whisker poles?

[Jim Payton]

I don't have a spiniker (sp?). I really would not know how to fly one if I owned one, but I have sailed on a freinds 25ft. Columbia where we used a whisker pole (adjustable aluminum) to wing out the geni on the down wind sail so we were what I think is termed wing-on-wing. The main was all the way out to the lee side and the genoa was all the way out to the windward. It was really very effective and a lot of fun too. We hit some pretty good speeds.
Anyway, my question is this, do I really have to have an adustable aluminum pole to fly my genoa this way?
Could I manufacture something out of wood that would serve the same purpose as the aluminum pole? And since my down wind geni is always the same sail, I think the length of the pole would be a constant.
My boat is a 1967 vintage E26, and I like all the wooden trim that she has, and think that a wooden whisker pole would add to the overall look.

 

[Phil MacFarlane]

SPIN POLES

Hi Jim,
Yes you can make a pole from wood. You are right that if you allways use the same sail the length can be fixed. You will have to come up with, or make the pole ends also. Its good to be able to "trip" the sheet out of the poles out board end and drop the pole away and back onto the deck. You could probably find a used wood pole at a swap meet. You could shorten it to fit your rig or just use the ends on a pole you make. There is a place down in your area called Mineys or something like that that is a used boat stuff store. There suposed to have a big selection.

Good luck

Phil

 

[Seth]

Whisker pole

Hi Phil,

The spelling is "spinnaker", and "Minney's" is the stpre Jim was talking about.

Couple of things:
As Jim says, if you are always using the same size headsail, a fixed length is fine. The "conventional" length is generally considered to be equal to your J dimension (front of mast to the hull/dck joint at the very end of the bow (you can measure to the headstay pin to get it close enough).

Jim is also right that having "jaws" on the ends that open with a trip line so you can remove the pole easily is a good thing-another option (if you make a homebuilt pole) is to have jaws at the mast end (so you can clip it to a ring on the front of the mast (about chest-high), and use some kind of fitting wih a pointy end so you can just poke the outboard end through the clew ring in the sail-This is also a quick and easy way to disconnect!

Just a thought-as much fun as it is to go dead downwind, it is the least efficient point of sail, since it is the one time that the wind actually "pushes" you-as opposed to beating and reaching, when the wind is flowing accross both sides of the sails and you are being "pulled", by the wind (sails are creating lift). The only thing that will increase speed going DDW is more sail area. You get much more motive force by heading up and reaching!

Good sailing!

 

[Jim Payton]

Thanks for the info. I'll check out "Minney's" some time in the next couple of weeks. I assume they are located near shelter Island, that's where most the saillofts and West Marine, and such are.

According to the specs and docs section of this web site my J demension is 10.5 ft. So, does that mean I need a wooden pole that is 10. 5 feet long?

There is a ring on the front of Doldrum's mast that a PO must have installed and I assume that it is for a whisker pole.
I haven't given any thought as to the diameter of the pole. From what I learned on my buddies Coronado, I think the only fuction of the pole is to keep the sail from gybing accidentally and hold it out as far as possible. If there are other stresses on the pole that would require anything bigger than say 1" to 1 1/2" that might make the pole too heavy at that length. I'm not sure of all of this, but it does seem to me that "whiskering" is something that may even have been practiced before the days of fiberglass and aluminum, so I pretty sure wooden poles were probably used.

 

[Seth]

Poles and J's

Your J dimension is 10.21 feet. And yes, this would be the "normal" base length for a non-telescoping pole. You can certainly go a little shorter, but it will limit the extent to which you can project your headsail. A little longer will also work. Since you are shopping for a "deal", use that as a guideline and see what you can find. I think 1.5-2.5 inches should be OK.

The ring on the mast is almost certainly for a whisker or spinnaker pole.

Something to consider: You will have much more control if you use a topping lift and downhaul/forguy with the pole. For simplicity, you could install padeyes on the top and bottom opposite each other in the middle of the pole, and use a spare halyard for the topping lift, and rig a forguy of some sort to keep it from "skying".

Or, even simpler, just move the headsail lead forward and this will limit how high the pole can rise, and use the topping lift to fine tune the height.

You can get away without these, but they will make it perform better.

Hope this helps!

Remember, pole all the way back when running dead downwind, ease it forward as you head up to more of a reach. You should be able to sail with the headsail winged out as close as 140-150 degree apparent.

Good sailing!

 

[Jim Payton]

WOW!

Thanks Seth,
That's some great info. I have to move my Mother-in-law over the next week or so from a 3 bedroom house to a one bedroom appartment. (Assisted living community). So, I am pretty much banned from the boat for the next few weeks until I get that project finished. But, I will pick up where I left off as soon as I can.
jim

 

[Sven]

Hi Jim,

Originally posted by Jim Payton
... Anyway, my question is this, do I really have to have an adustable aluminum pole to fly my genoa this way?
Could I manufacture something out of wood that would serve the same purpose as the aluminum pole? ...

I made a wisker pole out of wood, just like what you mention. That was many years ago, for my parents gorgeous light mahogany sloop, back in Sweden. Actually, I ended up making two. The first one broke when I was pulling on it near the mid-point ... almost sending me overboard. I made sure the second one had no knots or other defects in the wood

I wonder if you'll be able to find the end fittings, the kind with screw holes so you can attach them to a wooden pole ?

Good luck with it !



-Sven (just back from 3 days on board)

 

[Lew Decker]

whisker poles

Hi Jim - Minney's is in Newport Beach, and if you haven't been there yet you are in for a treat - Ernie is one of the world's more unique human beings - He will have everything you need for a whisker pole, wood or otherwise - I go up there often just to look around at all the stuff - Have fun----Lew in San Diego

 

[Jim Payton]

Thanks Lew,
That's what's so cool about this web site. If you ask the right questions, Pretty soon you have a whole list of new things to do.
Now I get to plan a road trip to Newport. My wife loves it up there so that one should be easy.