Carbon spinnaker pole

[wanderlust]

I have a very heavy telescopic pole that is a pain to use due to the weight. I would be happy with a longer fixed pole. Is it possible to get a carbon pole at reasonable cost or make one? I am reasonable capable with epoxy/glass work but have no idea where to start with a pole.

 

[aluijten]

I think making one yourself is quite a challenge as you need to 'bake' it for some time at 70 degrees as part of the manufacturing process.
The weigh of these things is great though. A friend of mine has one and I was amazed by the (lack of) weight.
There is one concern however, these things tend to be nicked as they are virtually untraceable unless you mark them permanently. And they are really nice to have.

My friend made a pouch(?) for it, also to protect it from UV radiation.

Cheers,

Arno

 

[Talbot]

Depends on your vessel. If small enough, you could use a windsurfer mast with appropriate attachments. If you can find one that has been damaged, they mainly break at the fitting at the bottom of the mast so this could be a freebie.

 

[smth448]

It depends what you want t use it for. A simple alloy one ie. non telescopic will be much lighter than the one you have now and much cheaper, although I was surprised the a carpon pole was less expensive than I expected it to be. Again the alloy one will be less attractive to the light fingered.

 

[fishermantwo]

Make your own. Carbon fibre reinforcing is not that expensive. 216 gm unidirectional is roughly $20 for a metre x 500mm. About 2 metres is enough for one complete layup on my finn mast. Make a hollow wood pole and a couple of layups with carbon. The old windsurfer mast is another possibility but I'm not confident there is much carbon there, just enough to make it black. Plenty of firms offering carbon tubes in varying sizes. Don't forget other avenues, broken dinghy masts, home built aircraft manufactures etc.

 

[dave_gibsea]

Ant recommendations re companies supplying carbon tube?