Storing Spinnaker Pole Off the Deck

[wufibugs]

I have been toying with the idea of finding a jib car track to to mount forward side of the mast to "hang" the spinnaker pole when not in use. If the car could be modified [need something more robust than a jib car?]to accept the pole, with proper gear and purchase, the mounting point/car could be run up the track and the pole folded down against the mast when not in use. Might require a second forestay halyard to pick up the pole as the mount/car to slides down the track to the desired height where it is locked into position. After Sandy, it shouldn't be had to find salvage tracks and cars.

Anyone though of, tried, this or similar?

 

[Tim R.]

That is how my boat is setup from the factory. Not entirely uncommon.

Harken has a range of spinnaker pole cars. http://www.harken.com/productcategory.aspx?taxid=380

 

[Joe]

Actually, the system is not uncommon. Many chandleries sell a hard rubber clamp called a mast mount pole chock.

You might google "spinnaker pole chock" or "spinnaker pole mast mount" for some more ideas. Here's a list of parts that might inspire you.... http://www.fisheriessupply.com/sail...les/spinnaker-pole-mast-rings-cars-and-chocks

Just about any boat larger than 25 ft should have a track on the mast for adjusting the pole height.... You can find the standard 1" track and surplus sliding mast ring cars at Minney's Yacht Surplus in Costa Mesa/Newport Beach.

Here's a link to a previous discussion on this subject a few years back: http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=107182

 

[Ted]

Using a spinnaker pole car mounted on a track as Tim R suggested, you will need a pretty long track to get the inboard end of the pole high enough to store it against the mast. I would guess your pole or "J" dimension will be about 11 or 12 feet. Shipping long items can get costly so finding parts locally will be your best bet.

Joe's suggestion is a good one for storing the pole vertically. Not as elegant of a solution as Tim's but it works perfectly fine. If you race, it would be beneficial to use Tim's solutions as you do not have to attach the inboard pole end to the car as it's ready to deploy once lowered.

You can also store the pole on deck chocks, stanchion mounts or alongside the boom.

 

[Jackdaw]

First, rig your mast to include NOT a jib car/track but a spinnaker car/track. It's designed to allow you to set the height of the pole. Then add a forespar vertical holder to the track.

See more here.

http://www.forespar.com/products/sail-mast-car.shtml

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

I've had mine rigged that way for years. Had to add a section of track, but that's really no problem. Sure beats trying to wrestle it around on deck somewhere.

In one of the Pardey books, they detail how theirs is rigged, which seems to work for Lynn (who is 4'10" tall)

 

[caguy]

After Sandy, it shouldn't be had to find salvage tracks and cars.

Anyone though of, tried, this or similar?

Not as easy as you might think. Most of the one on the salvage boats have been 5200'd on. Timo42 had a nice simple solution, he left it attached to the mast ring and secured the other end to the deck. It was stable and gave him a nice handhold on the foredeck.

 

[hewebb]

I looked at a boat last year that had a piece of PVC pipe high on the mast to hold the pole with the other end on the mast ring. Looked simple. Not sure how the sail handled it when tacking or how hard it would be to get the end in the pipe while underway.