Whisker Pole

[DArcy]

Not so must to get the sail higher. I set the height of the clew to keep all of the tell-tails flowing. at the sail it eased out a long way, you need to raise the clew to keep proper shape in the top of the sail.

Running wing-on-wing you won't get the tell tales flowing. Just try to keep consistent shape top to bottom. If the clew is too high you will spill air off the top of the sail. Too low and the top will be hooked in too much. I find generally in 5 to 15 knots of wind that the height the clew settles on its own is about right but different cut of sail may impact this.
As far as having a pole angled up, this likely happens because the boat only has a ring on the mast instead of a track and the ring isn't at the right height. The pole should be level.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Running wing-on-wing you won't get the tell tales flowing.

In good conditions and with perfect trimming it’s possible to get the telltales flying forward. Doing that means the wind is entering the sail from the leech and curving along it, generating some lift in the process. That’s faster than pure drag mode, but it’s hard to keep the airflow attached along the whole length of the sail.

 

[DArcy]

In good conditions and with perfect trimming it’s possible to get the telltales flying forward. Doing that means the wind is entering the sail from the leech and curving along it, generating some lift in the process. That’s faster than pure drag mode, but it’s hard to keep the airflow attached along the whole length of the sail.

If you are running (DDW) then you are in pure drag mode. It is possible to get the telltales streaming forward but then you are spilling air off the luff. You'd be better off with stagnant air creating maximum pressure on the windward side of the sail. I'm not saying this is always the fastest VMG for everyone but for most cruisers it is close enough.
I actually find reaching at an angle that just keeps the genoa clew from dropping (keeping pressure in the genoa) and jibing rather than sailing DDW is a bit faster in some wind conditions, albeit a bit more work. Sailing this way doesn't need a whisker pole.

 

[Davidasailor26]

If you are running (DDW) then you are in pure drag mode. It is possible to get the telltales streaming forward but then you are spilling air off the luff. You'd be better off with stagnant air creating maximum pressure on the windward side of the sail.

That’s not how I learned, but I can’t find any really good links to back it up. Best I can find is one line buried in this PDF - http://www.alisonosinski.com/wp-content/pdf/boating_tip_49.pdf - “Use the primary winch to pull in the genoa sheet until properly trimmed and the telltales are flying parallel to the water.”

Incidentally I did find this article with a pretty good write-up on whisker pole use in general - Downwind Under Jib and Main

I'm not saying this is always the fastest VMG for everyone but for most cruisers it is close enough.
I actually find reaching at an angle that just keeps the genoa clew from dropping (keeping pressure in the genoa) and jibing rather than sailing DDW is a bit faster in some wind conditions, albeit a bit more work. Sailing this way doesn't need a whisker pole.

That will depend on the polars for your boat. Many polars assume a spinnaker will be flown downwind. The ones I can find for pure jib and main configurations show just a slight bump slower while DDW, so yes in some cases you might well be better off jibing than whisker poling dead down. Many of the times I use the pole is when working down a narrow channel with the wind, where I wouldn’t have room to reach and jibe.

 

[Hayden Watson]

While watching this video I realized that I had been sailing my whisker pole incorrectly. There are some great drone shots of wing-on-wing sailing starting at 17:00. The sheet is eased out until the clew is forward of the bow of the boat and the sail is very rounded with leading edge parallel to the boats centerline. The flow is attached and normal (luff to leach) The full shape will create a large drag vs lift vector but this drag vector is parallel to the boats centerline which is pure thrust.

 

[rpwillia]

We probably had the pole a little high here. I have a ring on the front of my mast. I wanted to use a track and car, but there were rivets running up the front of the mast and I could not get a good answer on what was behind there so I used a ring with screws off to the side.
BTW, the guy in the picture is Tony Lancashire. He was a Royal Marine stationed at Quantico at the time and he later along with another marine navigated the Northwest Passage in a sailboat with no engine. Great guy who just showed up one day and wanted to race.

Royal Marines successfully navigate north-west passage by open boat

A Royal Marines duo have successfully navigated the central section of the Arctic's notorious north-west passage, in a 17-foot open boat. Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Oliver, 42, and Major Tony Lancashire, 36, have taken 42 days to sail and row their...

timesofmalta.com

 

[Davidasailor26]

Here’s another write-up from Forespar - A Little Bit of Downwind Sailing - Forespar's Point of View

In particular note that they say “To get the most lift and best speed out of a poled out jib, trim it until the leech (which is now acting as the luff) begins to curl back just as is done with a spinnaker.” This coincides with how I was taught to trim the pole. Basically the idea is to treat it as if it’s the pole on a spinnaker, and as if the the leech of the jib were the luff of the spinnaker. I use perpendicular to the wind as a starting point, generally on the same line as the boom. As the wind goes forward so should the pole so that the leech is opened up and still letting the air in from that side.