A Waterline 48 sailing with a Matrix Flasher with a custom graphic.

The Stasher (a dousing sock) takes the place of several long-armed crewmembers.

The asymmetrical pole-less cruising spinnaker is the one sail you can use that will make your boat much more lively and fun. The generic name for these sails is the asymmetrical pole-less cruising spinnaker. Needless to say, every sailmaker has come up with a much shorter name. At UK-Halsey, we call this sail the Flasher because it makes downwind sailing fast and fun.

The Flasher is an asymmetrical spinnaker, which means the luff is longer than the leach and the cross sectional shape of the sail is airfoil-shaped where the deepest part of the draft is toward the luff. A symmetrical spinnaker’s leaches are the same length and the cross sectional shape is elliptical or circular, with the deepest part of the draft on the centerline of the sail. The Flasher delivers almost as much pulling power as a full-size spinnaker, yet it handles more like a genoa. It doesn’t need a spinnaker pole and it’s asymmetrical shape that makes the sail more stable and less twitchy. The cruising spinnaker is the perfect sail for shorthanded cruising crews.

Further simplifying the Flasher is the dousing sock that encases that sail during sets and douses. We call the sock the Stasher; it does the work of several long armed crewmembers. With the sock, the Flasher can be set, trimmed and lowered by two people or one person and an autopilot.

The Flasher is available in two construction styles — The Matrix and Tri-Radial. The Matrix panel layout is the strongest and most popular choice. The radial panels fan out from the three corners and run throughout the sail. For smaller boats that generate much lower loads, the tri-radial layout can be used. The tri-radial layout less expensive because is easier to manufacture si and uses cloth more efficiently.

The many panels in a cruising spinnaker allows for a lot of creativity in designing the color scheme for your sail. Use our online painter tool to try out different designs and let your whole crew try out their creative talents. Click here to try this our spinnaker painter program.

Some sailors get intimidated by the whole idea of a spinnaker. To lower the angst level, we’ve created a 17-minute video showing just how easy it is to set up and use a cruising spinnaker. Click here to see a clip that shows how to jibe these sails. Click here to buy the DVD for $20. If you buy a new cruising spinnaker within 45 days of buying the video, the $20 will be credited against your Flasher purchase.

local UK-Halsey Sailmaker loft or use our inquiry form.

Matrix Panel Layout	Tri-Radial Panel Layout