Whisker pole, yes or no

[Peter Morgan]

Looking for some views on the need of fitting a whisker, not spinnaker, pole. Would be a retro fitting and using existing track, with new pole. Not really looking for comments on how to fit. But on the usefullness of a whisker pole. As possible future sailing will be primarily down wind. .

 

[RichardS]

I use a whisker pole with my genoa rather than use a spinnaker or similar. It's telescopic but long when extended and heavy so setting it all up takes a while which means I've only used when on downwind legs of at least a couple of hours as otherwise I can't be bothered. It is effective once set up but and I bought it second hand so it was only £200. I'm pleased that I didn't buy a new one as it would not have been worth it.

Richard

 

[VicS]

For holding out the clew of the head sail when down wind.

Usually needs to be about 1.25 times the J measurement but obviously depends on boat and sail;

It does not need to be a heavy as the spinnaker pole. Mine is made from a bamboo pole from the centre of a roll of carpet ( The cardboard tubes they use these days are no good though)

There are telescopic ones ( at a price) Adjustable and easier to stow

 

[Bristolfashion]

I made mine for my last boat out of a cheap piece of Al tubing plus the ends. From memory "J" length worked well. Easy to set and very useful downwind with a reasonably heavy sailcloth furling headsail.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

41’ LOA, Masthead Rig so big Genoa. I have both whisker and spinnaker poles. I can lift the whisker pole off the deck with one hand it is so light. Therefore, it is very easy to use and as such, gets used when on a run. It makes a tremendous difference to boat speed, sail care and rolling compared to not using it. When gybing I have to dip pole mine, because that is how it is set up. It would be very easy to end to end though, if it had the fittings each end. I recommend it.

 

[LadyInBed]

I have two on my boat, I wouldn't be without them.
Running under twin polled out headsails (no main up) is fantastic.
I use two fixed mast eye pads rather than the spinnaker fitting on the front of the mast.
Forespar Fixed Mast Pad Eye | Force 4 Chandlery

 

[William_H]

A whisker pole can be almost any size. As said it will stabilise the jib when running down wind either wing a wing or both sails on one side. It can also be used when reaching to hold the jib clue out so improving air flow.
If a whisker pole is very long it gets more end force. ie it is trying to hold the jib out near right angles to centre line. A shorter pole will not hold the jib out so far so does not catch so much wind but has far less loads.
I would suggest OP make a short one and give it a try. Even a broom stick can help steady the jib. It can be based on the mast or even on a stanchion. However it needs to be based high enough to give a natural approach to the jib. This perhaps is the reason most people attach to the mast. But this does mean you need longer.
Spinnaker pole gear can be expensive. But simpler devices can work. You can have a U shaped crutch that presses on and around the mast and a simple spike on the outer end to go through the clew or the sheet knot. For a heavier pole a topping lift can provide lift if necessary (not usually on alight pole) but can al;so provide attachment and security for the pole when fitting. ie stops it being lost over board.
One poor mans whisker pole is to set up a tweeker arrangement to take jib sheeting out to the gunwhale and forward. This can stabilise jib when running to a degree. Advantage being no fore deck work with pole. But not as good as a pole.
A whisker pole might not make you go much faster but can provide a much more elegant and quiet sail set down wind. ol'will

 

[dansaskip]

As others have said very beneficial for downwind work. I use a spinnaker pole because that's what the boat had when I bought it but often wish I had a lighter whisker pole instead for ease of setting up and handling.

 

[Stemar]

OK, a Snapdragon probably isn't the best boat for discussing performance, but the difference between sailing goosewinged with a whisker pole and putting the spinny up was about 1/4 of a knot. That was the last time I put the spinny up!

One big advantage of the pole is that it allows you to sail several degrees off dead downwind as long as you don't backwind the genny. This means an accidental gybe is a lot less likely. Yes, I do use a preventer, but if the boat's trying to gybe and all that's holding the boom is the preventer, it gets a bit messy - then there's that racer bearing down on you screaming "Starboard!".

The disadvantage of a whisker pole is that you can't change course in a hurry, especially single handed, so possibly not the best thing in the Solent with the RTI race coming the other way, but in open waters? Great.

 

[reeac]

I made a timber whisker pole for my pre war dayboat. Consulting websites, it appeared that 1.1J was the optimum length. ...it looked rather long but worked well. I got an old spinnaker pole for free and cut it down and planed it to a smaller (hexagonal) cross section. One of my best DIY projects.

 

[fredrussell]

On any whisker pole thread it is obligatory for someone to pipe up and say they made one out of a windsurfer mast, so...

I made mine out of a windsurfer mast. It’s light (carbon, mostly) and strong but attaching end fittings takes a bit of faffing around. Total cost: £40

 

[Dan Tribe]

Yes.

 

[LadyInBed]

I made mine out of a windsurfer mast.

So did I (both of them) ?
Cost - The price of the end fittings.

 

[zoidberg]

I made mine out of a windsurfer mast. It’s light (carbon, mostly) and strong but attaching end fittings takes a bit of faffing around. Total cost: £40

So did I (both of them) ? Cost - The price of the end fittings.

Interesting. I have a 6' aluminum dinghy spi pole kicking around, and several 15' alu sailboat masts. I suspect there's a mini-project there. Perhaps the 'shiny blue' short pole could be repurposed as a reaching strut.....

 

[LadyInBed]

Interesting. I have a 6' aluminum dinghy spi pole kicking around, and several 15' alu sailboat masts. I suspect there's a mini-project there. Perhaps the 'shiny blue' short pole could be repurposed as a reaching strut.....

I made my first one (adjustable) from a rotary washing line pole and a tv aerial pole, both were aluminium. It lasted about 10 years.

 

[[3889]]

I made mine for my last boat out of a cheap piece of Al tubing plus the ends. From memory "J" length worked well. Easy to set and very useful downwind with a reasonably heavy sailcloth furling headsail.

Whisker pole should definitely be more than J unless you have a jib and not a genoa. I use my conservatively sized spinny pole (=J) but it's not really suitable and would, as VicS suggests, go for J x 1.25 as a minimum.

 

[Bristolfashion]

Whisker pole should definitely be more than J unless you have a jib and not a genoa. I use my conservatively sized spinny pole (=J) but it's not really suitable and would, as VicS suggests, go for J x 1.25 as a minimum.

There seems to be some agreement that the ideal length is the length of the foot of the sail in use. I certainly used my fixed pole from all out down to pretty small on the furling headsail & it worked very well. Still, perhaps a little 28', long Keeler is forgiving.