Bill wrote:
I am looking for some bamboo poles in the Los Angeles area to be used
as spars. The recommendation from a bamboo specialist that also sails
is to use Phyllostachys nigra 'Henon' but I can't find any poles for
sale in the area. I would prefer it around 3" diamter and 22' long.
I could pick it up if it s relatively close but the only place on the
net I have found is in Boston. Thanks for the info.

Apropos of nothing at all, in desperation, we tried using a bamboo pole
as a whisker pole while crossing the Pacific. We had been keeping our
eyes open for almost a year, trying to find a real one but to no avail.
Finally, while in Bahia de Caracas, Ecuador, we bought a bamboo pole
from a construction site (I think it cost us all of $2) and cut it down
to size. It was about 3" at the thick end and about 2 1'2" at the
skinny end.

It worked great for awhile, but the first time the wind got up to 18
kt.s, the compression load snapped it. Suddenly, there I was, up on the
fore deck about 2 or 3 in the morning (why do these things always happen
then), madly scrambling to derig the thing and get it over the side
before the sharp, broken ends could rip the sail.

As expensive as they are, I'll have a real one with me before I take of
the next time.

- Dan Best