Racing a Legend 37

[Don Bush]

We have a 1990 Legend 37.5, and want to outfit her with a spinaker for possible racing. Granted crusing boats don't make the fastest racers but... There is a slot on either side of the front of the mast that looks like it could accept a car or attachment for a pole. There are no other attachments other than jib and main that are in use at this time. There are, however, places for additional halyards and lines on and through the mast. This is only in the beginning/inquiry phase and we want to see what it would take. Thank You.

[Bill O'Donovan]

Spinnakers add an exciting dimension by providing better speed on a beam reach and below. In light winds, they keep you moving better than the jib because the spin is three times the size of the jib. In medium winds, you'll notice an appreciable pickup in speed. In heavy winds, stay with the jib for fear of broaching. Assymetricals are recommended these days over symmetricals because they're easy to chute and don't require a pole.You may already have a string at the mast that can be used to draw down a spinnaker halyard. I recommend you call North Sails, who has great experience at customized spins. Someone else may offer advice on buying a used spin or off-the-shelf. It takes a little time to learn how to fly the thing, but the first rule of thumb is to make sure all three lines are unobstructed by any forestay or lifelines. Flying a spinnaker is the most fun you'll have with your clothes on.

[dave]

I agree with the last post. To rig a spinnaker halyard you can keep it external to the mast...the spinnaker halyard should be forward of the headstay and not through a mast sheave because of the side loading on it. I have a special plate at the top of the masthead and a block attached to that, run a line through the block and your all set. I built my own asymetrical chute (see the picture I posted today) and I recommend it. Easy to follow the sailrite instructions and the fabric is so light a home sewing machine will work fine. A little hand sewing on the head, clew, and tack patches maybe. The sheets need to be about twice the length of the boat since they need to go all the way around the headstay and to the clew on the opposite side of the boat. Plus a turning block near the transom to lead the sheet to a winch will be needed on each side. Trying to lead the sheet directly to a winch will cause a wrap and it is dangerous!!I flew mine for the first time in the last two weeks and it is awesome!! My 35 passed a 40 C

[Ed Schenck]

Took me awhile to find Dave's picture. It is over on the O'DAY photo forum and looks really good. Nice job Dave!As a cheap guy and one who has made Sailrite kits I checked on one for my H37C. The price of $1500. is within $300. of what I was quoted for a new sail from a reputable company! And there are 40 panels to sew together!! Sailrite does have some good prices. See link below. But I think I will go with used. :)

[Les Andersen]

Don,I have a 91 37.5 and you are correct. There is an Isomast spinnaker pole car that rides in those two groves. They sell the car on their website. You will also need a spinnaker halyard and a second line that comes down from below the forstay attachment and connects to the car to pull it up the mast and adjust the end. If you have a pole stowage fixture at the base of the mast it is very easy to use the pole and keep it out of the way against the mast. You can also attach a down haul from the fixture to the car to help control. If your boat has 4 line stoppers on each side of the coach roof you should have the necessary hardwear inside the mast for the two extra lines. On mine the spinnaker halyard is the 4th line on the right side and the car lift is the third line on the left. I will look and see if I still have the pictures from the Hunter manual showing the setup.Good luck.Less/v Mutual Fun

[John Nantz]

Really agree with Bill's comment about flying a spinaker being fun. We have an '88 H-35 and have an Isomat car on the front of the mast which we got about 12 years ago (time flies when you're having fun). It has nylon inserts to make sliding easier on the grouves and not scrape the anodizing off.Your mast is undoubtly already equiped with a spinaker sheave just above the forestay attach point. Like a previous poster said the sheave doesn't work well when the halyard is at an angle but this has worked for us with our triradial.With regard to spinakers, there are numerous cuts available. To get an idea of how many just one sailmaker has visit the North Sails web site and view their polar diagram. They're designed for various windangles and aparent wind. For downwind sailing, because of it's large sail area, the traditional triradial can't be beat; however, for short-handed sailing and close reaching the asymetricals are really good. If where you race uses a course that doesn't change then you can put together a set of sails optomized for that course and typical winds and for this the local sailmaker becomes a good resource.To be really competitive will mean striping the boat of all unnecessary weight, adding a slick bottom, and a feathering prop, and a backstay adjuster, to name a few items. Unfortunately, striping the weight off makes it more difficult to go cruising because then you have to load everything back on.Spinakers are really fun to fly and they're worth every penny.