Terminology

[Gray Drohan]

Hello, Folks.  I acquired #223 this summer and I very much appreciate the knowledge-sharing that seems to go on non-stop on these forums.  However, having not sailed a Viper previously (or any asym-toting boat for that matter), I find that I am not familiar with some of the terms being used.

Given that short introduction, may I ask someone to describe to me what is meant by "pre-loading" in the context of the spinnaker?  It seems to be an important concept to some, but it is not a term that I know and I haven't been able to find reference to it anywhere but here.

I'd certainly appreciate it!

Gray

[Peter Beardsley]

Gray,

Welcome to the Class and congrats on the acquisition - 223 is a really good boat that is well prepped and that I was fortunate to sail a couple of times when Tim owned it.  As you will see, there are no bad questions in the Viper Class - there's a lot of information in the forums, but do not hesitate to ask the group if you need a hand with anything - no sense in re-inventing the wheel and everyone will be happy to help.

Searching the forums, I can only find a single instance of the word "preload / preloading" - the concept from that context (which is a very important concept) is that when you are dousing a spinnaker on a Viper, or for that matter any other boat that has a large symmetrical spinnaker that sets and douses from a bow launcher, is that before you ease the halyard, you must take up all slack on the retrieval line and have it fairly tight, such that when the halyard is eased, the sail is already going in the right direction (into the launcher) as opposed to into the water.  Viper sailing is not particularly hard, but getting the boathandling right with the spinnaker is crucial to avoid putting the sail in the water. 

The other related concept is not easing the sprit line until a tiny bit of spinnaker is already in the sock mid-douse.  If you ease the sprit at the same time as the halyard (or even worse, before the halyard is eased), you WILL put the kite in the water on the douse.  On our boat, we use the tight retrieval line as a visual cue for the person easing the halyard where they don't ease the halyard (usually) until they see that the line is vertical coming up from the bow launcher to the belly of the kite - then they know the middle person is clearly ready for the sail to come down.

[Gray Drohan]

Thanks a ton, Peter.  Makes perfect sense (now).  The same, I guess, as Justin Scott's references to a "bar tight" retrieval line.  That was another unfamiliar term. ;)

[Peter Beardsley]

Thanks a ton, Peter.  Makes perfect sense (now).  The same, I guess, as Justin Scott's references to a "bar tight" retrieval line.  That was another unfamiliar term. ;)

There will be a lot of unfamiliar terms in Justin's posts - watch out for those. 

[JacksonBenvenutti]

I personally have never used the term, "Pre-load", but it does remind me of a neat technique for hoisting the kite on the Viper where the term could be applicable.

Anyone that has every pulled a Viper kite up or down knows that the really big spinnaker doesn't really like to easily come out, or go back into, the pretty small hole in the bow. Generally, this is an obstacle to overcome, but during the hoist it can be used beneficially.

Due to the fact the kite is hard to pull out of the bag, you can actually sneak, or "pre-load" the head of the kite up much higher than you think (especially on a windward offset leg). In fact, I'd suggest sneaking the head of the kite up on an offset leg at least as high as the lowest jib batten, and can actually be safely "sneaked" or "pre-loaded" as high as the second batten in the jib before it can become problematic (in all conditions except maybe survival conditions). The spinnaker simply stays plastered to the back side of the jib because the fabric is so taut coming out of the launching hole.

Once you turn down around the offset mark, the pole should be extended immediately, which much more easily pulls the rest of the kite out of the bag (thanks to the purchase system below deck for the pole). Then, shockingly, the rest of the hoist takes incredibly less effort.

If you don't believe me, try it out a few times. I bet you'll be very surprised how far you can sneak/ "pre-load" the spinnaker halyard up (even while going upwind) before the spinnaker will ever fly out of the bag and into the water.

If you have anymore questions about this technique, or any other Viper questions, feel free to shoot me a note at [email protected]

Cheers,

Jackson

[Peter Beardsley]

Anyone that has every pulled a Viper kite up or down knows that the really big spinnaker doesn't really like to easily come out, or go back into, the pretty small hole in the bow.

On our boat, we (well, I) like to say that it's like giving birth to a spinnaker baby.  For whatever reason, this expression has not yet caught on.