First season with my '81 C-30. I discovered the value of a whisker pole this weekend. Catalina Direct only offers up to C-27. What am I missing?
C-30 Whisker Pole
- Thread starter Blue Hull
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Catalina Direct is a great resource for us, but not always the best source. Same with this place..they sell lots of stuff too.
If you have a standard rig, your "J" is 11.70 feet.
If you have a bowsprit, your "J" is 13.20 feet.
Poling a sail out to your "J" dimension is 'standard' procedure, so you would want to get a pole close to these dimensions, depending on which rig you have.
Any telescoping whisker pole will do. Forespar is pretty popular..I think you can buy them right here at SBO. http://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?14113
Be ready for a little sticker shock on shipping a pole..the telescoping kind are not as long as a fixed spinnaker pole, but anything long in a UPS truck pays a premium on shipping.
If you have a standard rig, your "J" is 11.70 feet.
If you have a bowsprit, your "J" is 13.20 feet.
Poling a sail out to your "J" dimension is 'standard' procedure, so you would want to get a pole close to these dimensions, depending on which rig you have.
Any telescoping whisker pole will do. Forespar is pretty popular..I think you can buy them right here at SBO. http://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?14113
Be ready for a little sticker shock on shipping a pole..the telescoping kind are not as long as a fixed spinnaker pole, but anything long in a UPS truck pays a premium on shipping.
Telescoping whisker poles ARE longer than a spinnaker pole for any given boat. The spinnaker pole is the same length as the J area of your boat. A whisker pole has to be longer to accommodate larger spinnakers, such as a 150% or larger sail. Forespar has a line drive unit that covers this range. They are not cheap and shipping is expensive as already mentioned. However, if you find one that a dealer has in stock, then you might avoid a shipping charge because most likely they ordered more than one long pole (which by itself will reduce the freight per unit) and often they buy them with other products where freight is absorbed by the distributor. A good chandler will help his customer out knowing that.
I'm also looking for a whisker pole for my catalina 30. I called Forespar, they seem to be the only game in town, and they warned me that a ring attached to the mast is not strong enough. We need track on the front of the mast to distribute the load out! The size for our boats is the 10-18. This pole goes from 10 to 18 feet long. Hope that helps.
I'm afraid to perform the upgrade because I'm guessing its gonna cost me $1500 or more! But we did the Jazz cup downwind race last weekend and after 5 hours wing on wing... you start to really crave that whisker!
I'm afraid to perform the upgrade because I'm guessing its gonna cost me $1500 or more! But we did the Jazz cup downwind race last weekend and after 5 hours wing on wing... you start to really crave that whisker!
Save your money on a whisker pole and put it toward a Kevlar triradial and cockpit adjustable cars. Keep a cool breeze coming over the deck by running the hot angles downwind. You'll get there quicker with a lot less foredeck frolicking, and have speed to overcome wakes and chop.
I'm a little unfamiliar with all specific sizes that are neede for certain applications as well. I did recieve a small mailer from West Marine ironicly yesterday which on page 6 shows a "Heavy-Duty Twist Lock Poles" from Forespar with self latching fittings on both ends and telescope to 138" with a choice of 1 7/8" or 2" diameters. The advertised price is $288-$337 for the different sizes. Now I dont know if thats what we are talking about but if it isnt what exactly are we to find in a "Whisker Pole / Spinnaker pole"? What should I look for in finding a good quality pole and is there one that if I were to buy one accomidate both needs if and when I purchase a spinnaker?
I think that pole is too thin. The load on a whisker pole is quite high from what I hear. (more than a spinnaker) The prices I saw for a catalina 30 were more in the range of $800 dollars. Forespar has a guide and the 10-18 is what they recommend. I called them and they told me to work with a local yard (Svendsons in Alameda) who would install the track and get the right size pole.
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