Pricing
The ATN Tacker is offered in two sizes by boat length.
Size A, boats up to 36 ft LOA.
Size B, boats up to 50 ft LOA.
Larger boats (46 ft and up) or heavy-displacement designs should contact us directly. UK buyers: Ocean Chandlery (Emsworth)
Tacker vs Spinnaker Pole
ATN Tacker
Parrel Beads
Spinnaker Pole
When you fly an asymmetric or a re-rigged symmetric spinnaker on a boat equipped with a roller-furler, you have two modern options for the tack: a spinnaker pole, or the original ATN Tacker. Each works. They differ in setup time, cost, simplicity, and single-handed manageability.
Parrel beads
The cheapest option. Some cruising spinnakers ship with them. They work, but the rope and beads make direct contact with the furled UV strip every time you adjust the tack up or down, and that contact is a known wear point. Setup is slower because the beads have to be strung manually on the forestay each session.
Bow pole or bowsprit
The most capable option, especially for asymmetricals with a high clew and a long luff that must project well past the bow. The cost is high (often $1,500 or more once you add the fittings, topping lift, and downhaul) and rigging a pole on the foredeck is hard work for a single-hander.
ATN Tacker
Sits between the two. A sliding cuff that floats around the furled headsail, held in position by a downhaul led aft to the cockpit. Setup runs about two minutes per session, all from the cockpit. No chafe on the UV strip, no foredeck rigging.
There are modern options to parrel beads, the most popular is the ATN Tacker. The Tacker performs the same job as parrel beads, but its wide, slippery cuff slides more easily on the furled sail.
The tacker allows me to use my traditional spinnaker without a pole without the accompanying complexities on my monohull. It's so simple and fast to set up I can single hand deploy and retrieve with a lashed tiller.
The Complete ATN Spinnaker System
Many sailors run the full ATN system: the Spinnaker Sleeve for safe dousing, the Tacker for tack control, and the SnapRatchet ratchet block for mechanical advantage on the control line. Together, they make single-handed spinnaker handling reliable and repeatable. Call +1 954-584-2477 to discuss what makes sense for your boat.
Product specs
| Construction | Original-design sliding cuff that slides around the furled headsail. |
|---|---|
| Function | Holds the asymmetric spinnaker tack on the boat's centerline; adjusts up and down from the cockpit. |
| Hardware | Snap Shackle for cockpit-controlled tack release. |
| Sizes | Size A (up to 36 ft LOA), Size B (up to 50 ft LOA). |
| Compatible with | Hard-luff roller furlers (preferred). Soft-luff with sail lubricant. |
| Halyard required | No extra halyard. Existing spinnaker halyard hoists the spinnaker. |
| Original design since | 1992. Designed by Etienne Giroire. |
| Made in | United States, Pinellas Park, FL. |
| UK dealer | Ocean Chandlery (Emsworth). |
Where to use it
The single-hander on a roller-furling cruiser
Single-handed sailors on 30 to 49 ft monohulls with a furling jib and an asymmetric (or a re-rigged symmetric) in the locker. The Tacker is rigged once, then deployed in two minutes: spinnaker halyard up, downhaul tensioned, sheet trimmed. To douse, release the snap shackle (blow the tack) and let the spinnaker fall behind the mainsail (see detailed instructions later on this page).
The casual cruiser who wants more spinnaker hours
Cruising couples who own an asymmetric they rarely fly because rigging a pole is too much hassle for a Saturday afternoon. The Tacker reduces setup time to two minutes and removes the "do we really want to do this?" friction. Practical Sailor put it directly: "the inexpensive TACKER allows you to fly a conventional spinnaker without a pole."Practical Sailor
Club racers running short-handed
On a club-racing course where the rules allow it, the Tacker lets a short-handed crew fly a spinnaker without dedicating a foredeck hand. vtsailguy on SailNet, sailing a 41 ft Tartan, captured the wind-range envelope: in under 5 knots he flies the spinnaker solo, and in under 10 knots two people fly it easily.
Symmetric spinnaker re-rigged as an asymmetric
Owners with a traditional symmetric spinnaker who do not want to buy an asymmetric. Attach the Tacker to one clew of the symmetric and fly it as an asym from beam reach to broad reach. No pole, no sprit, no foredeck wrestling.
Customer concerns addressed
Will the Tacker damage my roller furler foil?
Donnybrook on CruisersForum (2020) and wingssail on the same forum both worried that the spinnaker load on a Tacker might flex the furler foil. It is a reasonable thing to worry about and the question deserves a direct answer.
ATN has manufactured and sold 15,000+ Tackers since 1992 with no documented reports of a bent furler foil or a chafed UV cover. The cuff rests against the furled sail with no relative motion, so it does not rub. As for side load: a tensioned headstay with the furler extrusion installed is a stiff, rigid assembly, and the Tacker spreads its load along the foil rather than point-loading it. The Tacker is also most useful on a broad reach, with the tack set high on the furler, which is the point of sail where side load is at its minimum. On a close reach the Tacker sits low, near the stem fitting, which carries the load directly. A 2026 owner on CruisersForum (Jeanneau 45.2) makes the same point: "spreads the load along the foil."Crusier's Forum'. Keep in mind, the WORST THING for your roller furler is an under-tensioned backstay.
Why Choose ATN
What sailors and the press say
In the press
In addition to a strop like ATN's Tacker, almost all of the cruising spinnakers his loft builds are delivered with spinnaker sleeves.
Jerry Latell, Ullman Sails, via Darrell Nicholson, Practical Sailor, August 2006. Read “Riding the A Train” on Practical Sailor
We think the TACKER is a terrific way for casual sailors to get more use out of their spinnakers. The inexpensive TACKER allows you to fly a conventional spinnaker without a pole.
Practical Sailor, editorial product review (“Riding the A Train,” Darrell Nicholson, August 2006). Read on Practical Sailor
The ATN Tacker has appeared on the cover of Latitude 38 Magazine (Baja Ha-Ha cruise) and in Cruising Helmsman (Australia, December 2019).
Latitude 38 cover and Cruising Helmsman (Australia) press mentions. Print only; see Latitude 38 and Cruising Helmsman.
From the sailing community
The tacker allows me to use my traditional spinnaker without a pole without the accompanying complexities on my monohull. It's so simple and fast to set up I can single hand deploy and retrieve with a lashed tiller.
tmcdonagh, CruisersForum, May 2026. Read on CruisersForum
I have had the same experience with a symmetrical spinnaker and an ATN Tacker on a 41' tartan. In under 5 knots, I can fly it solo. In under 10 knots two can I fly it easily. There is no way I could manage a traditional spinn to the same degree. It would stay in its bag.
vtsailguy, SailNet, April 2014. Read on SailNet
The Tacker is a hard plastic sleeve with a snap shackle that goes around a furled headsail. You then attach the tack of an asymmetric spinnaker to it. It makes an easy setup for asyms. It can also be used for symmetric spinnakers when not using a pole. They work as advertised.
Paul L, CruisersForum, February 2007. Read on CruisersForum
Customer letters
Thanks for sending the Tacker, it arrived just before we left Maryland last fall. I have no idea how you can fly an assym without one? It's simple and beautiful.
John K.
I received my repaired ATN Tacker and am looking forward to being able to use it soon. It is a great product and has made flying our asymmetrical spinnaker "a breeze" for my wife and myself. Thank you so very much for the quick response.
Ron R., S/V Patriot, C&C 37+, Deltaville, VA. Warranty repair.
For 10 years, I have owned and used my 40' spinnaker sleeve and tacker on the sailboat that my wife and I cruise all summer on Lake Michigan. We could not have the benefit of cruising with a spinnaker without the ATN sleeve to make the raise and douse easily manageable by two people.
Lake Michigan customer, 40 ft cruiser, 10-year owner.
