Whisker Pole

[CaptCG]

Hi All,
Looking for a whisker pole to pole out my genny.  Telescoping or not. My J measurement on my 365 sloop is 15'. Any ideas or places to shop ?  Thanks,
Carl
sv Sea Hiker

[Nereid]

Hey I just installed mine.. It scoots out to 20ft i believe. Got it off of Ebay ~$170. The seller had to take the ends off because the limit for shipping items is 12 ft and it was just a few inches over that (collapsed).. Otherwise you're looking at 1K+ for a aluminum pole.

[jpendoley]

$1K and then you have the cost of a storage solution. I want to store mine up the mast on a moveable car and thats not cheap. Has anyone done this?

[Nereid]

That is exactly what I have.. not sure what hardware you have already but I had the T-shaped track that goes from about a foot off of the deck up to just about the spreaders. No clue on the price of those.. my guess you may be able to get a used toe rail from a scrap yard much cheaper..
I had to buy a track that has a horizontal ring on it.. those run ~$120.
Some folks highly recommend using a topping lift and down haul on the pole and just loop a sheet through the furthest end.. I just use a soft shackle to the clew of the jenny (the sheet holds it in place far better than a topping lift would).
The set up seems to work quite alright..

[jpendoley]

Topping lift and down haul make sense, particularly with a furler. I'd want to be able to furl it without disconnecting the pole. The storage up the mast seems like the most expensive piece of kit, but storing it on deck is a tripping hazard and frankly, lifting it and clipping it in place from the deck chocks is a pain-mines quite heavy.

[Nereid]

I am with you there.. up the mast is the best spot. and if the pole isn't fully extended then you can furl it in almost all of the way without needing topping lifts.

[Skookster]

I had sticker shock on a proper pole years ago. A buddy gave me an old fiberglass windsurfer mast that was the right length, and with two pole end fittings (around $120 each if I recall), it snaps into the track fitting on the mast and the clew. Works great.  Doubles as my dinghy crane, and I store it on the deck along the stbd top of coachroof. Clipped on the traveler when stored, it fits snugly between front hatch and stbd ventilator box, never seemed to be a trip hazard.