Downwind without a whisker pole... and: Parasailor?

[Prairie Schooner]

. . .
Regarding the crane issue, I would think you'd want that. If you run the spinn sheets inside the forestay, the head of the sail could get bound up between the mast and halyard. The crane puts it all out in front of that kit. FWIW
. . .

What I meant to say was 'inside the sail, tack'. The sheets would be outside the forestay. Running sheets outside the tack is often done but you need to be more vigilant because they can fall under the bow.

I'd want a downhaul. Without one an awkward puff can send the outer pole end skyward.

 

[Vtonian]

.Anyway, knowing the right pole size is obviously step one in trying to find a used one

Many thanks!

Depends on your goal. I was trying to avoid standing on the deck pushing the jib clew out with a boat hook, and the pole i got was just short enough to pass inside the forestay when lowered so IMO, the perfect length. I dont worry about the last couple feet of genoa that I usually leave reefed because Im sailing, which is not about worrying.

 

[Dave G.]

though it is tempting to use the spare jib halyward for that... is that a bad idea?

That will work fine. I used my spinnaker halyard. Just be sure to secure it before furling to prevent any possible wrap issues. As far as length I think your "J" dimension is a good(and race legal) size.

 

[Christian Williams]

You can pull the genoa out at the dock and measure how long a pole has to be to work for you.

A pole that puts the genoa at full 90 degrees is a luxury, but one I found important for the Hawaii run. It comes at the expense of expense and unwieldiness.

Spare masthead halyard for pole lift is fine--but offshore i wouldn't do it again. It fouls easily high in the furler on dark nights and the prospect of that is daunting. Many of our masts have a lift sheave installed already, which by its lower location makes it trouble free.

 

[Loren Beach]

Many of our masts have a lift sheave installed already, which by its lower location makes it trouble free.

Our boat, and many 80's Ericson's I have seen with the Kenyon spar system, seem to have the slot present. It might have a plastic plug in it if the boat was originally spec'd out with no spinnaker package.

 

[nukey99]

I have a pretty beefy whisker pool on our new to us 1983 35-3. While in San Francisco sailing a Catalina 320 out of Alameda, we had a whisker pool, and it made sailing down wind a real pleasure. The sail inventory we received with the boat includes an Asymmetrical spinnaker with a sock, and it is in our garage will it most likely will remain. Wing on wing downwind sailing was a real pleasure and I look forward to doing it again.

 

[N.A.]

Loren: I don't have Kenyon spars; mine are Lefeill, which PSC used for better or worse. They seem nice, but the features many mention re: the Kenyon's spare slots I often do not have.

Christian: yet again, thanks. I'll look into installing a topping lift block lower down -- shouldn't be too complex (block attached to a ring on the mast is what I'm thinking.) A tangle in the dark (".. it was a dark and stormy night...") is something I have no desire to experience if I can avoid it.

@nukey99 -- Also much appreciated. Could you expand on why you do not use/like the asymmetrical? I'm curious if it is about the sock, or about the sail/boat handling with that sail itself. If the asymmetrical were on a roller furler, would that make all the difference? Or is the poled-out genoa just a more comfortable sail or something?

 

[Kenneth K]

You can pull the genoa out at the dock and measure how long a pole has to be to work for you.

Yeah, I think that's a good idea. From memory, it seems the whisker pole can't be brought out to a full 90 degrees anyway, due to the forward lower shrouds. That may leave the genoa partially furled depending on its size.

 

[bgary]

mine are Lefeill, which PSC used for better or worse.

Lefeill was one of the top builders of racing spars in the 70s and 80s, always a quality product. So... even if not equipped with some of the innovations Kenyon had, they're good stuff. IIRC they even built a few custom aluminum boats.

I don't think they still build spars, but they're still around, off Firestone in Santa Fe Springs in the LA area.

$.02
Bruce

 

[N.A.]

bGary: Yes, I discovered (by calling) that Lefeill no longer does spars. I think they are (and maybe have alwasy been) mainly aerospace. This is one of the issues with the Pac Seacraft Ericsons (at least mine) -- a lot of the equipment seems to have been a bump up in (at least perceived at the time) quality, but... you can no longer get replacements. Bowmar hatches, Whitlock pedestals (well, Lewmar now), Lefeill spars, etc. It's actually the hatches that are the biggest headache right now -- deck cutout is not the right size for any others.

Thanks Kenneth K and Christian -- I'll measure, and never would have thought of the shroud issue affecting that; very grateful

Multiple sources of advice seem to point to using a full telescoping whisker pole and my 130%, and skipping the drfiter/asymmetric/parasail, so I'm leaning toward the pole, with either ring or track but a topping life (which I'd have to install too.)

 

[Christian Williams]

One other thing to consider, depending on the amount of DDW passagemaking: To get the foresail 90 degrees from the course requires not only a (very) long pole, but long sheets. Such a set is useful in light air, but has to be revised as the breeze comes up--and the pole has to be shortened as you furl the genoa. Hence the attraction of the Forespar "line control" whisker poles, which can e adjusted in place. (Extending and retracting a conventional "button" pole can be awkward, and may mean derigging from the mast every time).

A very long pole is also useful in conditions in which the sail is set more than 90 degrees, that is, the clew is actually forward of the bow. There are days in which the light wind or sea conditions (a quartering sea), and the needs of a steering vane, encourage that. Again, long sheets are required, with the upside being that a long lazy sheet works well for the pole downhaul.

A too-short pole is no fun, as the foresail wants to be a big barn door in light air. But great length is asking a lot of a telescoping pole, and as a result I'm not a fan of carbon fiber and would stick to aluminum, or at least half-aluminum, and the recommended pole diameter.

This is getting picky and frou-frou, and only really applies to the Hawaii run, or any long voyage dead downwind.

 

[nukey99]

Loren: I don't have Kenyon spars; mine are Lefeill, which PSC used for better or worse. They seem nice, but the features many mention re: the Kenyon's spare slots I often do not have.

Christian: yet again, thanks. I'll look into installing a topping lift block lower down -- shouldn't be too complex (block attached to a ring on the mast is what I'm thinking.) A tangle in the dark (".. it was a dark and stormy night...") is something I have no desire to experience if I can avoid it.

@nukey99 -- Also much appreciated. Could you expand on why you do not use/like the asymmetrical? I'm curious if it is about the sock, or about the sail/boat handling with that sail itself. If the asymmetrical were on a roller furler, would that make all the difference? Or is the poled-out genoa just a more comfortable sail or something?

Our boat in SF was a Catalina 320 and it did not have a spinnaker halyard, so we have no experience with it. When the weather gets a little nicer I'll pull the asymetrical out of the bag and see how it looks.