Spinnaker pole setup

One major consideration is the inboard compression load on the pole ( not hard to kebab the sail or crew ), very important if an inexperienced chum or SWMBO is doing it, so very different from flaming's crew of trained gorillas !

No system is perfect, dip poling may require more training / experience, but it does keep the compression load aimed at the mast rather than softer bits like yours truly. :)
 
pyrojames said:
Twin poles with topping lift and down haul at the outer end. Makes even single handed gybing comfortable with 20' poles! :)
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The beauty of topping lift to the centre of the pole (or centre via a bridle) is that the weight of the pole can be taken by the topping lift as foredeck man attaches it to the brace and also to the mast.
On the same theme I stow my spin pole attached vertically to the side of the mast. This means topping lift is always attached so can't lose the pole over board. olewill
 
Seajet said:
One major consideration is the inboard compression load on the pole ( not hard to kebab the sail or crew ), very important if an inexperienced chum or SWMBO is doing it, so very different from flaming's crew of trained gorillas !

No system is perfect, dip poling may require more training / experience, but it does keep the compression load aimed at the mast rather than softer bits like yours truly. :)
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The pole should be disconnected from the sail before it's taken off the mast when gybing, indeed it would be near impossible to do otherwise, so the compression loads on the pole would be negligible to the chap manhandling it as when setting the pole up before the hoist.
 
Seajet said:
One major consideration is the inboard compression load on the pole ( not hard to kebab the sail or crew ), very important if an inexperienced chum or SWMBO is doing it, so very different from flaming's crew of trained gorillas !

No system is perfect, dip poling may require more training / experience, but it does keep the compression load aimed at the mast rather than softer bits like yours truly. :)
Click to expand...

Given our bow team is all girl these days, and has been for years, I'm not sure how they'd take being called trained gorillas!
 
Woodlouse said:
The pole should be disconnected from the sail before it's taken off the mast when gybing, indeed it would be near impossible to do otherwise, so the compression loads on the pole would be negligible to the chap manhandling it as when setting the pole up before the hoist.
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I don't think this is a good imperical rule for spin poles. Indeed I always take the pole off the mast first when gybing because the remote beak attachment can be a bit sticky so pole can be pulled to get the sheet off the end or if you have to disengage with fingers you cna pull the sheet to within easy reach.
So gybing means taking the pole off the mast snotter putting the new brace into the end fitting then releasing the old brace and pushing the pole out and on to the mast. This on a small boat. Practice will soon show you how best to do it. good luck olewill
 
I disagree with the comments that dip poling is more difficult than end for end. For a start dip poling is safer because the user has 2 loose sheets to work with( well 1 sheet & 1 guy) with no load on them other than a bit of flapping if the spinnaker flogs
For years i had end for end & if one is not careful the spinnaker can pull on the pole end & whip the other end which the crew may be holding when unclipping or clipping to the mast
I have had siuations where crew has ended up with both ends fixed to the sail & as it fills crew hs been pushed forward by the pole acting like a bar
As for twin poles i always found them a pain with a small crew & the crew needed to really be acting in unision which as we all know can go wrong

any situation with a pole attached to the spin with the other end free is dangerous
 
Oscarpop said:
I am just in the process of buying a new spinnaker pole, and and I have a question about how to attach the up haul and down haul.
My present pole has rings riveted to the centre for attaching both lines. However it would appear as if larger poles use bridles attached to thhe pole ends.
As I am moving to a larger pole, (72mm X 380cm) are bridles the norm?
Cheers
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If I were buying a new pole, this would very much be a secondary issue to chosing a lightweight one made of carbon - that will have a far more significant effect on your spinnaker work assuming the boat is 35 ft or more. That and the mast fitting to allow you easily to slide the pole end up and down the track.

The advantage of a bridle is the ability to winch the pole up the mast under load. Certainly on my boat with an ally track and an ally pole you wont get the pole end up the mast without winching when there is a load on.
 
birdseye said:
If I were buying a new pole, this would very much be a secondary issue to chosing a lightweight one made of carbon - that will have a far more significant effect on your spinnaker work assuming the boat is 35 ft or more. That and the mast fitting to allow you easily to slide the pole end up and down the track.

The advantage of a bridle is the ability to winch the pole up the mast under load. Certainly on my boat with an ally track and an ally pole you wont get the pole end up the mast without winching when there is a load on.
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If you have a problem moving the mast end of the pole on a mast track then you need to fit a seperate tackle on the track. Just pulling on the bridle is a bit of a coble as it pulls the centre of the pole which will upset spin trim if the mast end jams a little due to compression. Also there will be a tendancy for the mast end to shoot up or down the mast in a bit of a jerk & one might not be able to control it
 
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