Symmetric spinnaker

Set flying — attached to no stay. The halyard takes the head; the windward clew is held by the guy running through the end of the spinnaker pole, which the topping lift supports and the downhaul steadies; the sheet trims the leeward clew. Hoist in the lee of the mainsail, then square the pole aft with the guy until the sail fills.

Lightweight nylon, cut deep and perfectly symmetric about its centerline. The two lower corners are interchangeable — whichever one the pole holds becomes the tack, which is exactly what makes gybing possible: swing the pole to the other corner and the sail's roles swap.

Best from a broad reach to a dead run — roughly 110–180° off the wind, boat- and cut-dependent. Because the pole squares the sail to windward, clear of the mainsail's wind shadow, this is the downwind sail that genuinely runs square. The price is crew work: pole, topping lift, downhaul, guy, and sheet all need hands, and a gybe means working the pole across. Keep the pole roughly square to the apparent wind and trim the sheet so the luff carries a slight, steady curl.