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How High?

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pegasus
1st Mate

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USA
65 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/12/2006 : 14:41:46

How high do I mount the padeye that my whisker pole attaches to? I mounted one on the mast of my Catalina-22, but forgot how I determined the height of the thing. Thanks folks!

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 09/12/2006 : 14:51:46

From Forespar's website...

"Any fixed mast pad eye should be mounted on the forward centerline of the mast. This is so you can fly the pole from the single mount on both port and starboard sets. The height of the eye on the mast is determined by the height of the clew when the headsail is set. You want to fly the pole level, so if you have more than one headsail and they have different clew heights, you may want to mount two mast pad eyes, one high and one low."

[url="http://www.forespar.com/resources2/techTips/whiskerPoleSeminar.shtml"]Forespar Whisker Pole Tech Tips[/url]

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 09/12/2006 : 14:54:07

Mine is at my belt buckle... I think, which puts it a couple inches above the goose neck.

Edited by - on

Brooke Willson
Admiral

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USA
983 Posts

Response Posted - 09/12/2006 : 16:00:30

I put a 3' T track on the mast, so I can adjust the height of the ring (on a sliding car) depending on how much foresail is unrolled.

Brooke

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aeckhart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1709 Posts

Response Posted - 09/13/2006 : 08:04:58

I'm with Brooke. I use my wisker pole with my 135 genny and on a few occasions, with my asymetrical spinnaker. Both the 135 and spinnaker have different clew heights. In addition, the clew height of the 135 changes when the sail is reefed on the furler. Sooooo, I mounted a track and car system on the front of the mast so I can adjust the ring heigth according to the sail configuration I'm using.

Edited by - aeckhart on 09/13/2006 08:06:02

pegasus
1st Mate

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USA
65 Posts

Response Posted - 09/14/2006 : 09:33:48

OK, I'm gonna get cheap here...

How much does my downwind performance suffer if I don't install the t-track on the mast, and just install a fixed padeye? I mostly fly the 150% Genoa and a 100% Jib about 10% of the time.

How critical is it that the Whisker pole be level?

Also, do you guys use a topping lift on your poles?

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 09/14/2006 : 10:53:27

Whisker poles do not normally have a toping lift. The clew of a sail can vary due to lp and foot design. I am perfectly happy with my stationary pole. I have spare track I could use but have not found the need. Spend money on a good pole first.

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pegasus
1st Mate

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USA
65 Posts

Response Posted - 09/14/2006 : 11:08:20

thanks - I received my Forespar 7' - 17' last week, now I'm debating the issues of a track to mount it on v. a single padeye and a topping lift. I just don't see it as heavy enough to warrant one.

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crcalhoon
Captain

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USA
303 Posts

Response Posted - 09/14/2006 : 11:31:37

I have a 1979 C25, SR FK, fixed pad eye, no topping lift, 7-17 pole, works fine. Probably lose a tiny bit of efficiency, but I think that would be one of those "2 seconds per mile" racing things.

Edited by - on

Bruce Baker
Captain

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USA
402 Posts

Response Posted - 09/14/2006 : 13:45:13

My eye is somewhat higher--say breastbone high. It's for a spinnaker pole, not a whisker pole, although I use it for both. If I were to do this from scratch, I'd put a track on.

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roktabija@yahoo.com
Deckhand

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20 Posts

Response Posted - 09/14/2006 : 17:57:39

Pegasus,

A padeye is fine if you don't plan on a racing spinnaker. The pole is long enough that if you miss the ideal height by a few inches it doesn't matter.

I have a track on mine because we raced both PHRF spinnaker, PHRF double headsail, and our fleet raced single headsail one design, so we needed the adjustability.

If you race non-spinnaker and are looking for max speed, you'll need a topping lift and downhaul on your whisker pole. Your goal is to keep the whisker pole as still as possible to minimize sail floop in waves and give the sail a more powerfull shape. A bouncing whisker pole, especially in light air, kills your boat speed. Not to mention the poor sail shape in light air from the weight of the pole putting to much tension on the leech.

We used the topping lift to bring the clew up a little higher than it would normally sit in light air. It gives the sail a rounder more powerfull leech, then tension the downhaul to lock it up. We ran a super loose backstay which gave the sail a more powerfull shape.

The biggest mistake I see racers make downwind is setting a poled out headsail square to the wind, like the old round parachutes trying to catch air. Just like upwind, you want to fly the headsail downwind, not bag it, so it creates maximum lift. Your leech is now your luff, and if it had telltales on it, you would adjust your course or pole length so the telltales are streaming.

Edited by - on

weluvlife
Navigator

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166 Posts

Response Posted - 09/26/2006 : 13:13:58

Good thread, but I was distracted by your great photo Frank. Who makes that boom kicker style device you have installed on your boat? It looks like it can easily come free and out of the way, when the poptop is lifted up in place?

******************
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by fhopper@mac.com
 Mine is at my belt buckle... I think, which puts it a couple inches above the goose neck.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 09/26/2006 : 14:47:34

Hi Mark,
It is "boomkicker" brand, it is the specific custom model for the Catalina 25. It is designed to lift out of the slot you spotted and it has a quick pin at the base so it can be removed for the pop-top. I think I am going to take it off this winter and probably sell it. I really like a topping lift and see no reason to have both.

Edited by - on

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