Want To Buy: Seeking 20' spinnaker pole

[phydeaux]

Contact Randy Risvold at Forespar 949 858 8820, and ask what Forespar has in the "dock Box" or in "Scratches and Dings". They often have new poles with marred but not damaged in packing or shipping at VERY reasonable prices. That's how I got my carbon pole. Email salestechsupport@forespar.com.

[Atraxia]

Thanks a lot for all your replies!!
Will give them all a try.

Only time, I sent you a PM.

Thanks guys!
Ron

[UNCIVILIZED]

Atraxia,
I know that this is a Super Long reply. But hopefully it helps you find a pole on the cheap, as well as giving you some options as well. That'll help both your budget, & your sailing; in other ways.
Plus, it's written for the edification of anyone contemplating looking at poles, to whom, they, or using spinnakers are new.

That said, you can get a set of new pole ends, from a number of suppliers, for under $1k pyacht.com for example. And there are literally pages, & pages of links to various used nautical gear chandleries online. Where you should be able to find both; poles, & pole ends, for far, far less.
The same is sometimes true in terms of snagging them from spar makers. or simply from boatyards, who have spare or unused; spars, poles, & hardware just laying around. Ditto on Ebay, etc.

Regarding Carbon Fiber poles. Be VERY careful regarding what you order/purchase. As carbon is Super fragile, especially in spinnaker poles, unless specially ordered... and even then, it still often is.
Specially ordered, meaning that the layup of the material is far, far thicker than is the case with a racing pole, & at times it's reinforced with other (less, again, less fragile) composites as well.

Spinnaker/whisker poles commonly get knocked about a lot. It's almost unavoidable, given their job & how they're rigged. Unless you have a full, well trained, deck crew. Or are an expert solo sailor.

I state as much, because impacts which an aluminum pole will just shrug off, with maybe a nick in the paint, will destroy many carbon poles. And even if you ding, or full on bend, an aluminum pole, they're typically easily fixable. Which, obviously isn't the case with carbon fiber ones.

Also, there are some simple techniques to make handling aluminum poles fairly easy. Even ones far larger than what you're looking for.
As solo, I have no qualms about using a pole on a 50'er, with a pole 25'+ long. And that's on the heavy size, diameter & weight wise, compared to what you're looking at.

Plus, since the aluminum tubing for poles is pretty cheap, it only makes sense to either.
- Pick up enough for another entire pole, when you're buying the first section.
- Or buy an extra 4'-6' (1.5m - 2m) along with enough for your main pole. Plus a slightly undersized, diameter wise, piece too.

That way, if bend your pole, & have to cut out & sleeve a section, in order to repair it, then you have all of the materials on hand to do so.
Albeit, the other option's preferable (buying a 2nd, full section). Particularly, an Over Length, “Penalty Pole” sized one (see below). Then you can swap out the ends & hardware between the two tubes at will.

One other KEY tip: Unless you're racing, & your pole is thus measured under the rating rules. You should seriously consider buying/making your pole a bit over length (possibly even if you're racing too). AKA a "Penalty Pole".
Especially if you won't be doing any dip pole gybes. Or your pole's mast track goes up high enough so that you can swing an over length pole in between the spar & the headstay easily.

Because a pole which is a few feet longer than standard, can get the spinnaker out into clearer air. So that it's not blanketed by the main so much. And this makes you a lot less likely to have problems controlling the boat with a kite up.
As with such a pole, it moves your sailplan's center of effort forward, when sailing downwind. By projecting the leading edge (luff) of the kite out further (into clear air).

Some of the (control) issues which it prevents are/can be:
- Rounding Up
- Being Roll Prone/Doing "Death Rolls". Meaning where the boat rolls from one gunwale to another, or sometimes further.
- Having rudder control/responsiveness issues. Or even having the rudder come fully clear of the water on some waves. And or, when the boat rolls heavily.

So it's worth checking out, to see if it makes sense for you. Perhaps via attaching a tape measure to your mast mounted hardware, & sliding the car all of the way up. And then measuring the distance to your headstay at waist level.
That'll tell you the max sized pole which will fit, for dip pole gybes. Which are the conventional sort.

Though with an Over Length Pole, you can always;
~ Pull the snuffer down over the kite, disconnect it from the pole. Then unhook the pole's butt end, & move the pole's tip through the foretriangle that way. Reconnecting it's butt, & re-setting the kite after that’s done.
~ Or drop the kite, move the pole over, & re-hoist it on the other gybe.
~ And with a good crew: Stabilize the kite & boat DDW, while you disconnect the pole’s Butt end, & move the pole across that way. Re-connecting it to the kite on the new gybe.

One other reason for looking into an Over Length Pole, is; if you're going to fly Asymmetrical Spinnakers (A-Sails). As on some boats, what's done then, is to take the Butt end of the pole down almost to the Deck. And lock it into position up forward with the Foreguy, & Afterguy (sometimes with a 3rd line too.
Then the extra length, which protrudes past the headstay/pulpit, is used as a "sprit" for flying some types of A-Sails.

Much as you'll commonly see them flown from either;
- Fixed (short) sprits built into the bows of boats.
- Longer, retractable sprits on the bows of boats. Such as J-Boats, & Sport Boats, & racing Multihulls.
- Deck Mounted, detachable sprits.
- Articulating sprits built onto the bows (or crossbeams) of some boats.

However, if the pole with it's Butt end mounted with it's Butt end on the mast, protrudes out in front of the boat, then you can vary it's angle when flying an A-Sail, just as you do with a Conventional (Symmetrical Spinnaker).
Thus, you can get the sail's luff out into clearer air, where it's not blanketed by the Main.
And also so that you can fly an A-Sail at deeper angles. Ones giving an A-Sail a much greater range of wind angles that it can be flown through, then from a fixed sprit.

Plus, on some boats, you can simply run the Butt of the pole down to the deck, at the mast, & strap it into a set of chocks up at the bow. And use it as a fixed sprit for A-Sails that way.

[UNCIVILIZED]

PS: If you find a pole that's out of your area, you can sometimes get them shipped along with a boat, or mast, that's being moved (or trailered). Shipped via truck (freight). And via other creative ride hitching.
Via; posting ads, word of mouth, especially other sailors... Riggers in particular, or heck, even Ebay or Craig's List. As something that size will even fit inside of some U-Haul trucks.

[svadagio]

I have a 4.5 in dia by 20 ft spinnaker pole I want to sell. It is Forespare. I have the pole car with it for 1.25 track. The problem is I am in Le Marin Martinique right now. Will head down to Grenada for the Hurricane season. If you make it out here and do not have a pole before then give me a shout.
Bob

[Atraxia]

Thanks Uncivilized for the comprehensive reply!!
As Atraxia weighs 28 tons, I won't be doing much racing with her
but will definitely check up on your tips!!
I am limited with the amount of time and availability of internet and then there is the issue of shipping of course.

Thanks again!
Ron

[Atraxia]

Originally Posted by svadagio

I have a 4.5 in dia by 20 ft spinnaker pole I want to sell. It is Forespare. I have the pole car with it for 1.25 track. The problem is I am in Le Marin Martinique right now. Will head down to Grenada for the Hurricane season. If you make it out here and do not have a pole before then give me a shout.
Bob

Thanks Bob!
As much as it fits us like glove to hand, we will unfortunately not make it down to Martinique this season and shipping it here is almost as difficult as a lunar landing.
Thanks non the less.
Safe and happy sailing to Grenada!
Ron