DIY Whisker poles

ferrispeterchris

ferrispeterchris

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I did a search on whisker poles and someone was going to try a B&Q telescopic pole but I heard nothing more.I wonder if anyone has tried using an aluminium TV aerial mast? A 10' x 1.5 inch can be bought locally for around £10 and could be used with Holt Allen piston ends at £15 each.Any thoughts anybody? Non telescopic I admit,but cheapish.
 
They it might be rather thin walled. If it droops in the middle then it will fail! If you can find a tube a bit heavier gauge then it might be worth while. There should be no problem getting aluminium tube.

I doubt if TV masts are anodised. An anodised tube would be nicer, but you could always get it anodidsed I suppose.

My own wisker pole is a bamboo one that was once in the centre of a roll of carpet. Unfortunately they use cardboard tubes now. I would not recommend one of those>
 
i would have thought the walls were a bit thin for a whisker pole tho a lenghth of dowl wedged up it might help,it depends on how long a pole you need,have you tried a local steel stockist they often carry ali tube in stock and are happy to sell you 1 length or in some cases 1/2 length somtimes they have offcuts or can tell you who to try,
i used an old sailing dinghy mast,a bit heavier than a 30mm tube admittedly
 
As others have said, the wall thickness would be important. If it's any help, Forespar use miltary spec tubing reference 6063 - T6. If you can find the wall thickness for that and compare to the aerial tube you would get some idea of suitability.
 
I have a B&Q whisker pole. We don't use it a lot. However, this summer with 15 - 18kts from astern when going from Trebuerden to St Peter Port it increased the speed by 1kt. In principle we don't like leaving the cockpit which a whisker pole entails. But like less using the engine because the wind is behind. You have to make sure the adjusting rings are tight. I shove the point through the clew ring and have a karabiner onto the mast.
 
I tried using an old windsurfer mast on an ericson 39 with a big genny - it bent a lot if there was anything in the way of interesting wind......but did help in the sloppy stuff
 
Luckily on my last boat the spinny pole was ideal for poling out the headsail. Those aerial mast poles are pretty rigid. you can order 10ft ones as specials. I don't know if they have thicker walls.
 
I presume when you say "whisker Pole" you mean a pole t hold the clew of the jib outboard to keep it filled when running.
In this case provided the pole is correct length then it should not need much strength at all. if it is too long like using a spin pole the clew will be forced out at rightangles to the centreline and the load on the pole will be huge as it converts pull of the sheet at 45 degrees to pull in the direction of travel. But if the pole is a lot shorter then the pull of the sheet will be more in line with the boat the pole only holding the clew out a little way (small deviation from straight).
So a long pole may give more sail area exposed to the stern wind but a shorter pole will have a lot less strain on the pole. ie a pole about equal in length to the beam of the boat should be ok. even in light construction even in strong winds. in light winds a longer pole is ok and can be lighter cos woind is lighter. good luck olewill
 
Our yacht came with two whisker poles. One uses the end of the boat hook, the other use the end of the yachts oar.

How many yachts have a oar these days ? ready made emergancy steering.

Brian
 
the trick is to have a telescopic pole ... either a B&Q one as above ... or like me a proper Telescopic pole from a chandler ...

I hate to admit that I actually opened my wallet in a chandlers !!

It's funny that my pole says .... Not to be used for Spinnaker !! That's a laugh !! The wall thickness ... the strength and adjustable length are exactly right !! So why not ??????
 
[ QUOTE ]
provided the pole is correct length then it should not need much strength at all.

[/ QUOTE ]

It obviously varies with the boat or more especially with the size of the sail it is to be used with but typically for polling out a genoa it is approx 1.25 times the J measurement. A spinnaker pole is more typically equal to J, at least it cannot be longer if dipped pole gybing is to be feasible.

The important thing to bear in mind with strength is that it is subjected to compressive loads, So if there is any tendecy for it bow a little the load very rapidily folds in in half. Seen it happen with a light weight home made pole!

ALSO the only safe way to deploy a whisker pole is to set it up on the spinnaker pole lift and downhaul/foreguy with a spare (spinnaker) sheet threaded through the pole end fitting before the sail is gybed. Then once set up the sail is gybed across to the pole using the additional sheet.

That method avoids the balancing act on the foredeck which entails holding the pole in one hand, hauling the sail clew in and attaching to the pole end with the other while you hold onto the boat with .... ??? .... whoops, splash!!!. (You can then also sheet in with the normal sheet or gybe back again without any further foredeck antics if necessary.)

If the pole tackle is atatched to the centre of the pole rather than to the pole ends or bridles then it is possible to exert a bending force on the pole and that must be taken into account when choosing a pole.
 
I am interested to hear the intended use for the B&Q pole. Is it possible to add the ends sold at chandlers to these poles?
Allan
 
I agree with almost all that you say about rigging the pole properly. However, in my experience, most spinnaker poles are longer than J in order to keep the kite clear of the forestay on a reach. That is why dip-pole gybes require the outboard end of the pole to be dipped and, often, the inboard end to be raised. It isn't only because the pole is above deck level where J is measured.
 
[ QUOTE ]
ALSO the only safe way to deploy a whisker pole is to set it up on the spinnaker pole lift and downhaul/foreguy with a spare (spinnaker) sheet threaded through the pole end fitting before the sail is gybed. Then once set up the sail is gybed across to the pole using the additional sheet.

[/ QUOTE ]
Could you clarify? Do you mean a third sheet connected to the clew, but separate from both the working and the lazy sheets?

I've found it works OK, in light winds at least, by fitting the normal lazy sheet into the pole, rigging the pole, then gybing the sail onto the pole. More recently I've taken to furling the sail, rigging the pole then unfurling with the pole rigged.

One problem I have is that the sheet then chafes on the guard wires. I was thinking your "third sheet" could be routed outside the wires, but I'd need a lead block or something. I don't have a fore guy on the pole, so rely on the sheet holding the clew and pole down to stop the top of the sail twisting off.
 
[ QUOTE ]
the balancing act on the foredeck which entails holding the pole in one hand, hauling the sail clew in and attaching to the pole end with the other while you hold onto the boat with .... ??? .... whoops, splash!!!.

[/ QUOTE ] Give over. That's the only way. Even better if you're single-handed.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Could you clarify? Do you mean a third sheet connected to the clew, but separate from both the working and the lazy sheets

[/ QUOTE ] Yes Before gybing the genoa you take one of the spinnaker sheets from the cockpit outside the shrouds on the windward side, through the pole end, across the foredeck to the clew. Then you bear away and gybe the genoa using this additional sheet. You'll need a lead block etc but if the boat is really well set up for a spinnaker then you'll have them anyway.

The chief reason for doing it like this is that it avoids the balancing act on the foredeck with no spare hand to hang on with but you can gybe back again if necessary without having to unclip the pole and you can also sheet in, using the normal sheet, under the pole if you need to do that.

If the sheet goes to a tuning block on the quarter as a spinnaker sheet would then you probably wont get enough downward pull to keep the pole down without a foreguy or downhaul.

It was the method I was taught by the old NSC in Cowes!
 
High Vic I guess our difference of opinion is more based on boat size.
However I have sailed on a lot of boats in the 20 to 40 ft class in our Wednesday night twilight races, where no spinackers are allowed.

People inevitably use the spin pole for poling out the jib on the square down wind run. In my experience/opinion the spin pole is always too long. Sure it gets the jib out at an ungainly angle almost at rightangles but I would much prefer to see the jib out only sufficient to hold it steady while goosewinging which means alot shorter pole. (and of course a lot less load on the pole.

The short pole then can do a really good job on the jib when reaching. Yes a telescopic pole would be great.

To Halcyon for my little boat yes it has 2 oars (also double as long boat hooks) the oars are in lieu of an engine and by using the pushpit verticals well forward of the transom as rowlocks it is quite easy to row when the wind drops. (No tide problems here and wind is usually quite predictable.) yes I have a o/b motor but tend to leave it home. olewill
 
I'm trying to get to grips with this extra sheet ...

Why not just clip outer pole end onto existing sheet in safety ... no need to do any balancing act ... then pull pole fwd with a fwd led downhaul ... it hardens up against the spinnaker / genny clew that is sheeted back .. it's the way I raced and used poles ... to release ... let sheet slack ...pole falls let off fwd downhaul ... unclip. Maybe that's too easy ?

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