Jay,
We have a self tacking battened jib on a straight track on our ARC22, so the jib is always up when the spin is out. When sailing recreationally we just release the jib sheet, and it floats in the slot quite docilely. If we're looking for max power, we can apply a small amount of sheet to get the jib telltales flowing appropriately. Doesn't seem to force us particularly high, although the chute is quite flat and doesn't run real deep.

Dave

Jay,
We have a self tacking battened jib on a straight track on our ARC22, so the jib is always up when the spin is out. When sailing recreationally we just release the jib sheet, and it floats in the slot quite docilely. If we're looking for max power, we can apply a small amount of sheet to get the jib telltales flowing appropriately. Doesn't seem to force us particularly high, although the chute is quite flat and doesn't run real deep.

Dave

Thanks Dave,

How far is the jib luff from the spin luff?

Mine is only about 4 feet between them...

Yeah, I've got a 15' pole, so probably 7' between pole tip and forestay. Having the jib up actually eases the spin fwd of the forestay, it'll slide off the jib if plastere on to it. It would be more likely to hang up on a bare forestay. If we're paying attention thru the jibe, it's pretty easy to float the clew fwd of the forestay, and pull it thru at the appropriate time.

Yeah, I've got a 15' pole, so probably 7' between pole tip and forestay. Having the jib up actually eases the spin fwd of the forestay, it'll slide off the jib if plastered on to it. It would be more likely to hang up on a bare forestay. If we're paying attention thru the jibe, it's pretty easy to float the clew fwd of the forestay, and pull it thru at the appropriate time. Overall, we don't have any trouble jibing the spin, and we see more signs of wear from snuffing than jibing it from side to side.

Mike, my friend Kirt Metts has a roller furler jib on his 5.7, not a self-tacker, but he made a smaller(lowered) bridle that allowed him to pin his jib within 2 inches of the front beam. This worked so well I did the same on my 5.0 but I always wanted to go self-tacker. I felt the jib was a little oversized for the 5.0 and way oversized for the 6.0, not sure about the 5.7, never owned one.
So you could probably lose a little and still be quite powered up, and with a spin or a reacher it wouldn't matter anyway.
keep the pics coming!