Whisker poles

[Tim Gardner]

Hey Y'all,

This guy John Turpin has a neat idea for a preventer, even if he lost his boat in the Texas 200

You can see it here: http://www.wwpotterowners.com/JohnTurpin1.html

TG

[nies]

Tim, great idea from web site, found the "figure 8 desender" at Eastner Mountain Sports(1-888-463-6367) for $14.95, part no. 3667100, Black Diamond Super 8 ,only trouble I have to wait 5 months to try it out............Phil

[brackish]

Once again this forum provides a lot of information from a bunch of experienced sailors.  Ask a question and varied opinions and experiences flow in.

My thinking now is that I'll order a pair of those higher quality 1-1/4" RWO pole ends.  Then I'll go down to my local metal supply house and get two pieces of 6061 aluminum tubing, a 10.5' section of 1-1/4", and a 4' section of 1-3/8".  There are two wall thicknesses that have a .009" clearance to each other.  I'll cut the 10.5' piece into a 6.5' and a 4'.  I'll overlap the two four ft. pieces by six inches and permanently join them, giving me a seven foot mast end pole.  Put one of the ends on this section.  I'll then stick the 6.5 piece into the 1-3/8" stub and match drill it every six inches in the proper orientation.  Get a couple of bullet pins to fit the drill size that will lock the length.  Put a couple of small eye bolts for a safety line to keep it from completely separating when I'm extending it to put it in use.  Also could use that for a topping lift attachment or downhaul attachment.

What I end up with is a pole when assembled that is extendable in six inch increments from about 10.3' to 13.3', the longer being 1.4 X J.  Knocked down and velcro strapped together, it is 7' long which will store in the cockpit locker extending over the separation bulkhead between the locker and main cabin so no deck storage necessary.  Ill end up with about the same cost as I would with a forespar 6-12 (which actually only opens to about 11'2" according to the specs. but would have an additional two feet.   Additionally, it should be a little more robust than the forespar.

Well, that's today's thought, could change tommorrow.

[botelerr]

Wow , to much work. I'm either buying one or sending the first mate [ wife of 41 years] to the deck to hang on to the sheet...but then who would go below for a chilled adult beverage?

We need pictures when you're done...maybe there's a market for them?
Rob

[brackish]

I have one of those first mates with 41 years tenure also.  After your post I suggested your idea to her.  She is still rolling on the floor, laughing, so I must assume that she has no interest in that plan.  Onward with plan A.

[botelerr]

The only sheets my first mate knows are on the bunk...sailing on the big river my real plan is to start the iron jenny if the breeze dies.. other wise known as Mr Johnson.
Rob

[nick23]

I like John's boom brake setup.  The marine boom brakes have always looked interesting but are way too expensive to justify on a small boat.  I imagine the control line could also be routed down to a block on a stanchion and then back to a cleat or whatnot on the outside of the cockpit coming.

Also on the boom brake pictures, you can see a pretty good example of how John has his reef lines routed back to the cockpit.  May have to try that out...

[johnny b]

Back to the whisker pole discussion ... I did something along the lines of brackish.  That is, made a pole rather than buying one for top $$$.  A little blind luck helped too :-) but I'll pass it along. 

I started with an old, but still in good shape, section of a swimming pool net handle.  It happened to be just the right length, but it wouldn't have been too hard to cut it if it were too long.  Then I went to West Marine and bought the two 'clips' that fit into the ends ($13 each), drilled two holes in each end of the handle (pole) and screwed the clips in place.  Works great!  It doesn't telescope, so it is usable for only one jib; the larger one, which I use more often anyway. 

Also, without an uphaul or downhaul on a CP23, a whisker pole can be hard to control, but it works well enough for wing-and-wing operation, and much less costly than buying a complete whisker pole.