Lightning

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What's the differences between the R-2 and the Bruin Spinnakers?

The R-2 spinnaker is more expensive due to the Airx fabric we use. This is the latest in spinnaker cloth and is plenty light (very close to the class minimum) but also a better, stronger fabric. Couple this with the fancy radial layout and it is a durable sail indeed.

The other advantage of a Radial layout is that because of the more controlled stretch we can build the spinnaker fuller for downwind sailing knowing that when stuck on a reach in breeze, the sail won't grow and become much fuller. The R-2 is a decent reaching spinnaker where the Bruin, while it performs ok on a reach, certainly wasn't designed to be our fastest reacher. The R-2 is the spinnaker that was 1,3,4,5 at the 2005 NAS.

Having said all this I still believe that there is a place for the Bruin spinnaker. It has proven to still be a quick spinnaker, especially downwind. It is a great choice especially where pricing is a consideration. For many years it was the sail "of choice" and it won its share of NAS. However, if all else was equal I would obviously suggest the R-2 for all the reasons above.

Answer by Greg Fisher

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How can I know the proper location and installation of Barber Haul hardware, and proper routing of jib sheet plus the principles for adjusting the Barber Haul for various sailing tack and wind conditions?

The "Barberhaulers" were named after the Barber twins who sailed in San Diego in the 50's and 60's. In Mission Bay there was a lot of reaching from mark to mark which was too tight for carrying a spinnaker.
They "invented" a block and line system that, in effect, widened the lead angle of the jib so that, when reaching, the top of the jib would stay trimmed and not just twist open and luff.

Barberhaulers are still standard on todays boats, although they are used very rarely (sailing in Savannah is one place where they are used). Barberhaulers can be very fancy (two-leads through the deck with double cleats and small snatch blocks) or very simple (a line with a snap hook around the jib sheet which is then led to the guy hook and cleated).

Now, to the point. Do you need them? Barberhaulers are not essential to sailing the boat at a top level nor, obviously, required for daysailing or cruising. Some people will use them to help depower the boat in heavy breezes but moving the jib car back will generally be effective enough. My advise is as follows: Don't worry about the Barberhaulers right now.

Answer by Brian Hayes

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I am trying to setup an old Lightning (Allen) for Fisher sails. In order to get the 1 3/4" prebend I had to move the mast butt back about 2" from full forward. I would guess the back of the mast is about 19" from the centerboard pin. When I go through the setup and block the mast for 1 3/4" at the spreaders the lowers go up to 34 on the loos gauge and the uppers drop to 25. The measurement to the sheer of the deck at the transom is 26' 10" well off from the 26' 5" to 26' 6" in the instructions. When I drop the lowers to 29 the measurement increases an inch or so. I also have about 7" of backstay to get the forestay just tight but that is most likely the forestay adjustment which I am sure is off.

Being a 27 year old Allen I am wondering how this should be setup. I assume the most important measurement is the prebend, but having the rake off by 4 to 5" bothers me. Any suggestions.

I know this stuff, especially when tuning older boats can be frustrating...and like aiming at a moving target.

Is the mast all the way forward at the deck? If not I would move the mast butt forward 1/4- 3/8" ( actually I would do this for sure.

I would tension the uppers to 250 and the lowers around 80. Block the mast forward until the lowers hit 250 and look at the prebend. If its not enough ( sounds like the issue) I would trying blocking more ( if room at the deck) or tighten the lowers more ( if there isn't room at the deck). Once you get the preebnd right I would check the back number ( make sure the forestay isn't restricting anything) and with the rig relaxed the rake number hopefully will fall in "the range". If too far forward pull a little block from behind and put it forward and retension the lowers. If too far back do the opposite if there's room at the deck. ( if there's no room forward at the deck maybe go back and move the butt back 1/4" or so).

At this point, assuming we were able to get the rake close and the prebend aok, I would set the headstay for the 3-4" change when pulling the backstay until the forestay just goes taught...

The uppers will drop down substantially which is normal and correct. The lowers usually are close to 250 BUT sometimes it may be necessary to have them at 300 or so too.

Hope this helps!

Answer by Greg Fisher