Tanzer 16, Hoisting Spinnaker First Time

Tanzer 16, Hoisting Spinnaker First Time  -- July 22, 2015 -- When I bought my boat #1306, I didn't really have a spinnaker in mind--it was more of a "someday, maybe kind of" deal.  Buying and selling #1313 in order to get the trailer, I acquired a spinnaker from boat #538.  I am guessing that it came from one of the Overnighters built in Arlington, Washington.*  So there I was with a sail that would cost between $700-$1000--What's a guy to do?

So we set up some hardware as shown on the Tanzer 16 association web site.  It wasn't cheap, but not exorbitant by boating standards. (A couple hundred bucks all in, blocks, cleats, topping lift and halyard.)  I already had a spinnaker pole we used for the Genoa down wind.

 As I installed the hardware, it was easy to see that #1306 had a spinnaker in its past.  Since neither Tony nor I know anything about spinnakers we thought we would try it in the driveway first.  Much easier to pick up a dropped pole off concrete than from Budd Inlet.

So we got it up.  Got it down, Put it up gybed it a time or two.  Maybe we are ready to try it on the water, but it will be a long time before we use it in a race.  We'll see.  If it does happen, we'll have sharp knives in our pockets and no stopper knots on the sheets.

Winds can be pretty fluky in a driveway.

*At one point Tanzers were being built in Quebec, South Carolina and Washington.  That accounts for the unusual number of Overnighters for sale on the Seattle Craig's list.  They all seem to have numbers in the 400 and 500 range.