Emirates Spinnaker Tower two large, white, sweeping metal arcs, which give the tower its spinnaker sail design. The steelwork was fabricated by Butterley Engineering. At the top is a triple observation deck, providing a 360° view of the city of Portsmouth, the Langstone and Portsmouth harbours, and a viewing distance of . The highest of the three observation platforms, the Sky Deck, has only a wire mesh roof, so visitors are open to the elements. The windows extend above head height, so it is not possible to get a view unobstructed by glass. A glass floor is located on the first viewing deck
Spinnaker halyard thus form a continuous loop, passing through the chute. If the spinnaker chute penetrates the hull and is required to be watertight, it takes the form of a hard tube sealed to the hull at both ends. If a watertight arrangement is not required, a cloth tube may be used to contain the lowered spinnaker. Various types of spinnakers, can be used with it. Asymmetrical spinnakers are often paired with chutes. Some dictionaries suggest that the origin of the word could be traced to the first boat to commonly fly a spinnaker, a yacht called "Sphinx", mispronounced as "Spinx".