Trawling is one of the most common spinnaker problems. The sail goes overboard, and a phenomenal amount of water turns the spinnaker into a wave fishing net.
Trawling will take place when the sail is sent or trimmed. With an asymmetrical spinnaker on the end of a spinnaker pole, it is often the tack of the spinnaker that goes into the water, followed by more or less canvas that ends up under the boat almost every time.
Taking precautions
To avoid trawling, the most important thing is to keep the tack well out of the water. With a small crew, it's not always easy, so you have to be particularly vigilant.
When the spinnaker is sent out, the crewmember before will be given the task of escorting the tack of the sail to the bowsprit. The tack of the sail is very exposed to the waves, which is why the crew member has to be careful, otherwise the spinnaker will pass under the boat in an instant. On lowering, one crew member near the mast takes care of the spinnaker canvas and another keeps the tack of the sail out of the water.
In a poorly prepared dragging manoeuvre, if the tack end gets stuck in a block or block block block, the chances of a trawl being trawled are high that it will be difficult to retrieve it. The crew must ensure that the tack is free of knots and can run unhindered.
It is not advisable to make a stopper knot at the tack end. It must be possible to let go of the tack in case of trawling. If there is a knot, the spinnaker will not be able to flag on the stern, the spinnaker will turn into a real fishing net.
For your spinnaker tack, allow at least twice the length of the bowsprit/tail plank. This will prevent the rope from leaving its mooring path and whipping through the air.
Solutions after trawling
If the spinnaker trawls during a dropping manoeuvre, here's how to retrieve it:
1- First of all, the emergency halyard must be blocked, or better yet, try to hoist as much sail as possible. All the canvas that's in the air won't be for water.
2- If the force of the water causes too much pressure to hoist the spinnaker, then the tip of the spinnaker tack must be fully released. The sail that was inflated with water is going to flag between two waters.
If for technical reasons the tack cannot be spun, trawling will be unavoidable and it will be very difficult to get the spinnaker back on board. The tack will then have to be cut, and it is better to lose a piece than a sail.
3- When the tack is free and the spinnaker floats in the water as a flag, the sail can be hoisted again. She faseye to the rear of the boat, the spinnaker is held to the boat by the halyard and the sheet. It's time to tuck in the sheet to bring the spinnaker closer to the cockpit, grasp it and pass it on board while gradually easing off the halyard.
Once on board, the spinnaker will be thoroughly inspected and put back in its bag, being careful to fold it and remove any fish before returning it.
