Spinnaker Poles

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Slowboat35

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I've got a pole on board but it's '90s technology and very heavy. I'm looking for something lighter for single/short handing and finding it hard to assess how much I'm likely to pay for one without getting direct quotes from a rigger. I'm not sure what size (section) I need so hard to be specific which makes them unwilling to mention ballpark prices.
I'd be quite happy with a used one - I imagine it would be carbon for the weight advantage (are sound ones ever available used?) - but can anyone give ballpark figures for a 4.8m pole new or used in ally or carbon just to put thngs into perspective?
Boat is a heavy displacement 11m cruising yacht.
Thanks!
 
I just bought a telescopic alloy one from Force 4 and was surprised how good the quality was. It is extremely well made and has nice touches like dyneema lines on the clips to ease opening. Its just a nice well made sound product. I really struggled to find one for sale and certainly did not see any carbon ones. They appear to have 2 sizes, and are £300 ish depending on the model you need.
 
Sorry, Allspars - I'd looked at Z spars website which is devoid of pricing. Having now looked at Allspars I can now see why!
 
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One local chandler's here in Helsinki is offering Selden's cut-to-length carbon fibre spinnaker pole kits (you get the pole and two end fittings). They have a max 4.93m pole, diameter 88mm, for 1586€ and a max 4.78m pole, diameter 77mm, for 1410€. Of course prices will vary from country to country, but this probably gives a rough idea of what they would cost in the UK.
 
I was fortunate to find a guy who had a broken dinghy mast in carbon fibre. This proved ideal for a boom on my little boat. Would I think be ideal for a spin pole for larger boat. Just keep a look out and check riggers etc. I use a cf windsurfer mast section for spin pole and while it is tapered it still works well. But only around 3m long. ol'will
 
4.8 M sounds a little long for an 11M boat. I would have wanted to be able to keep the pole fixed to the ring on the mast & pass it over the pullpit & inside the forestay ( allowing for the thickness of a furled sail) so that I could gybe easily without removing the pole completely. Mine is 3.5 M on a 9.5M boat
One would ask if the Op has actually checked this measurement, or even considered it.
 
Inner forestay gets in the way of that - and J is 4.8m. Is that not the usual length for a pole?
Not sure as a short-handed cruising boat I'm going to be gybing it anyway. Probably easier to strike it and re-rig on t'other gybe.
 
Z-Spars say that the length of the spinnaker pole is normally equal to the 'J'-measurement:
Spinnaker Poles
While they give sample prices for masts and booms, they invite enquiries for quotations for other items of standing rigging. I seem to recall ordering boom-end sheaves for the rigging lines on Glenans 5.70s from them a few years ago,(when Glenans existed in Ireland), on a very clunky website which did have prices, but they seem to have closedthat now in favour of something a little less interactive.
 
Spirit (of Glenans) said:
Z-Spars say that the length of the spinnaker pole is normally equal to the 'J'-measurement:
Click to expand...
I expect that is something to do with the rating rules. I did not know that the OP had an inner forestay otherwise a simple "duck gybe" with the pole would be easiest & having one end fixed would be safer as he would have something to help steady himself during the manouver.
 
There are times when a cutter rig is not an advantage!
However, having seen the price of carbon poles they're a non-starter. I'll have to weigh the current one and see if there is any advantage in a more modern ally one..
 
Daydream believer said:
I expect that is something to do with the rating rules. I did not know that the OP had an inner forestay otherwise a simple "duck gybe" with the pole would be easiest & having one end fixed would be safer as he would have something to help steady himself during the manouver.
Click to expand...

I think you're right, my pole is 4.64M, same as my 'J' measurement, on a 12M boat. If you can, carbon is the answer, I can pick mine up with one hand, even at my age...
 
2.3m carbon poles are the norm for a 14ft Merlin Rocket.

Pole length= J used to be standard on yachts because any more was heavily penalised, but the last big boat I raced much had a carbon pole a couple of feet longer.

My little yot has a ~50mm pole which looks too short, I'm eyeing up the Laser upper mast which I broke a bit off last year.
J is about 8ft on a 28ft boat. The pole eye on the mast is quite low.
I reckon a 10ft pole will work OK, without making the pole downhaul need to work at a disastrous angle, or the guy angle too narrow.
Longer pole increases the guy tension when the pole is forwards.
I'm not aiming to use the kite in strong winds.
 
diverd said:
I just bought a telescopic alloy one from Force 4 and was surprised how good the quality was. It is extremely well made and has nice touches like dyneema lines on the clips to ease opening. Its just a nice well made sound product. I really struggled to find one for sale and certainly did not see any carbon ones. They appear to have 2 sizes, and are £300 ish depending on the model you need.
Click to expand...
£400ish
 
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