I feel like i do all the posting.

Anyone have tips and lessons learned from flying a code zero, or any asym. for that matter.

I'm seriously considering investing in one when I buy new sails shortly(sugar momma got promoted and now makes fat commission, hells yeah).

Tack line block placement, tack line routing to cockpit, to fabricate a bowsprit or not to, best asym type for close reaching, close calls, masthead halyard rigging/ doable or too much stress on original stick, upgrading standing rigging, more slamming me for modifying one design
As usual, any and all correspondence is welcomed

upgrade to a J/109... without a sprit, the aysm just doesn't have a wide range to pull.

We tried an asym on Rhapsody bought on eBay. It doesn't get used. I cruise with the symmetrical spinnaker and do much better.

We have flown an old Melges 24 A-kite from the pole. It's a huge thrill and it powers the boat up like nothing else, in our experience. Since we arent rated for it we dont race with it. The downside is that it massively loads up the boat. This shows up in my twing line system. I am not sure the SWL of the blocks and lines is up to the job. They dont look like they would do the job for a long time. But it is so fast and ridiculously fun it's like having a new boat. We've enjoyed it from <5 kts to about 20 kts TWS. We have done it family style with just my wife & my kids & me. We do a douse jibe. I would like to be rated for it and race distance with it, which we don't do often. It might be cool to have a distance rating (using 'affordable' M24 A-sails & composite mains) and a OD buoy racing handicap. Oops, a can of worm just spilled I better go.

I had an old chute cut to an asym - not perfect but it was a $200 test.

You really need a sprit to fly it. There is not really a good tack point that works well.

Selden and Forte now has a removable sprit that looks pretty cool. I have thought about it. You could also just add an anchor roller and fly it from there but getting it out away from the boat would be better.
http://www.seldenmast.com/download.cfm?download=7837&webnode_id=3014&filename=595-261-E.pdf
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|118|319697|103585|312078|855335&id=1017978

I think for any real advantage you would want to fabricate a masthead sheeve and fly it from there, the fractional spinnaker halyard with an asym is not far from just reaching with the 163 class genoa.

I have thought about this a lot. I think the boat would be a PHRF smoker with a real Asym.


David
#397

We have an "A" sail that we bought this year. We had the sail maker out with us two weeks ago to do some testing on a new number 1 and to play with the "A" (ours is a "code 3"). Their instructions were to fly it from the pole with the pole set down to the pulpit. As the wind moves aft, raise the pole slightly. Although we bought it for heavy air reaching, at 60 degrees apparent in 5 - 10 knots of breeze it was about 1/2 knot faster than the number 1. We have not used it enough to know its practical limits but it is proving faster than the number 1 in 60 -90 degree apparent wind. We aren't sure where the cross over is with the all purpose kite becuase we haven't played with it enough. We do know though that it is particularly faster in heavy air 70-90 degree apparent wind where we struggle with the all purpose kite.
Our conclusion is that it is a must sail for serious PHRF buoy racing.

Russ - so do you just crank down on the Foreguy to keep the pole from moving? What about lateral movement?

This sounds like a cool way to do it, just wondering how the tack load get distributed.

David
#397

Running rigging is same for the A sail as for the all purpose chute. Downhaul (foreguy) and topping lift on the pole. Spin sheets attached to tack and clew. Big and obvious problem; without lazy sheet and guy, it can't be jibed with this set up. But then, for the races where we have used the A sail, we have not had to jibe it.

So you are you using a seperate line for the tack? Or is the spinsheet(Guy) your tack?

David
#397

The spin sheet (guy) is our tack

Cool - something else to play with!

David
#397