MPS or Gennaker Trim

[Frank 23]

When reaching with this sail I would play around with strapping down the sheet so the turning block/point  is much further forward rather than running it all the way aft

You can do this simply by just tying an open loop around the sheet and strapping it to a genoa car or any handy tie point that is strong enough..Lead it aft to a cleat in the cockpit and then play around with the tension. I'm no sail trim guru but this always seemed to make quite  difference on my old boat,.

I think this is called a barber hauler but the racing experts might correct me on that.

 

https://www.mysailing.com.au/news/barber-haulers

 

[Jon 144]

Looks to be a lot of opportunities for more sail area at the foot of that sail

a full hoist sail would give maybe a third more power down low where it’s of the most use

jmho 

[Plato 5]

Could you set a symmetrical the same way as the MPS on the Davidson above?

What are the fundamentals for flying a symmetrical as a 'tacker'

I don't want to scare the crew (First mate) with all the pole work and don't want to buy a new asymmetrical.

The two scenarios. A tacker which is fundamentally flawed and therefore a bit of a b*#ch, and a new asymmetrical that will be used once.

I am planning to try the 'tacker' on a still summer's day with a Second mate. Just wondering what to watch out for?

[crump 2]

53 minutes ago, Plato said:

Could you set a symmetrical the same way as the MPS on the Davidson above?

In light wind as the wind comes forward to the beam (and maybe a touch higher depending) you can move the pole forward and dip it down a touch to flatten the luff. At that point you are very close to flying the symmetrical tacked down as like an asym. It is unlikely to go as well as a gennaker cut for that purpose though it will depend on how the sail is designed as there are different variations on spinnakers.

The symmetrical spinnaker we fly on the Davidson above is a much fuller cut with big shoulders up high. That's a lot of sail hanging out the leeward side in a less than ideal shape. It is really designed to fly symmetrically in front of the boat in a big full "bubble" shape. This is a pic of a Cavlier 28 which is the same hull as the Davidson above:

 

All that said, there's not too much you can do wrong if you choose a nice 5kt summers day and give yourself plenty of space, try it out! We've have on occasion run the MPS on a pole like a symmetrical as we didn't have another sail on board. It looks stupid but if you really need to get downwind it works-ish.

Edited August 10, 2020 by crump