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Spinnaker pole

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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/20/2009 : 20:50:52

Can anyone suggest why I would be wise to keep a spinnaker pole that came with the boat (no spinnaker and I'll never fly one) instead of selling it and buying a lighter and more manageable whiskerpole? I've been pondering this since lugging it out a few times last year to use as a whiskerpole.

Dave B. aboard Pearl
1982 TR/SK/Trad. #3399
Lake Erie/Florida Panhandle

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 01/20/2009 : 22:17:04

If you have a 135 or 150, you will need a longer pole than a spinnaker pole to properly pole out the genoas. My whisker pole is a 3-section Forespar ADJ7-17HD. The smaller ADJ6-12HD pole is good with our C-22, and the C-25 working jib, but it is too short for the C-25 genoas.
You might want to keep the spinnaker pole to use as a whisker pole with the working jib in heavier air or to have as an emergency backup pole. If that doesn't appeal to you, see if you can sell it to someone at your marina or put it on Ebay.
If you plan to sell the boat anytime soon, keep it as a bonus and let it go with the boat.

Edited by - dmpilc on 01/20/2009 22:21:43

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 01/22/2009 : 00:00:16

Yea David, that's what has kept it in my arsenal this long. I guess I'll keep it and buy a whisker pole. I checked online and saw that most spinnaker poles are part or entirely carbon fiber now, so I don't imagine an old aluminum one is worth enough to bother with it.

Edited by - on

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 01/22/2009 : 09:54:36

Call me tight but I just can't get over the price of these things. I'd love to have a whisker pole but can't justify 400 bucks for a 17 foot stick ...... to me it looks like maybe 100 bucks worth if that. I guess I need to keep my eyes on eBay and Craig's list.

Edited by - on

Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 01/22/2009 : 11:54:49

An idea I got from Steve Milby for a cheap whisker pole is using an extendable painter pole. I bought mine from Lowes or Home Depot, and don't remember how much I paid, might have been 30 or 40 bucks. It extends beyond the strictly race legal limit, but I can certainly keep it in the legal range.

I attached a large caribiner (spelling?) clip to one end, which snaps on the forward edge of the mast. On the other end I tied a long socket adapter (for a pokey end) which pokes into the grommet on the corner of the sail holding the sail out. I find that I have to position the whisker pole between the forward lowers and middle shroud.

Granted, this works for me, and may not be good for anyone else. I sail in a lake where winds are sometimes (unfortunatley) well below 10 mph during race night. Under heavier winds the pole is under visible stress, but so far I have not had any problems with it.

It certainly helps me. I use it mostly on my 150. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone else wanted to try it.

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 01/22/2009 : 15:30:46

I like your idea, Ben, but shouldn't you keep it in front of the forward lowers so you can ease the sail forward when needed? Speaking of inexpensive poles, for years we used a wooden closet dowel for a whisker pole, with a rubber coated U-shaped tool holder (for screwing into a wall stud)screwed into the sail end and a spring clip attached to the mast end. cost about $10-$15 to make. We had an 8 ft one for the working jib and a longer one for the genoa. Being wood, it floated if dropped overboard, and to lighten the longer one, I drilled holes down the length of it. With the U-shaped device on the end, I could just snag the sheet between the prongs or try to feed one prong into the clew or the sheet's bowline loop. Easy. The only drawback was you had to keep tension on the sheet at all times while using those poles and reset it when jibing. The dowel would need to be too long and cumbersome to use with the C-25's genoa (about 16-17 ft), but a 12 ft dowel would work with the C-25's working jib.

Edited by - dmpilc on 01/22/2009 15:33:25

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3323 Posts

Response Posted - 01/22/2009 : 17:21:03

I'm with DaveP on not setting the pole between the shrouds - especially on an inland lake where winds tend to be very shifty. If you can't ease the pole forward in a serious gust/wind shift it could give you some problem!
You should never sail DDW and sailing the angles necessitates minor rotations of the sail plan as the wind oscillates - with the pole twixt the shrouds it's range of motion is strictly limited.

Edited by - Derek Crawford on 01/22/2009 17:24:07

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 01/23/2009 : 08:01:22

I wonder if there are different diameters of closet pole. Maybe get a smaller diameter and put a couple coats of thinned fiberglass resin on it. The paint pole might be better though being adjustable and aluminum. Great ideas!

Edited by - on

Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 01/23/2009 : 11:51:33

You're probably right that I should set the homemade whisker pole in front of the forward lowers. It just seemed to "work" better with the sail in the other, more movement-restricted, position. This may be an illustration of my ignorance though. Come Splash Day, I'll try setting it forward of the shrouds and see how that works. I had worried about the resticted movement between the shrouds, but have been fortunate enough to have gotten away with it so far without problem.

Thanks for the safety warning.

Edited by - on

crcalhoon
Captain

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USA
303 Posts

Response Posted - 01/23/2009 : 12:03:29

Back when I had even less money than I have now, I used to sail a South Coast 23, a sweet little Carl Alberg design. Wanting a whisker pole and unable to afford one, I made one. Glued up three 1" x 3" pine boards, laid them on sawhorses and began hand planing till they were more or less square, then tapered the ends and rounded off the edges. Took two galvanized carriage bolts and ground the heads down to a round ball and screwed them into the ends of the pole. Hung a shackle on the spinnaker pole ring (boat had a spinnaker, but no pole) to accept one of the bolts, stuck the other thru the clew of the jib. This worked surprisingly well in the traditional light air of Lake Pontchartrain Lousiana, but I wouldn't want to try it in much air. On the other hand, boy was it cheap.

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Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 01/23/2009 : 12:26:04

I also put mine between the shrouds last season. This was after some enthusistic crew nearly bent the pole in half sawing it back and forth on the shrouds. My pole is permanently marked, but it continues to serve its purpose. This season I will likely wrap the shrouds and the pole in hockey tape to prevent a repeat performance.

Anyway - back on topic. One sailor on lake uses a galvanized fence pole with one of the "loop" type fittings on top as a whisker pole. I think it would be heavy, but it seems to work for him.

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 01/28/2009 : 11:54:18

I've read that it is not good to tape or put those plastic covers on shrouds, especially in salt water environments. Instead, put a 4'-5' section of pvc pipe, 1.5" diameter on each forward lower shroud. Not only will that protect your pole (you may still want to tape it where it touches the shrouds), but they will rotate allowing your genoa to tack easier, and they will give you a comfortable handhold for climbing aboard near the mast, when desirable.

Edited by - on

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.