I have four different types of peeling strops for different reasons/boats – some are for asym some for sym boats or both.

1) Double tack line – if it is not class legal we install the extra clutch for offshores and take off for inshores. Just make sure if your deck is balsa core that you have put epoxy plugs in so that when you remove and fill with a screw and silicone for inshore racing you don’t get a mushy core due to water infiltration. Two single blocks for sure. Great for retractable pole boats and large sprit boats that have halyard locks. On large sprit boats you rig a martin breaker and are well clear when the tack is remotely spiked for you.

2) A long strop off the jib tack ring with tylaska on each end – also discussed above. Good for retractable sprit boats as that way you hoist on the strop then put the tack line on the new sail when the old one has been spiked away. Really only use this technique if you aren’t set up to do the other methods or you rarely do peels and don’t want the expense of a different system.

3) A peeling ring – Two captive tylaska go in the top segments for tack of spinnaker. Then you attach your guys and tack line to the bottom segment. You can either splice the tack line to this ring direct or you can tylaska (advantage of tylaska is you can remove when the wind is light and you don’t want all the hardware dragging the sail down) splice = cheaper. Also tylaska if you have a mixed asym, sym inventory. Pole doesn’t get moved at all during the peel you just clip the new tack on the other tylaska and spike away the old (kind of like what you do with the tack on a jib peel!). Also how many times as a bowman have you been up there trying to fit the guys and tackline on the tack ring of the sail as it has been set up incorrectly. Harder to use the martin breaker set up on this system so it is better to do on smaller boats (i.e. up to 70 foot) as the recoil on the larger boats means you don’t want your head in the way.

4) My old favourite that is great for short handed sailing and works really well on sym peels. A strop with a tylaska on one end and a clip on the other it is about 12 inches long. You go out on the end of the pole (if fully crewed) or drop the pole forward (if single/doublehanded) and clip drectly onto the guy on the aft side of the pole. You take the strop under the pole and connect to the clew ring on the old sail. You spike the clew of the old sail and it is now on the strop. You attach the clew of the new spinnaker to the guy and hoist the kite. When you are ready to get rid of the old sail you spike the strop and then drop the kite. The strop will run down the guy to the guy block so when you have finished the drop etc. you just pick up your strop from the weather side of the boat.