Whisker Pole question

[Michaelecushing]

Hi All,

Any ideas on how this car on the front of the mast should be configured to hold the whisker pole? Should there should be some set screws? Or topping lift?
Currently it just slides up and down the front of the mast. What are those tubes and slots on the side of the car? The boat is an 88 Cal 28-2 (Hunt), the pole is a Forespar twist lock 6-12'. Appreciate any thoughts, thanks.

[BillKny]

That's an odd set up... "set screws" aren't likely to be a good choice. Both for convenience and abuse of the mast.

I'm going to bet the original setup used both up and down hauls to hold the position of the car as the sail wobbled around.

[wingssail]

It looks to me like you need a whisker pole with jaws on both ends. You put the jaws of the inboard end on the forward facing ring of the car.

You need a line, probably a continuous line from the top of the car to a block aloft, which then goes to a block below the car, and back up to the bottom of the car (one line can move the car both up and down).

You need a pair of jam cleats to put the line into to hold its position once you have set it.

I have no idea what the holes on the sides are for.

I also notice some corrosion around the ends of that ring. You should take it off and clean it up before putting a whisker pole on it.

OH! Now I get it. You run your control lines through the holes on the side, leaving plenty of slack, and the "V" shaped part acts as a jam cleat. Neat.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by wingssail

OH! Now I get it. You run your control lines through the holes on the side, leaving plenty of slack, and the "V" shaped part acts as a jam cleat. Neat.

Yep, one control line - from the top of the slider, through a block on the mast, back down through the side holes, through a block at the foot of the mast and then back to the bottom of the slider.


Just enough slack in the loop to be able to pull line out between the side holes and use the jammers.

[Michaelecushing]

That makes perfect sense! So I will need to install a block on the mast, or locate where one once was and reinstall. I'm looking for a picture looking up the mast but not finding one. Guess I'll have to go down to the boat tomorrow Thank you!