On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 09:47:35 -0400, Rodney Myrvaagnes
wrote:

I can resist until I have it all worked out in my mind. All spinnaker
flying has been double handed up to now, with my wife at the helm
while I get it up or down.

Agreed. I have a 33 1/2 footer, and it's no joke to wrestle that large
expanse of fabric.

Last year we sprang for a geriatric aid, an ATN sock. Before that our
takedown (leeward) was fine as long as we were on the same jibe as we
had hoisted on.

Gee, and here I thought an ATN sock was great for guys in their 40s
G

But an odd number of jibes would leave us with the halyard and sheet
on opposite sides of the boat, where I couldn't reach them
simultaneously.

Our pole has both ends the same, so jibes are done dinghy style, and
only in light air. I don't see any way to do a dip pole without a
third person.

I've seen that operation suffer with four crew running it on a C&C 41,
so three on your boat would seem to be a minimum. If conditions are
perfect, one can manage it, but conditions are rarely perfect, and to
be short-handed is the sailmaker's joy at best, and potentially a
dangerous broach situation at worst. Been there, done that, and helped
pull the foredecker back on board with a wind five knots faster than
we should have had a bloody chute up. My fingerprints are still on the
barrel of the winch, I think G.

You sound like a great candidate for a cruising spinnaker, poleless
variety. I just got one, and I'll post my comments after I launch.

R.