[FloridaBoy]

Hello, again, All you Sailors! I am going to take advantage of the sale at Defender and buy me a whisker pole. Right now, I tie my 8 ft dock hook to the stay and that's my whisker pole. Thinking of getting the heavy duty twist lock pole. Comes with "easy latch" or EL fittings on each end. I'm not sure if I can choose, I'll have to call them. What do you guys and gals suggest for end fittings? I'd appreciate your input, as always! Kevin

 

[CLOSECALL]

Right now on ebay there is a right proper whisker pole for under two hundred bucks. Nine feet, I think.

 

[FloridaBoy]

Yes, I've seen them, all of them. I live on the net, looking for deals. Appreciate it , but I want a longer one for my boat. Most I find are too big or too small or the owner won't ship it. I'm digging that 9-15 ft, twist lock, it's on sale and will go to my mast car and the clew with some to spare. Thanks anyways. Kevin

 

[Sailormon6]

I have only used the easy latch fittings and liked them fine. As I recall, though, aren't you sailing a Morgan 35? If you're considering the 7-15 pole, you can probably get by with it if you only use it in light air. It's a 2" diameter pole, and we broke a 2" diameter pole racing downwind in 18-25 kt winds in a 30' boat.

 

[FloridaBoy]

Dear SailorMon, Yowza! Downwind in heavy winds! I hear ya'. I could get the next size up pole, but it's 700+ dollars. The pole they recommend for my boat. I can't do that right now. I was thinking more for light air and then taking it down for heavy air. Remember, I'm a rookie, so I don't do much sailing over 15 knts, not right now anyways. But that is good advice to keep in mind. Thankyou, Kevin

 

[Markwesti]

Because you asked , here is ours . I know it's old and funky , but we like that . The Bronze fitting is Merriman ( ebay) the pole is Doug Fir . Total cost was under $150.

 

[FloridaBoy]

I dig that old and funky, too! There a couple of pair on Ebay right now. Same ones, it looks like. Problem is, they are for a 3 inch pole and where am I gonna find a 3 inch pole that is strong enough, down here in Florida? Man, that would be a heck of a whisker pole! 3 inches in diameter and 11 ft long! It is cool though. I thought of buying them just to hang in my shop. Well, there's a Marine flea market at my marina, tomorrow. I'll see what's there. If I don't find anything, I'll order a new one from Defender. Thanks for showing me that old brass fitting. Pretty cool..... Kevin

 

[UNCIVILIZED]

On poles, @ 2", you'll be wasting your money. I say as much, as I'm pretty sure that the pole on a J-24 is 3". So for them, running a kite is probably on par with a rather svelte jib on a 30'er. And on a 35' boat, a 3" pole is pushing it at times.

If you find some end fittings, & want a wooden pole, to save $, you can laminate up your own blank, & carve it by hand. Or have someone turn it on a lathe for you. Though in truth, only the ends of the pole HAVE to be square, so that they'll fit the fittings.

So to do a wooden pole quick & dirty, you can take a square blank, & cut it to be 8-sided, on the table saw. Or bullnose the edges of a square blank with a router.

And the standard finish is clear so that you can see any rot beginning, early on. Just seal the blank with epoxy, & a light layer of cloth or two (maybe spectra, polypropylene, or dynel). Fill in the weave with epoxy. And then put on a bunch of coats of varnish to protect the epoxy.
Or, go KISS, & just keep it oiled.

The most secure & user friendly pole ends are:
- The socket type on the inboard end. Usually Forespar's TS or UTS model
- Something with both an automatic, as well as manual trigger on the outboard end. That way, when you jam the line down into it, it automatically traps it. Or, you can use the manual trip line, to both lock it open & shut it's jaws.
There are a plethora of makes & models.

Most are going to look spendy, but unless you're practiced at/enjoy trying to manipulate a pole with more complex, but cheaper ends. A 3-handed job, while working to keep your balance, hands free, on a rolling foredeck, then the more high tech ends tend to make sense.

Pull up a YouTube video of them jibing a J-24, if my description's unclear. And why I'm a fan of the fancy end fittings. Watch the simultaneous juggling & balancing acts, especially if there's any wind. And keep in mind that most bow guys & gals who do said job, have hundreds, if not thousands of hours on the foredeck... in ALL conditions. Ask me how I know ;-)

PS: A cheapish source for a 2" pole is a used windsurfer mast

 

[SailingJackson]

On my previous boat (36') I elected to get the clip type fittings on either end. That pole could go out to 22' and I got the clip type because it seemed more general purpose. I figured if I were dismasted I could jury rig the pole into a stub mast. When the pole was shipped to me and I opened the box it looked enormous, too big for the boat. Once I got it on the boat it looked tiny and flimsy. In fact, once I was sailing solo and had a big wind shift while I was trying to set the pole. It blew the sail back and the pole bent over the forstay. Luckly it wasn't so bad and I could bend it back straight.

My new boat is 44' and I'm looking at getting an oversized pole just so it isn't so flimsy. I'll probably go to a 4" diameter pole that reaches 27' extended. I've given up the idea of the clip end and I'm going to get the socket type end. It swivels nicely and reduces the risk of torque on the pole when things go south.

GJ

 

[Markwesti]

Jackson , you are talkin about some big stuff. And I'm sayin Hoo Haw . Your the man .