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Bill Miller
Miller Time J/92 #41
US43963, Milwaukee Yacht Club
When I ordered Hull 41 in January of 1993, I had just sold my J-35, which I had owned for a number of years and campaigned actively on a regional basis. It was not yet clear whether there would be a class association, and I knew that we would be racing PHRF at the Fort Worth Boat Club. Furthermore, I had seen the shift to windward-leeward courses at the NOOD, Key West Race Week, Block Island, and the Lake Michigan Races I had attended. So I ordered the optional conventional spinnaker gear from the factory, and had the topping lift mast exit raised to facilitate end-for end jibes. We ordered a 0.6 polyester running spinnaker (North Sails Chesapeake) along with the class sails and optional genoa.
Our learning curve that summer was a steep one. Coming from a masthead rig to a fractional one, and going the A-sail was an all new experience. The exhilaration of the A-sailıs speed on a reach was very seductive, and we found that the conventional spinnaker and optional running back stays carried a six second penalty in PHRF--we were racing with "tall trees" all around us, and were clearly out of our league.
The first inkling of the conventional kiteıs capability came at the Galveston Bay NOOD in 1993. We were the only J-92 sailing and they put us in the level 100 class with a Tripp 26 several Ohlson 30s, a C&C 37 and a Baltic 38! The courses were all W/L in medium air. On the first day we sailed very well upwind, but fell behind on every running leg, despite our best efforts to jibe on the lifts. On the second day we broke out the conventional cute and pole, thinking we had little to lose! We then beat all except the well-sailed C&C. The improvement in downwind performance in 10-20 knots was obvious..but was it worth the penalty we were carrying in PHRF?
We stopped using the running backstays, because we could see no advantage worth any PHRF penalty--at least in our conditions. We ordered a new ³running² asymmetrical spinnaker from Shore and learned to heel the boat far to windward and our performance on runs improved considerably, so we did not use the conventional spinnaker with its three second penalty for several years.
In January of 1996 we went to Key West Race Week and declared only the A-sail. Of the other three J-92s, one was using only a conventional spinnaker, the others were, like us, using only A-sails. The winds started strong and fell all week so we got to compare ourselves to the other boats in a good variety of conditions. A couple of things became obvious: First, the J-29s (almost all masthead outboards) who started five minutes behind us often finished in or ahead of the J-92s, especially those with A-sails. Only the J-92 with the conventional spinnaker held her own, and even she probably would have lost most races to the J-29s if we had been in the same class. Only in very light air at weekıs end did our big A-sails prevail. This formed the basis of a successful appeal of our base handicap, which is now 111 in Lake Michigan PHRF. We still give time to the J-29s, but we have some reasonable chance of winning.
Our second observation was, in retrospect, common sense. On a W/L course where the true wind speed is over 8-10 knots, the conventional [?] than the A-sail. Is it worth a three second penalty? I believe it is, and am now sailing at 108, carrying both types of spinnaker. We use the A-sail on reaching legs and reaching portions of distance races, and on W/L whenever the wind is below 8 knots true. We use our heavy, flat reaching A-sail when it blows over 25 knots. On all running legs where the wind is between 8 and 25 knots I believe the addition of the conventional spinnaker is worth the three second penalty.
Our set-up is very easy. We have a conventional track on the mast, just like the J-29s. We rig the topping lift to exit to a cleat at the front of the sea hood, keeping the deck clear for the crew during tacks. A lance cleat on the mast is a worthwhile addition to a J-92; it allows the mast man to cleat the spinnaker halyard temporarily in emergencies. The foreguy (pole downhaul) is led from the cockpit to the mid-foredeck where a Wichard folding eye is placed. A removable snatch block or medium sized block with a shackle leads the foreguy to the pole bridle. The pole and gear can be removed entirely for cruising and fun racing with the A-sail only. When we race, the pole is clipped to a starboard shroud with the topping lift attached and running through the jaws. Prior to the hoist it is moved to the mast ring and the topping lift is freed.
Since the hull is easily driven, the sail used only for running, and the wind range moderate, we use the 0.6 polyester running spinnaker, with the maximum allowable girth. It holds its shape well wet or dry; but it does require careful taping of sharps to avoid tears. The tears are more easily fixed than nylon, my sailmaker says.
We have two pairs of sheets, one with ³doughnuts² to prevent the jaws of the pole from ³eating² the knot or shackle at the clew, but Iım not sure that this is necessary. We usually just use the same sheets for both spinnakers. We hoist from a turtle, and douse through the foredeck hatch and repack. We have spreacher blocks so that we can rig both sets of sheets, but I snatch block would probably do as well. Our sheets are led back to a ratchet block at the base of the stanchion nearest the back of the deckhouse and then to the nearest secondary winch. The trimmer stands near the shrouds.
We have almost stopped using twings with the A-sail anymore. The newer designs don't seem to need them to get more projected area, so we rig them only to depower if we think that may be needed. With the conventional spinnaker it's another matter; we use them all the time. In addition to controlling sail shape the guy leads much fairer if it is led through the twing blocks. To keep the seahood clean we removed the old twing cleats and install Harken's new twing cleats to a stanchion base on eash rail, suspending them to the lower lifeline with bungee cord. They look small, but they've worked well. The twings themselves are twenty feet of color coded 5/16" Yale Light, with the larger removeable twing blocks from Layline.
We do standard end-for-end jibes; it took me awhile to remember how to drive the boat through an "old fashioned" jibe! Remember to keep your jib sheets in front of the topping lift. The A-sail is certainly simpler. Converting back and forth between spinnakers calls for considerable skill in the crew, especially the foredeck, and mastman. Using one set of sheets for both also simplifies life.
One more caveat. On distance races you will need to change spinnakers occasionally. Because the J-92 has only one halyard, the changes will be ³bare-headed². This is not a problem with a highly skilled and practiced crew, but can take FOREVER if people donıt know the drill, so practice!
In summmary, we believe that adding a conventional spinnaker makes the J-92 a much more versatile and competitive boat in PHRF racing; but the additional expense is not trivial, and a skilled crew is required. If we did nothing but W/L racing we would use only the conventional spinnaker, not declare the A-sail and probably revert to the base handicap. Finally, the "as sailed" numbers suggest that we should give little, if any , time to a masthead, outboat J-29.