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Spinnaker Pole

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Rollins
1st Mate

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USA
50 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/04/2004 : 18:50:06

I have a 150% and a 170% for my Cat 25. I have never used a 'pole' when sailing downwind. I crewed last summer on a J24, and the captain used a pole between the mast and the sail when wing-in-wing.

I have the attachment on my mast, and would like to get a pole to use for this purpose. How do you figure out how long of a pole to get? Do you have to buy a spinnaker pole (expensive!!).

Any suggestions to save a buck appreciated.

Mike Rollins
1989 SR/WK #5947

Edited by - on

JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2004 : 19:02:36

the whisker pole should be as long as the foot of the genoa. Actually, I find a little shorter pole to be better, it leaves the genny more draft. It should be level when connected to the mast and the clew. Notice that you need a pole lift line and a ring on the mast. My mast has a sliding track for setting the height of the ring.

You could make the pole out of anything. PVC, wood, bamboo, etc. You do not need a $350 Forespar. The only advantages Forespar offers is light weight, and telescoping when you put it away for storage. 1 1/2 inch PVC might be too weak. The pole can come under loads, especially when you roll and the end goes in the water.

I now store mine vertical on the front of the mast so telescoping is not that big of a deal. However - it can be a challenge to set, gybe, and retrieve single handed (getting better at it). Sometimes I need to collapse it during the gybe.

The pole addes between 1.5 and 3 knots to downwind boat speed. Can't win downwind without it.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2004 : 21:43:07

You will need an adjustable pole to use it with both sails, a 170 can pack a whump, get a strong one. I have never seen a whisker pole with a topping lift/up haul before, that is a new one on me Jim. If it provided some preventer effect to keep the pole off the shrouds it would be very nice to have but I have never had the need to "lift" my whisker.

Edited by - on

ct95949
Captain

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Aruba
300 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2004 : 22:16:53

West Marine had a special sale in February and I got a 17' Forespar for about $250 but have yet to use it.Can I set the twist lock to fit any of my headsails or is this only a light wind genoa pole?And my understanding was a whisker pole didn't need a topping lift.Thanks,Craig

Edited by - on

ronrryan
Admiral

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USA
561 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2004 : 22:34:06

If you are just cruising and are careful about in what winds you deploy your pole, you can use pvc reinforced with dowels driven in, I have used a variety of "poles" including old ssb antenna bases and the occasional scrub brush handle. A trip to the local lumberyard, with a view to selecting a straight grain piece of wood and some judicious use of a plane and sandpaper will sometimes yield a useful implement. Some pole is usually better than no pole, let your imagination take over, fair winds, ron srsk Orion SW FL

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5908 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2004 : 10:31:46

I made my whisker pole out of a telescoping aluminum paint roller handle (sold by Home Depot, and other builders' suppliers) that extends from 6-12 feet. I attached piston clips (the same piston clips that are used on the ends of the Forespar ADJ 6-12 whisker pole) to both ends of the pole. The pole is about the equivalent (in terms of length and strength) of the lightweight Forespar ADJ 6-12, but the paint roller handle only cost about $30.00, and I already had the piston clips. My pole is different from the Forespar in that mine doesn't have a twist-lock adjusting mechanism. My pole has holes along its length, and when it is extended to the desired length, you push a button that puts a pin in a hole. The pole can't collapse. I set the pole between the forward lowers and the upper shroud.

Some people think the Forespar ADJ 6-12, and my paint roller pole, are too short and too weak to use on the C-25, but if you set the pole as I suggested, and only use it in light to moderate winds (the kind of wind that you find most of the time on inland lakes), then the paint roller pole will work just fine.

When you are beating to windward, the wind feels very strong, but, as soon as you turn downwind, it feels as if the wind suddenly stopped blowing. That's because you are running with the wind. When you bear off downwind, the relative wind speed is less than the actual wind speed. I have used the paint roller pole in fairly fresh winds without breaking it. It is most at risk in strongly gusting winds. If you break the pole, it will only cost about $30 to replace the pole, and it only takes about 30 minutes to attach the fittings to the new pole.

The paint roller poles are also available in a twist-lock version, and in longer lengths, but I think the 6-12 length and the pin-locking version is best for our purposes. If your local builders' supplier doesn't stock the 6-12 paint roller pole with adjusting pins, they can order it for you.

We had a previous discussion of this subject at the following hyperlink: http://www.catalina25-250.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5934& whichpage=2& SearchTerms=paint roller

Edited by - on

osmepneo
Past Commodore

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USA
1420 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2004 : 16:43:11

NOTE: the class allows whisker pole that is up to 16 + long, that may not be usable, but that is the class limit in length.

Edited by - on

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3323 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2004 : 18:24:55

My whisker pole is a Forespar telescoping 3-section 7' - 17' and for the 155% genoa it is set at 15' 9 3/4" - it deploys the genoa almost completely, but leaves enough shape in the sail for power. We don't set it in winds over 15k.
Derek

Edited by - on

Jared
1st Mate

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USA
70 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2004 : 18:51:47

I think I have an adjustable whisker pole that is locked shut. Anyone know an easy (nondestructive) way to get those things to loosen back up?

Edited by - on

RichardG
Admiral

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USA
990 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2004 : 20:25:52

Jared:

I don't know if this will work for you, but...

Several years ago I was in Minney's in Newport Beach, CA and found a used whisker pole for sale for about $15, and it was also frozen. My brother-in-law, a pretty big guy, was with me. I said "if we can loosen this up here, I'll buy it." So he on one end and me on the other went to work on it -- took several minutes of great effort, but we finally broke the bond...Yah!

Edited by - on

Rollins
1st Mate

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USA
50 Posts

Response Posted - 05/05/2004 : 22:37:43

Cat 25 Gang:

Thanks again for the advice. I'll try and keep an eye out for a used one. Surely someone somewhere will upgrade, and I can pick up their old one. And thanks for the tips on using one.

Racing again this weekend on the J24. This will be my first experience crewing on a boat racing spinnaker. Wish me luck!

Mike Rollins

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 05/06/2004 : 08:49:46

Just came across this in a SailNet article. Look closely at the whisker pole...

"...The second leg of the race is dead downwind. We're already behind the curve in our fleet (JAM thank you very much) and things suddenly take a dark turn. We see most of the other boats rigging their whisker poles and opening the lead. The problem of course is that we don't have a whisker pole. Now, some of the folks around here think I can be a little competitive at times... it isn't really that I'm competitive, I just hate to lose. So I scrambled below casting about for substitutes… after some scrounging, I put together the GRIT Flexible Whisker Pole. (see Photo). This is whole new concept in whisker poles and we are standing by for the big manufacturers to bid on the forthcoming patent. While not pretty, it did work and kept us in the game as we moved out of the harbor..."

Edited by - on

Sea Trac
Master Marine Consultant

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Vanuatu
1357 Posts

Response Posted - 05/06/2004 : 09:20:59

I wonder if they had a trolling line attached at the same time. Of course, snagging a Blue Fin might have negated the advantage.

Edited by - on

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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.