02 January 2009

Moving into the Spinnaker Age

When I bought my first spinnaker for Lady Bug on EBay, I fell victim to the classic EBay blunder: trusting anybody on EBay with a frickin' tape measure. The luff on it was a good 6 feet shorter than advertised. Oh well, maybe when the wind picks up, I can fly that one.

But I still need a spinnaker. Last year, I had corresponded with an Olson 30 owner who had an extra kite in good shape for a very good price. I just never bought it since I knew I was sailing on Oceanaire more than Lady Bug. Now that I have gone and entered into a spinnaker division for the Three Bridge Fiasco, I need a properly sized kite so I made the plunge and am buying the O30 sail.



It turns out that Erik Estrada *does not* sail on this particular boat, that's the owner. Certainly looks like Ponch doesn't he?

The next step is to receive the sail and spring into action rigging the topping lift, after guy, and buying some spin sheets. I am not 100% sure that I got the right blocks so I might have some more purchases there. Updates through January are coming -- the adventure is just beginning.

6 comments:

Zen said...

Bloodly Speed freaks, I'll have to stay out of your way Now.

EVK4 said...

Zen....sign up for the race. The start line is an incredible experience. Your base rating is 246, you'd start before the crowds.

The O'Sheas said...

Best of luck with this. I would really like to see/hear a recap of the rigging process. I'm pretty sure that whatever Kris and I end up buying will require us to rig ourselves.

Wicketywack said...

You can find decent used sails at this shop near me:

http://www.baconsails.com/

Only problem for you would be shipping.

O Docker said...

This is that crazy start where other boats are coming at you head on, right?

I'd forget about the spinnaker and think about a deck gun. You'd probably use the spinnaker just for racing, but, on the bay, a deck gun is useful anytime.

The O Dock Challenge is gaining momentum - I may actually do the 3BF.

Bird Removal Lees Summit said...

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