37C Whisker Pole

[sandpiper10471]

Need to get a telescoping whisker pole for my H37C. Assuming the original yankee headsail, any suggestions for pole length when sailing wing-on-wing or broad reaching?
Also, the quick running rigging calculator on this site lists the 37C line sizes and lengths but does not include the staysail rigging. Any ideas on length and diameter for the staysail haliard?

 

[Terry411]

Might be cheaper to get a used spinnaker. I don't have a whisker pole either got a couple used spins eBay Craigslist.

 

[Bill1565]

FWIW. Racing rules limit you to LP of your sail. Non racers are not limited. 17 feet is the LP for 100% jib. The 12 -22 foot adjustable aluminum poles are awkward and heavy for 2 to handle, really difficult for one unless you spend another grand or so on a track and car for the pole . Carbon Fiber poles are still awkward to deal with, verrry expensive, and FRAGILE. Suggestion above to get a cheap used asym is a good one.

 

[sandpiper10471]

Class racing rules generally limit the length of a spinnaker pole to the J measurement, in this case 17 feet. My recollection of dinghy racing is that whisker poles tend to be longer and are never used with a spinnaker. Sometimes it would be nice to stabilize the headsail with whisker pole rather than fly the asymmetrical. Someone in this forum with a H37C must have a whisker pole or someone has a "rule of thumb" for estimating same.
BTW, I do have an asymmetrical and do use it often.

 

[Jim Legere]

Much as I love our cutter rig, I do sometimes find downwind sailing vexing. The Yankee jib does not fly all that well (or at least all that easily) wing-in-wing. The staysail just slats around on its boom unless I put a preventer on it, something I will only do if I am planning to be on that point of sail for a while. The asymmetrical spinnaker is lovely but it takes time to rig and it really is necessary to drop the main if running dead downwind. I would love to hear about a good, cheap wisker pole or other solutions H37C sailors have come up with for controlling sails downwind.

 

[Terry411]

Cheap that's the problem. I have been watching eBay and Craigslist but no luck on poles in general whisker or spin. If you do find one no one wants the hassle of shipping. You might try walking the docks and ask people if they use theirs, might find one to buy that way.

 

[Ed Schenck]

I often use my cheap Forespar for winging. It is the type with buttons and lanyards for the jaws. I think a 10-17? A bit of effort to install. My yankee is slightly oversized and the pole works well with a permanent ring on the mast.

 

[sandpiper10471]

Thanks, Ed. But I sense you are guessing at the 17ft. Mind measuring it please next time you visit your Lady Love?
Anyone else with whisker poles?

 

[Ed Schenck]

Can you caclulate the length from this picture? To the left the pole extends about six inches past the stanchion. To the right what is that, about twenty? I was just on the boat yesterday and it will be a month before I go check on her again.

Now as I look again it appears to be seventeen toerail holes long. That should be a little over eight feet, right?

 

[sandpiper10471]

Very clever pole storage, Ed. My cruising grounds are about to freeze over so I can wait for dimensions. I also have an oversized yankee. Your idea of using the toe rail as a scale to calculate length is a good one but does not apply for extended length.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Well it kinda' applies because the pole extends to about one foot short of twice its length.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Was on the boat today and actually remembered to measure! Pole is 8' jaw to jaw. So open to full length very close to 15 feet.

Went with a gear puller to remove the Edson wheel and Simrad autohelm so I can paint the pedestal come spring. Wheel always slipped right off until she spent three summers in salt water.

 

[Jim Legere]

Yep, I keep a smear of Vaseline on the shaft of the binnacle and make sure I remove the wheel several times a season!

 

[Blaise]

The boat's J is seventeen feet. That is the limit on the length of the spinnaker pole only. The length of a whisker pole for racing is the length of the LP of the largest overlapping headsail. In my experiance the heavier the better. I have broken a dozen whisher poles on Midnight Sun over the last thirty years of racing. I carry a spin pole and two whisker poles. The big one extends to 27 ft and is marked to limit its length to the LP of my 135% genny. I also carry a small pole that is 9 1/2 feet that we put up to leeward on a beam reach. Moving the clew outboard two feet adds more that a knot of boat speed is 15 kts of wind. And I know that my good friend Ed hates this, but if you get rid of the staysail and babystay, the boat is a rocket ship.

 

[Jim Legere]

...And I know that my good friend Ed hates this, but if you get rid of the staysail and babystay, the boat is a rocket ship.

"Your friend Ed" and a few of us oldies just can't take the G forces anymore
Also, the furling gear for a Yankee jib is generally not up to handling a genoa. But the proof is there: Midnight Sun is the fastest!

 

[sandpiper10471]

Thanks Blaise: I knew there had to be a rule of thumb regarding whisker pole length. Now I will need to measure up the LP of the yankee. That will put me in the right ball park. Seems to me the LP is the length of a perpendicular from the luff to the clew.