I am looking for opinions and/or experiences of adding a whisker pole to a Catalina 27. Also, if you have one, what length?
Whisker pole for a Catalina 27?
- Thread starter Indysailor
- Start date
I have a telescoping whisker pole. It has advantages and disadvantages. On the good side, I can adjust the length as needed, I use a different length for broad reaching than I do for running, and it works for my jib, genoa, and asym. spinnaker. It collapses for easier storage. On the bad side, the twist lock isn't always reliable, if you don't set it tight it might slip, too tight and it is hard to undo. I suspect it is weaker than a one piece pole. Mine has plastic clips at the end which aren't the smoothest or most reliable things, they are often the cause and target of much foul language.
Definitely adjustable. I'm not sure if telescoping, line controlled or pin lock mechanism is best. I suppose it'a a matter of taste. I like the line controlled.
You can use the shortened pole in a mode like a reaching strut on reaching angles. In my opinion not enough sailors do this. But the angle of best sail shape (Which is very similar to the upwind shape) puts the clew several feet to lee of the rail. It is a distortion of the designed sail shape to bring the the clew back to the rail (When I use the term rail I'm trying to include all of the positions a jib track might be on any particular boat) unless you want to depower the jib.. The air should flow over the sail with tell tales flying just like upwind. A collapsible pole is also useful in jibes, if it can fit inside the forestay thereby eliminating having to disconnect it from the jib (In lighter air).
The fully extended pole is needed to sail deep angles and wing on wing sailing.
Also the whisker pole is of lighter construction than a spinnaker pole because the loads on it are primarily compression.
You can use the shortened pole in a mode like a reaching strut on reaching angles. In my opinion not enough sailors do this. But the angle of best sail shape (Which is very similar to the upwind shape) puts the clew several feet to lee of the rail. It is a distortion of the designed sail shape to bring the the clew back to the rail (When I use the term rail I'm trying to include all of the positions a jib track might be on any particular boat) unless you want to depower the jib.. The air should flow over the sail with tell tales flying just like upwind. A collapsible pole is also useful in jibes, if it can fit inside the forestay thereby eliminating having to disconnect it from the jib (In lighter air).
The fully extended pole is needed to sail deep angles and wing on wing sailing.
Also the whisker pole is of lighter construction than a spinnaker pole because the loads on it are primarily compression.
I haven't been here in a while to say thank you folks for the input! I got tired of getting smoked on the downwind run in our races, and so I started using my old spinnaker pole for supporting the genoa on a run. The spinnaker is just not worth all the extra work for my wife and me, but the pole worked pretty well. I think it was probably too long, but it definitely got me back to the dock fast enough that I didn't miss out on the good beers.