Comments by Phil Cornwell

As newcomers to the Class we purchased our second-hand Aero 6 in December '98. We were a little confused at the time by the raging debate - double-luff versus asymmetric. My daughter, with experience as a forward hand on a 16, who'd agreed to crew for me, was in no doubt we had to have an asymmetric spinnaker. Once voted in by the association, however, there were a number of decisions to make: 

The list of questions went on and on. After considerable deliberation we decided upon a retractable pole: - more expensive, but looks nicer - permanently set up so less time rigging. We chose an Alan Carwardine kit, reinforced glass tube with an aluminium pole insert. I chose to install the pole myself. Alan was very helpful with hints and sketches on how to proceed with the installation. The hardest part was making the first hole in the hull!!! Inserting and glassing the small load transferring bulkhead inside the hull proved to be the most difficult job with not much room to work. I've got a small spinnaker shute and in hindsight should have replaced that at the same time which would have made the pole installation job much easier.

We started with a two rope system, separate halyard and Pole outhaul with the pole retrieved by its internal shockcord. We've since moved to a single rope system which we find suits us better and makes for a quicker hoist and less likely to drop the kite in the water. The small shute means that a fair bit of effort is needed to get the spinnaker up and down. Maybe the next job will be a bigger shute.

We're still getting used to tacking downwind and have a long way to go before getting the angles optimum especially in the lighter breezes. But what an exhilarating experience once the breeze picks up. In a gust the bow lifts easily and the acceleration is spectacular. The boat is very controllable and there are no dramas getting poles up and down. Gybing is also much simpler not having to struggle with a pole.

We've yet to sail in extreme conditions to test our technique and the ultimate strength of the installation, but have survived a few reasonable gusts. All remains intact to date even if the pole does seem to bend alarmingly at times.

The asymmetric has added a new dimension to downwind sailing, a new skill to learn in optimising the course sailed. We're certainly pleased we made the change and really enjoy the added performance.

Phil Cornwell

Comments by Tom Graham(Cutting Edge).

Summed up in one word ... M A G 1 C!

I had Alan Carwardine fit one of his retractable pole assemblies to Cutting Edge in the winter months after observing them all last season. 'Scotty'Venenes built the kite. 

Alan's system works excellently. Through experience we've found that the exit point has to be glassed in a little more. This is no reflection on Alan's work, as at this stage we are all on a learning curve. Scotty has done an excellent job on the kite and has been extremely helpful to the Queensland members.

Ashley and 1 did not have any problems hoisting the kite but in retrieving we found that the pole wouldn't retract. After a few cans of sili spray (and a lot of swearing) we found that, if we released the halyard and retrieved the kite until it put pressure on the pole, it popped back and has not given us a problem since. It also prevented us 'Prawning'. We have also since found that we don't drop the kite until the pole is in line with the rounding mark. We do this because we find the boat stops dead once we drop the kite. We are now rounding marks with Ashley retrieving the kite and stowing the sheets away. We've found that the asymmetric spinnaker is far quicker to drop than the double-luff. We are using a 3 mm spectra line as a retriever, but we may have to go up a size as in 20 + knots we have found that the halyard is pulling through the cleat. We also have to tension our rig when we go on to a reach as we find the extra pressure sags the rig a lot.

Two areas that 1 feel we will all have to keep an eye on is the Side Stays and the Rudder Pintles. We find that we develop more weather helm and have to put more effort in to keeping the boat flat on a tight reach in a blow. At Cleveland, we've been blessed with 15 knots for all the sailing this season, except for 8 November which was a shocker with a maximum of 5 knots. The boat performs excellently, even on a square run, however, below 5 knots 1 feel we should be allowed to paddle on the'square' to make up for the extra distance that we have to cover. See you all at the Nationals at Christmas.

Tom Graham

IMPORTANT Members who have converted to an asymmetric spinnaker should ensure that they have their spinnaker, bow pole and halyard height approved by an official Measurer before entering Association events.