spillinmyRUM

i think the new boat im going to get is another northwind. im thinking of trying to put a mast head spin on the old boat just to screw around with and just to haul ass down wind i want a way to be able to take it down also upwind.
anyone know how this would work any ideas?

3dbob37n

Well, you could try some sort of plastic loop positioned at the masthead and when you pull down on this loop with a line, connected to a servo, the loop would collapse the spinnaker with some sort of mechanism to pull it down into the forepeak.
Or, like full scale, ease the halyard and tack sheet and pull it directly into the forepeak.
Seems to me somebody came up with a system years ago and maybe you will get some better answers than I have. It would take some real engineering.


3dbob

GRANT ED

I have seen a model yacht with a spinnaker. It took something like 7 channels to get it all working. I think you will find that a masthead assy kite would be WAAAAAAAY overpowered, to the point of being uncontrollable in anything about about 7mph wind. The boat I mentioned had a very small spinnaker and was still a handful in a breeze. The boat in my avatar has one rope to pull the spinnaker up and the pole out. The same rope retracts the pole and pulls the spinnaker into a chute. You could try something like that. The sheeting would need some clever thinking to work it out. My only advise would be to be realistic with the size of the spinnaker and start small.

cowana

hey. the boat in your avatar has a genica, not a spinnica. the difference is a genica has a bowsprit (pole at the front)

spillinmyRUM

i have put a masthead chute on the boat already but i could only sail it downwind it really hauled ass but i couldnt turn to go upwind. i had sailed it with this rig in about 12 to 15kts of wind and although i would broach out of control every now and then it was really cool i think if i could have adjusted the sail more that would not have happened as often. i also sailed the boat in about 20 with fractional chute that i had put on the boat. it only went up to the jib hoist spot and it felt a lil under powered for my taste. i think you can never have too much sail and i have been racing both real boats and rc boats since i was about 7 i love speed and i like sail area i think that the masthead would be fine and i would make it so i could drop the halyard down to the jib if need be i already have my own sails made for this project so all i need to figure out is how it all works

soundken

http://www.microsail.com/

not that i would endorese "stealing annothers idea" but there's some good vids of a boaat with a workable, reefable spin.