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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Bent Pole

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stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/10/2008 : 14:56:23

No jokes about my Polish heritage please.

I have a slightly bent Aluminum Whisker Pole. Can it be fixed?
With a lot of effort, it will still work, but as is, it is not practical on the boat. I've been using it for drifting in light winds, using it to hold our light weight 150 genoa out.
near the end, on the right is the bend.

Edited by - on

sweetcraft
Admiral

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USA
816 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2008 : 18:05:30

I wouldn't bend it back yet as it would weaken it with stress lines in the tubing. Find a aluminum tubing with the ID the same as your pole's OD that would be long enough to start at the closest end and go a least half again past the bend. Straighten your pole and fasten with pop rivets at the fitting the new larger piece. Use the new end at the mast after smoothing any sharp edges. Now this time don't sheet in so much that you bend the pole at the shrouds and don't use the pole to lift something. You don't think you are the only one with a bent pole?

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2008 : 21:25:27

The pole looks undersized, is it just the photo?

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2008 : 10:46:40

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> The pole looks undersized, is it just the photo? <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Forespar recommends these poles for our size boats (depending, of course, on the measurement of the sail):

[url="http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/2330/377%20710/0/forespar%20whisker/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710&Ne=0&Ntt=forespar%20whisker&Ntk=Primary%20Search&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Nao=0&Ns=0&keyword=forespar%20whisker&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=2&subdeptNum=341&classNum=342"]HD-6/12 or 7/17[/url]

Edited by - Nautiduck on 05/11/2008 17:18:43

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2008 : 11:01:46

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Nautiduck
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> The pole looks undersized, is it just the photo? <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Forespar recommends this pole for our size boats:

[url="http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/2330/377%20710/0/forespar%20whisker/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710&Ne=0&Ntt=forespar%20whisker&Ntk=Primary%20Search&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Nao=0&Ns=0&keyword=forespar%20whisker&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=2&subdeptNum=341&classNum=342"]HD-6/12[/url]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Actually, whisker poles are sized according to the foot length of the headsail. The 6-12 whisker pole might be okay for a 110 jib, but barely. The 7-17 would be a better choice.

Edited by - on

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3323 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2008 : 11:03:14

"Forespar recommends this pole for our size boats:"
Not if you are poling out a 155% genoa!
My whisker pole when deployed is 15'9" long and I need every inch!

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2008 : 11:52:09

I'm not sure how pertinent this is to the thread, but when I bent the mast on my catamaran (friend helping me to raise the mast didn't engage the ratchet pawl and then let go of the winch handle as soon as the mast got all the way up), the mast dropped from vertical to horizontal & then some. It put about a 10 degree bend in the mast. I took it to another friend who owned his own body shop & asked him to straighten it. He took most of the bend out with a body straightening jig in his shop, but the final few degrees, he drilled a hole in the mast opposite of the bend & tapped on it with a punch to spread the metal. He was able to get it fairly straight, but never perfectly so. He was slowly freaking himself out (his words) because aluminum is so different from steel in it's working characteristics. He was afraid of working it too far & hardening the metal to the point of making it easy to fracture. I was able to sail the boat with the straightened mast, but it never pointed as well as it used to.

I think Sweetcraft's idea of inserting a reinforcing pole inside is about your only choice for resurrecting the pole. Otherwise any other repair is likely just going to make it easier for the same thing to happen again, probably with more catastrophic results.

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2008 : 17:27:19

Doh!

Of course the whisker pole is sized to the sail. Previous post corrected.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2008 : 20:13:06

I thought the diameter looked small.

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2008 : 21:28:08

tubing looks to be 1 1/4" (Outside diameter approx 3 3/4") No other identification or dimensions on the pole other than a Forespar sticker. This pole came with the boat.
I've been shopping for another one, and have not seen any of similar size in any retail settings which is a good indication that it is not a good size. All the whisker poles I've seen are much beefier and about $200 more than this one is on-line.

Prior to bending it beyond it's tolerance, I had sheeted in the genoa until the pole bowed then eased off or adjusted the pole.
I really liked this pole for lazy afternoons in light breezes drifing along.
It was the heat of the moment racing when I hauled in the sheet and bent it.
Is a heavier pole (beefier) going to work on a light genoa?

Edited by - on

sweetcraft
Admiral

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USA
816 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2008 : 21:43:28

I use the 7-17 for the 155 and 150 and it is much heavier than the one for the 110. The first pole for the 110 did bent and collapsed during a race and was that exciting for a few seconds. We had started out in 8-10 breeze but by the time we got close to the next mark it was white caps and too much for the pole. The boat has the correct size poles now and I have noticed the pole fitting on the mast doesn't allow for a perfect place for it to push on, it is to one side which does make the pole want to bend. The strong wind will help find any weak place

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5909 Posts

Response Posted - 05/13/2008 : 09:56:33

The 6-12 can be used for the genoa if it is set between the forward lower and the upper shroud, and it can only be used in light air. Some people feel uncomfortable about the limited wiggle room between the stays, but the jibsheet controls it reasonably well, and I only broke one 6-12 pole in 23 years of using it that way on my C25 and two years on my C22.

If the 7-17 is used, it should be set forward of the forward lowers, and it can stand up to a lot of wind. The 7-17 is the far better choice, because it allows you to use it in either strong winds or light, and, if you get caught by a really strong gust, you can collapse the genoa almost instantly, to keep the boat under control. You can't do that with the 6-12, because it's set between the stays, so you have to watch carefully for conditions that might produce such strong gusts, and don't use the 6-12 pole in those conditions.

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 05/13/2008 : 11:54:44

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">The 6-12 can be used for the genoa if it is set between the forward lower and the upper shroud, and it can only be used in light air. Some people feel uncomfortable about the limited wiggle room between the stays, but the jibsheet controls it reasonably well, and I only broke one 6-12 pole in 23 years of using it that way on my C25 and two years on my C22.

If the 7-17 is used, it should be set forward of the forward lowers, and it can stand up to a lot of wind. The 7-17 is the far better choice, because it allows you to use it in either strong winds or light, and, if you get caught by a really strong gust, you can collapse the genoa almost instantly, to keep the boat under control. You can't do that with the 6-12, because it's set between the stays, so you have to watch carefully for conditions that might produce such strong gusts, and don't use the 6-12 pole in those conditions.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Those directions are suitable for the C25. The 250 has a different shroud confguration. Don't know about the Capri 25.

Edited by - on

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