what to do with spinnaker gear?

[newcruiserP10M]

Just bought a Pearson 10M and it has a giant spinnaker pole mounted on the port deck. It also has a spinnaker halyard installed, however the boat did not come with a spinnaker. Have flown one before and it seemed like a lot of work esp for a singlehander. It has a 165% genoa on the roller furler. A new spinnaker might run 3K? Should I sell or store the pole while cruising or leave it on deck as it might come in handy for jury rigging at a later date? Leave the halyard for similar purpose or scrap it to reduce noise etc? Can't imagine buying a new spinnaker or flying one without a crew which doesn't look like its going to happen. Clear the decks for extra seaworthiness? I may be able to pick up a used spinnaker in the future and as I get more skilled try flying one alone. What do you think? That pole is probably worth a fair bit but would just be in the way at the moment.

[bartvdv]

Use your pole on dead-downwind courses to keep the genoa open.
Attach one end to the sheet off the genoa and the other end can be clipped on the mast track.

This way you can have the mainsail one side and the genoa on the other side. And thus maximizing your sail area and speed!
The genoa is not 'blinded' by the mainsail.
fokkeloet

This practice is called 'butterflying' in Dutch.

And a spare halyard is always a luxury, and might be use full to keep the boom up when 'butterflying'.

[davidpm]

A spare halyard is a really, really good thing. Good for hauling you to the top to fix the main halyard for example.
Good for emergency stay.
Good for tipping the boat to unground and many more uses.

[rikhall]

Having the gear will be worth more when you sell the boat than you will get for the pieces selling them now.

Also - that extra halyard! If you don't want it - send it to me

Rik

[Faster]

What the others have said... plus, one day you may want an Assymetrical cruising spinnaker which won't need the pole but will still need the halyard.

Also, used spinnakers are available everywhere and you could get an undersized one once you're comfortable with the boat.. spinnakering singlehanded is doable, your upper wind strength threshold is just generally lower.

[tdw]

Originally Posted by Faster

What the others have said... plus, one day you may want an Assymetrical cruising spinnaker which won't need the pole but will still need the halyard.

Also, used spinnakers are available everywhere and you could get an undersized one once you're comfortable with the boat.. spinnakering singlehanded is doable, your upper wind strength threshold is just generally lower.

Why isn't a pole ever used on an assy ? I've never used one ddw but kind of figured that a pole would helpful under that circumstance in much the same way as a poled out genoa.

[Faster]

Originally Posted by tdw

Why isn't a pole ever used on an assy ? I've never used one ddw but kind of figured that a pole would helpful under that circumstance in much the same way as a poled out genoa.

Nowadays A sails are flown from sprits of various lengths, as I'm sure you're aware.. I think the issue with Spinn poles is that for the right luff length they need to be low on the deck, and the rigging isn't really set up for that. Further, the sprits extend quite a bit further than the normal SPL, so trying to convert a pole to an effective sprit is going to take extra gear and some kind of bobstay setup to keep it all together.

However, the idea of using the pole to get the tack out to windward on a deep reach/run makes some sense... I've recently acquired a used A sail so may try it in the future.

[CalebD]

To jump on the bandwagon...
Used spins are not that expensive: http://www.minneysyachtsurplus.com/s1.html
The pole is useful for using as a a whisker pole while going dead down wind, eg, wing-on-wing, or Butterflying in Belgium. You might even come up with a way to use it as a sweep oar if your rudder or steering is ever compromised.
Keep it all and keep it all on the boat.

[SVAuspicious]

I use my spinnaker pole to hold the tack of the asym to windward and get it out from behind the main on deep reaches and runs. It works quite well. Some of the rules of thumb for trim of a conventional symmetric don't apply.

That said, if we're shorthanded as we usually are and the sail will only be up for a couple of hours (or less), we just reef the main down to the second or third reef and fly the asym off the sprit.

[olson34]

"Plus One" to most of the comments and encouragements.
One of those nice light wind days you will want to fly a spinnaker. Once you get used to it when going out with some friends, get a good sock like the one from ATN, set up all the rigging in advance, put "Otto" in charge of the helm on a 6 knot wind day, and enjoy wafting along with that chute. No engine noise. Tranquility.
Easy to put it to bed with the ATN snuffer/sock.

Light air sailing is fun.