Carbon Spinnaker Poles

[Geoff Nelson]

Has anyone priced out how much a carbon pole is for a 38? The existing one is a monster and I need to double the foredeck crew to manhandle it around the boat.

I know the AL size is 15'3" X 4" and I talked to Larry Tuttle at Waterrat about it (they make high performance dinghy products for the 5o5's I race) and understand with the increased strangth, I could get away with reducing the OD by 1/2" but they don't make poles anymore (no propreg). Anyone talked to Forespar about this? How about the composite ends- any experience with them?

Thanks,

G-

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

I did bow on a Mount Gay 30 with a carbon forespar pole with the composite ends. It was the sweetest pole I used. The trip lines for those ends are great. You pull the line and the end locks open, when you set it back on the mast it trips itself closed. We ran a 16' pole on that boat with huge masthead kites and we did end for end gybes. I am 5'5" and weigh 130 and this pole was a piece of cake to handle. I dont know about going down in diameter by 1/2 though. We used a 4" version on the Mount Gay and we eventually did break it. Although we were using it for an assym with it lashed into a fitting on the deck... We then cut a hole in the bow, glassed in a tube, made a bearing and built our own carbon sprit for the assym. So my thoughts would be go for the forespar if you can afford it, or buy the carbon use some nice system 3 laminating resin, use an aluminum pole as a mandrel and make your own. Hell its not that hard to set up a simple vacuum bagging system too. We never added the nifty kevlar strips that forespar uses, but the amount of kevlar they use I doubt did much anyway.

 

[Seth]

Carbon poles

You will be hooked once you try one!

Get pricing from Forespar and Hall Spars-both excellent. Actually you may also check with Ballenger Spars in Santa Cruz, CA-Tell them I sent ya!

cheers,

S