For me the biggest aid to single handing a spinnaker is AUTOPILOT. I did it for the first few years with a bungy cord on the wheel to hold course and had a few "holy sheet" moments - no issues since going to an autopilot.
It also helps me to go onto the fore deck with a bit a plan of what order I want to do things in.
- clip the spinnaker bag on bow
- clip the adjustable tack-line from the bow turning-block to the tack of the sail.
- clip both the sheets to the clew of the sail (double checking the sheets run outside everything)
- clip the halyard to the head of the sail
- hoist the halyard and make fast bitter end to the mast cleat
- hoist the snuffer and make fast bitter end to the mast cleat
- run like hull back to cockpit to trim the working sheet.
- lay back a enjoy the ride!
The biggest decision is if you want to set your rig to jybe "inside" or "outside" the fore-triangle.
INSIDE: if you jybe inside the fore-triangle (sheets are same length as your jib/genoa and the sheeting process is the same as with jib/genoa) but your halyard block must also be inside the fore-triangle, and sometimes you need to collapse the ballooned sail a bit to get it through the triangle.
OUTSIDE: most people jybe outside the fore-triangle with the halyard block above the head-stay tang, but this means longer sheets. To jybe you release the working sheet so the sail fly's out in front of you, then just steer the boat behind the flying sail to the other side and sheet in. This requires the length of the sheet to be; the length of the sails foot, + the length of the boat + plus extra for turning at the stern blocks and making fast (times 2. one each side).
Spinnakers are a blast! ... but I can't decide which I like more; flying them - or talking about flying them
