What is this fitting? (description)

[ferroboat]

We have a cruising shute and no spinnaker. The pole which came with the boat(1983 44ft ketch) I presume is to pole out the genoa. It is very light weight aluminium without anyway of attaching an uphaul or downhaul and has a fitting at the inboard end to slide up one of 2 tracks either side of the main mast. The outboard end has a round collar with just 4 lugs, one in each of the north, south, east, and west positions at the end of the pole. Does anyone know what the fitting is called and how I attach it to the genoa? I was thinking of possibly attaching one of those sideways opening blocks to the lug and then attaching the block to the genoa sheet.

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[prv]

On a bowsprit, such a fitting would be called a cranse iron. I don't know if that's strictly correct on the end of a booming out pole.

You say there's no means of attaching an uphaul and downhaul - it sounds to me like that's exactly what the fitting is for, hence the multiple lugs.

Pete

 

[sarabande]

possibly a bearing-off pole, sometimes called a jumper strut.

Used for a shy spinnaker to increase the guy angle to the pole end and enable the guy to bring the pole aft if needed. It normally just sits on the mast, with the guy held into the outer end by pressure. As soon as the pressure is off (i.e. the boat is easing away) the guy falls out of the strut. It needs to be a quick disconnect system as if the boat bears away suddenly and the guy is retained in the end of the strut, there is tension and not compression in the pole. Thsi will play havoc with the end fittings and the mast clip.