) Bring the halyard down on the port side of the headstay and clip it to the head of the sail.

(Note: all lines should be run over the top of the headsail sheet, or all lines should be run under the headsail sheet. You cannot run some lines under the headsail sheet and some over it.)

Hoisting the sail (using a snuffer accessory)

1) Break open the bag.

2) Pull the tack line to bring the tack of the sail forward to the headstay, leaving about 2-5' of line between the sail and the block (depends on the luff length of your sail relative to the mast height.)

3) Raise the halyard to the top of the mast.

4) Tension the port sheet until the clew of the sail is about even with the mast.

5) Turn the boat onto a broad reaching angle and use the control lines to raise the snuffer.

6) With the snuffer fully hoisted and the sail full, pull both legs of the control lines tight and secure them on the dock cleat on your foredeck.

Dousing the sail

Reverse the hoisting procedure.

Using a gennaker is a relatively simple and greatly rewarding experience. No matter what your level of sailing experience is, you should set up your boat for spinnaker gear while at the dock or mooring (rather than while sailing) and then practice handling the gennaker in light wind conditions. Once you are comfortable with the procedure you will find that you can use these large sails comfortably in 15-20 knots of breeze. Your boat will come alive.

Contact your closest North Sails rep for a copy of the Gennaker Packing Instructions and Gennaker Handling Video. Regards, Dan Neri

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