How high up on the mast should I put the hardware for a spinnaker pole?

Thanks!

It'd be helpful to know what kind of boat you have and what kind of
sailing you're doing... Ideally you want the pole to be square to the
mast for most extension and the clews of you symmetrical spinnaker to
be even and the curl of the luff to be about two-thirds of the way to
the top. However, you can't make that happen with a single attachment
point most of the time. In practice, if you have only one attachment
it will probably work best if it is about chest high when you are
standing next to the mast in the position you will take when gybing
(ie. on the foredeck of a keel boat or just aft of the mast in the
cockpit in a dingy). For smaller boats this will be good enough and
any deficiencies in pole height can be compensated by moving the
outboard end up or down. On larger boats you will need a track on the
mast and it must run high enough so that the pole can be swung through
the fore-triangle and, on a cruising boat, maybe high enough so the
pole can be stowed on the mast.

Good luck,

-- Tom.

I was planning on just a ring. (Btw., how do I attatch it to the mast?)
Relaxed day sailing and a bit of cruising.
Symmetrical, I am not sure how wide. (Comes from an Ericson 27)
I: 34.5, J: 11.5 (Newport 27S)

Thanks!!


Chris,
You have to give us some kind of idea what you are working with here.
Are you mounting a track or just a ring?
Are you racing or cruising?
Will you be running an A-sail or symetrical?
And if the latter how broad shouldered?
And lastly,
What are I (hoist height) & J (mast to stem head) of this rig?
Some one here can help, but shoulder hight is not necessarily a good
answer for all cases.

Most people use stainless pop rivets (monel if available) isolated from
the mast with a bit of durlac or similar to attach a ring. It's still
hard to come up with a specific height for your case because I don't
know how tall the kite is. If you have access to the boat you're
taking the sail from you could run a tape measure from the mast head
down to their attachment and make yours about the same distance.

When you say "relaxed" day sailing I'm guessing that you're talking
light winds so you may be able to get away with a slightly lower pole
position. Your boat is just on the upper edge of end-for-end gybing
size wise. Racing crews would certainly do end-for-end gybes, but a
short handed cruiser might opt for dip pole gybes and/or a sock. Since
you only want one attachment point you are stuck with end for end gybes
but be aware that as the wind comes up getting the pole made on the
mast will require a good deal of muscle. Having the pole attachment
mid to upper chest level for the person at the mast will make those
gybes as easy as they can be. For your service I think making things
easy is probably the most important factor. If you have a local sail
maker or sailing coach you might try and get them to drop by for a bit
of more specific advise.

-- Tom.

Chris,

I you are not racing this becomes a low - load issue.
Height is not real critical if you are not racing, but almost any nice
working height will do fine for cruising with a symetrical, A-sails like
a lower pole - typically.

You can attach to the mast with screws - either sheet metal or machine
(require tapping the mast and a thicker section).

Big blind (pop) rivets will also work, but they require a big rivet
puller.

Be sure that the rind saddle fits the mast well, you may have to hammer
on it a bit to get the fit solid.

Enjoy -

Matt Colie A.Sloop "Bonne Ide'e" S2-7.9 #1
Lifelong Waterman, Licensed Mariner and Pathological Sailor


Chris wrote:

I was planning on just a ring. (Btw., how do I attatch it to the mast?)
Relaxed day sailing and a bit of cruising.
Symmetrical, I am not sure how wide. (Comes from an Ericson 27)
I: 34.5, J: 11.5 (Newport 27S)

Thanks!!



Chris,
You have to give us some kind of idea what you are working with here.
Are you mounting a track or just a ring?
Are you racing or cruising?
Will you be running an A-sail or symetrical?
And if the latter how broad shouldered?
And lastly,
What are I (hoist height) & J (mast to stem head) of this rig?
Some one here can help, but shoulder hight is not necessarily a good
answer for all cases.

You will need two rings at least. One for running (higher) and one for
reaching (lower). I would suggest you talk to a sailmaker for the optimum
height.