Flandersfrank wrote:Hi greenlake
I read your post regarding bamboo spin pole and would like your input regarding a variation of it to be used as a whisker pole for my jib on a DS 1. I don't have a spinnaker
How much length Would a WP need for wing on wing sailing? How high up the mast should the attachment be?
Could a telescoping boat hook be modified for use as
WP and if yes, what gauge or diameter?
Thanks for all u are doing for us newbie sailors
Flandersfrank
Before I had a spinnaker pole, I used a paddle for the purpose. On some light wind run before the wind several years ago I discovered the need for a pole. I had a paddle and a short bungee cord. I wrapped the bungee and knotted it around the point where the handle attaches to the shaft of the paddle. That left the two "hooks" stick out. I hooked one of them into the clew, braced the blade of the paddle against the mast (at cuddy level) and tightened both jib sheets. Voila. I could sail wing on wing with this setup.
Given this experience, a telescoping boat hook would probably work. In lightish airs, the forces on a whisker pole for a DS appear quite manageable.
A spinnaker pole (or whisker pole) is usually not attached at the mast base, but at a ring that's fixed a couple of feet off the deck in front of the mast (between 24" and 48" per class rules). If your mast does not have such a fitting, it can be retrofitted easily enough. If you have a fitting but it's too high or too low for your purpose, the rules allow two of them.
A class legal spinnaker pole is up to 74" long. That's how long my bamboo spinnaker pole is. I can't recall offhand whether I've used or tried to use my spinnaker pole as a whisker pole and with what results, but I would not be surprised if I concluded it was a bit long for use as a whisker pole. Otherwise, I probably be using it now for that purpose; instead, I still tend to use the jury-rig with the paddle.
Depending on how your boat hook is set up, you might add a bungee cord to one end to give you a "hook" on the handle side of it, so you have a hook on either end. Then you can experiment with the length. I think you will find that some particular length is optimal, and then build a dedicated pole for that size. (Unless your boat hook turns out to be as convenient as my paddle ).
I like repurposing stuff that I already have on the boat - up to a degree. At some point making something that's optimized for the task might be the right thing to do, but even in that case, a jury-rig can be a good prototype.
My experience with bamboo (1" inner diameter, so I could fit the plastic spinnaker pole fittings) is that it is a very lightweight material. On another dinghy I purchased, the prev. owner had put together an aluminum pole, and it wasn't stiff enough, so he doubled it up and it became quite heavy by comparison. I had to add a single layer of glass cloth in epoxy (wound in a spiral) to my pole to prevent it from drying out and splitting. Even with that, it's lighter, and now it's nearly impervious to being stored outside during the season.
Anyway, good luck with trying to find the optimal setup.
PS: I have always found that dead downwind, a DS sailed wing on wing is nearly as fast as with a spinnaker. It's at some other angles closer to a broad reach that the spinnaker really makes most of the difference.