Items required

Length of material, preferably nylon
Small plastic bucket, about 70cm circumference at it’s widest
Pully block
Length of rope, at least twice the height of the sail.

Method

This spinnaker snuffer can be made very cheaply and only requires simple sowing skills. My prototype used a cotton material but this was not ideal because of the space required for it to concertina above the sail. Using nylon was a much better option but may need some searching to find a shop that sells it.

The sock is made by sowing the nylon into a cylinder about the circumference of the wider part of the bucket. Make it about ¾ the length of the sail, bearing in mind that it has to concertina between the top of the sail and the masthead.
Make hems at both ends.
The bucket needs the bottom cut out and the edges smoothed, also remove the handle.
Sow one end of the sock to the wider part of the bucket using a strong twine (see photo).
A short length of rope is sewed to the top of the sock and a small loop is tied in it, to enable the pulley block to be attached and to attach it to the halyard shackle (see photo).
Pass the rope through the sock and the pulley, tying one end to the ‘bottom’ of the bucket and the other end to the same place. It is a good idea to spread the attachment to both sides of the bucket so that it stays level (see photo)

By pulling on the rope, the snuffer can be raised or lowered quite easily. This can be very useful if the spinnaker needs to be controlled easily, particularly in a rising wind. Once the sail fills, you will find that it has the effect of pushing the sleeve and bucket above the top of the sail.



detail at bucket end



detail at top of sleeve



overall view of the snuffer