Hi Charlie I would like to first say that our family had a 1981 C&C 36 since new for nine years. However we rarely flew the spinnaker on it, never raced and I do not recall ever gybing. That said I did feel that it was a big powerful boat at the time.
On our boats we have always done end for end because it is simpler and faster. Initially on our Niagara 26 we did dip pole (because I knew no other way) and it was slow and un-necessary and we switched to end for end. We carried this over to the J/27 as well. We have always sailed with just one sheet/guy on either side. In the Frers fleet however at 33 feet LOA dip pole starts to become more common and half the boats use separate sheets and guys and some do dip pole when the wind pipes up. We have stayed with end for end and one set of lines because it is easier and because I have no intention of flying the chute when it is truly windy. On a friend’s C&C33-2 the pole has ends that only allow dip pole and they are considering changing so they can do end for end. With the C&C 115 we were always dip pole. The pole is set up so only that is possible. From what I understand after a certain size dip pole is not only much safer but just about all that is possible. I would think that a C&C 36 is pretty much approaching that size with its masthead rig and relatively large J. On our boat I often end up doing foredeck (because we have a lot of people capable of doing the other jobs). There are usually two factors that make an end for end gybe difficult. The first is the driver turning before the mast end is made which puts excessive pressure on the pole and can make completing the gybe nearly impossible. The second is when the person on the new guy sheets it in too soon putting pressure on the mast end. As it gets windier both of these situations become more difficult to resolve On the C&C 115 I was on main. Of course like many main trimmers I would too often watch the foredeck rather than my sail. Dip pole required a good mast man along with a good bow man and they had to be in sync. With the extra line we very frequently managed to wrap the new guy around the jaws rather thn allowing it to move freely. Many times we did not have smooth gybes as a result. From this perspective end for end would be much simpler If the 36 were my boat and we were used to end for end I would stick with that up til 8 knows with single sheet and guy and then dip pole with double sheet/guy above that. This would make for the quickest gybes IMO Mike From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Charlie Nelson via CnC-List Sent: Sunday, December 04, 2016 10:21 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Cc: cenel...@aol.com Subject: Stus-List Spinnaker pole handling We use a carbon fiber pole on Water Phantom, C&C 36 XL/kcb, for our kite(s) and have 'oscillated' back and forth between doing dip-pole jibes or end-for-end. The pole is a relatively light Forte carbon fiber pole with snap-in fitting on both ends. We always use lazy sheets and guys. As the driver, I don't have strong feelings about which method we use or should use. However, especially in breezes above 8 knots, it looks to me like our jibes are taking too much time when we end for end the pole. Of course I share some of the blame if I can't keep the boat headed downwind during the jibe but even when I seem to manage keeping her downwind, the mast man struggles to get the pole into the fitting and made--taking valuable time and giving a lot of downwind separation to our competitors. Of course, it also puts him at risk for the pole smashing him about the head and shoulders if the pressure builds on the kite before he has it made. I am convinced that my boat can sail to her rating upwind in breezes above about 8 knots--less not so much!--but downwind we often waste what seems like too much time on jibing. I say this with confidence since when we raced non-spin with a whisker pole, until we learned how to set the pole downwind, we would beat every boat to the windward mark and have most of them pass us on the way downwind. Once we got the mechanics straightened out, no one passed us downwind even if a few gained on us. OTOH, if we dip pole, the bow person often gets the new guy in the pole in the incorrect position (with his back to the bow), so there is certainly a need for more practice. My question for the list is what method should we invest practice time in so that jibing can be as routine as tacking. It seems that at 36 ft Water Phantom and a fiber pole could go either way but I would prefer to always use the same method so that we have a chance to get quick at it. Charlie Nelson Water Phantom C&C 36 XL/kcb cenel...@aol.com<mailto:cenel...@aol.com>
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