rigging a whisker pole

[lilianroyle]

How were these rigged before the contemporary custom of having a piston fitting on each end?

Many thanks
Pete

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[Peterduck]

You can use a simple boathook as a whisker pole, which saves carrying one of each. Poke the spike on the end of the boathook through the eye of the clew on the jib, and then bend a rolling hitch around the far end of the boathook and lash it to the mast with a clove hitch. What could be simpler?
Peter.

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[Mirelle]

Lash it to the shroud with a clove hitch - you get more outreach that way! Incidentally, it is advisable to take a turn of small stuff round the spike and through the clew, as the "pole" is inclined to shake free.

Now, if your boat is bigger than that, we need to consider one of the methods of rigging a gaff rig (asymetric) spinnaker pole.

Simplest and undoubtedly the most ancient is a pair of jaws on the inboard end of the pole that go round the mast - advantage is that you can shove the jaws as high up the mast as you like to stop it skying. You need fore and aft guys and a lift, and an outhaul on the pole. Rig the pole, then haul the clew out to it.

An elegant variation is to have the pole pivotted on a gooseneck at the fore side of the mast; Hiscock shows this and shows the pole stowed up and down the mast, but I've never seen it done myself.

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