I clip jaws down on symmetrical spinnaker in a Thistle or Flying Scot. I imagine it might be easier to gybe the pole with jaws up, such that the pole falls off the sheet, but I can't see trying to clip the pole onto the sheet by pushing up the pole end. I can't see clipping the pole up onto the mast ring, either. No skippers I've crewed for have ever suggested differently, including the J24 racer. In fact, with a sym spin, the pole is hanging there from the topping lift anyway, so again I can't see how you'd clip upwards.
Whisker poles are different from spin poles, the loading is different. You do want the sheet to come out of the jaw if remotely tripped.
I've been bass ackward!
Cool, so which one did you get? Forespar with the twist lock? I bought the Selden with the push buttons. So far I'm happy with it. Reason I selected the Selden is that it has 2 settings that match the foot of my head sails, and the design setting is close to a perfect match for spinnaker pole length on my boat. The pole is designed to be used either way.
Scott you are right, it DOES seems backward until you think about your jaw, which is like he 'C' part of the end. Jaws UP means teeth DOWN, and the line drops out! ;^)I've always been confused by the term jaws "up" or "down". I always thought jaws "up" meant that they open facing up. Apparently jaws up means they face down so that the line can drop out. That's news to me. I thought it was awkward to use the whisker pole with jaws "up". Now I know why ... "up" means facing down.
Forespar seems to have a good discussion ... they say jaws open down for whisker pole because the line tends to drop down and out. They say jaws open up for spinnaker pole because the line tends to lift up and out. I love it when I learn something on this site!
You're going to fly a code 0 off a pole??? That should be interesting.. We tack 0s to the bow and they still want to rip it off. Can't image that load on a pole.
Wait a minute.
You know, I was thinking if you wanted a code 0 to go deep enough that you'd want a pole, then at that point you'd probably want to swap it out for an asym spinnaker, for those deeper angles... Jackdaw would know better.
Yea 0s are for close reaching, meaning the of the tack of the sail is near the bow. A pole is at its WORST in that position. So I don't get that.
Drifters are STAYED sails, and as such can fly much closer to the wind. It is really a big genoa make out of (typically) 1.5 oz nylon spinnaker cloth.
