We fly our spinnakers in the right conditions with no sock. Socks are nice, I had one on my last boat and it does make it a bit easier. But they also have a way of getting tangled and causing their own problems.

Jons right, you need a pole lift off the mast, and a down haul on the pole, to keep the pole stable. These don't need to be anything fancy. We have a block above the spreaders for the lift. I use a simple down haul just run through a lead at the bow. You can even use a mooring cleat. It's nice to have all this stuff led aft to the cockpit, but again, you don't have to.

But for dousing the chute, I to bring the pole onto a reach to some extent(or fully forward) and pull the shackle on the guy(the line that goes through the spinnaker pole end to a spinnaker clew). It's there to pull for easy dousing as well as panic mode. Once that shackle lets go, you're free.

Then it's just a matter of letting off the halyard, and gathering the chute on deck.

I also make sure the sheet (the line to the spinnaker clew opposite the guy) is always free to run without jamming. In a panic you can always let the sheet fly.

It's worth all the effort for us, it's a great way to make tracks in light wind even if you need to go ddw.