Spinnaker pole storage on the mast

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DannyS

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May 27, 2004
933
Beneteau 393 Bayfield, Wi
Does anyone out there store their pole on the mast? We've started doing a little racing and desperately need a pole to keep up with my neighbor in the marina. I'm looking at the rig and would love not to have it stored on deck. My mast has the integral track on the front for the mast car and I assume the inboard end of the pole stays attached to the car and you raise the car up the mast until the pole is vertical. What do you do to secure it once in that position? Any pros or cons with this setup?
 
Jan 22, 2008
1,665
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
I have had my whisker pole on the mast for a very long time. I don't know if the application will work for a Spinnaker pole as you have asked, but it works well with my jib going wing and wing. I have used it also with my cruising spinnaker as my whisker pole is line extendable. It is so easy to deploy alone, it makes complete sense when sailing short handed. I've posted the only picture I have where you can see it stowed. Basically, in my case I screwed a length of track to the mast and put a car with a block on both top and bottom of the car. I mounted a cheek block at the bottom of the track and another about four feet above the track on the mast. On each cheek block, also screw a stainless steel strap loop (can't remember what they are called exactly). Take a line and put it through the little strap and tie a knot in it so it can't pull back through. Thread the other end through the bottom block on the car, back through the bottom mast block, up to the top mast block then to the top car block and tie off on the top block strap loop. Leave about a foot of slack. This gives a 2:1 purchase to raise and lower the pole. I put a pad eye on the deck in front of the mast with a shackle to hook the pole to when stowed. Add two clam cleats to the side of the pole at a convienent height that are mounted in opposite directions. The middle of your hoisting line passes through them an can lock the car from moving up and down. We end up with a small loop of line between the two clam cleats. When stowed, just hoist the pole up, lock it in the shackle and tension the hoist line into the clam cleats. It will stay there. Above the top block I mounted another block on a swivel. That is my topping lift that is attached to the outboard end of the pole. I put a cleat on the side of the mast so when the pole is deployed I can level it with the topping lift. When ready to use I release the pole from the shackle on the deck and put the lazy sheet in the pole fitting right on the deck. In my case the topping lift is already cleated at the correct length when I start dropping the car. The pole just starts moving forward and levels out perfectly when the car comes down. I have to push the pole to the correct side of the forestay as I start while sailing on the opposite tack to where I am going to end up, so gravity is working against me. Once deployed and locked into place, we gybe the jib, pulling the sheet through the pole fitting and square it off. Very easy. When time to put it away we just roll up the jib and the sheet slides through the pole as the sail winds up leaving the horizontal pole against the forestay. I've also just gybed the jib and come up to sailing on a reach or even close hauled with the pole still attached to the lazy side. They don't call it the lazy side for nothing. I stay away from the foredeck when above a beam reach. After rolling up the jib, we motor back to the slip and put it away at the dock. Nice.

I hope this helps. See if anyone else has done a similar setup with a mast that is like your's with the integral track. Some of those have an exit block halfway up the mast that you could use to raise the car. Just have some kind of downhaul to tension it in place. You can use a spare jib halyard as a topping lift.

Good luck.

Allan
 

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Feb 26, 2004
23,023
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Forespar makes a fitting

that screws into the deck just in front of the mast. The top piston of the pole stays in the adjustable ring on the front of the mast and the bottom piston clips onto that foot fitting. Simple.

Whether it's a whisker pole or a spinnaker pole, the end fittings are similar. See this, too, for a gybing idea: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4915.0.html
 

DannyS

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May 27, 2004
933
Beneteau 393 Bayfield, Wi
Ahhh...the mast chock, I don't know why I didn't look that one up. I knew there had to be something to keep the pole from flopping around other than pure tension on the car control lines.
Stu, why do you suppose the vertical position made the pistons freeze up? I would think that that position would allow moisture to drip out of the piston channel easier.
 

DannyS

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May 27, 2004
933
Beneteau 393 Bayfield, Wi
I figured out what I thought I needed for my spinnaker pole project but when I went to Rig Rite's page, they specifically do not recommend storing the pole vertically with the mast car I was looking at. It is a ring type and the only reason I can think of is that the pole with a piston type fitting will not have a solid restraining mechanism (like a chock on the bottom) on the top to keep it from flopping around. It looks like they make a car with an adapter to help with this but of course it will cost you! I have a call into them and am waiting for their return. In the mean time, do you folks out there have a ring type car AND store the mast vertically? Any problems keeping the upper end of the pole from flopping around?
 
Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
I don't know what happend to my post last night, so here it is again: I have (and my neighbor copied) a mast ring up the mast about a half-foot longer than the whisker pole length from the lower ring. About 40 percent the pole length down I put the rubber mast chock. At the poles bottom end I just have the mast ring from Ronstan with the little struts holding the ring up.

To use, raise the pole with the topping lift (or just do it Iwo Jima style), pull the trigger release and place over the upper ring. Swing the pole in towards the mast and the pole will pop into the rubber chock. Adjust the length to reach the lower ring and secure it. Bingo.
 
Jan 22, 2008
1,665
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
Mast Fitting for Pole on Mast

I did start with the ring type car for my whisker pole. For some reason the pole kept wanting to twist when lowering the car. It would twist enough that it would cause the car to bind on the track and I couldn't lower it. It was very difficult to try and rotate the pole by hand and lower it at the same time as it moves out and up away from the mast. Finally, there was so much twist that it actually snapped the fitting right off the pole. I had to buy a new one from Forespar. I still have the bent ring car. I replaced that car with the NGA-51-FC. Those cheek plates are exactly what was needed to prevent twist. The car moves up and down smoothly.

Regarding the pole flopping back and forth: It does happen to some degree, but doesn't make any noise. That car holds it out from the mast far enough so it doesn't bang. I did not use the chock route (probably because I was cheap). Instead, I wanted to use the shackle on the deck because after raising the pole and clipping on to the shackle I can really pull up and lock it into place under tension. That keeps the pole from moving.

The piston on my whisker pole tends to jam also. I have one of the older fittings where the piston is completely enclosed. The newer design has a slot where you can see the spring inside. That allows plenty of rinsing and ease of lubrication. I just have to be sure I exercise it as often as possible. The problem is that it is a stainless steel piston in a cast aluminum body. There must be some oxidation building up in there. If I haven't checked it in a while and I want to set the pole its always a quick run down below for the vise grips and silicone spray.

Lastly, the sail cover became an issue. I would still snap the cover on between the pole and the mast. A little tight with the extra lines and small gap. After that cover finaly rotted away, I had a new one made that zips on in front of the pole. That definitely keeps the pole in place while anchored or docked.

Allan
 
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