Let me start first by stating, I opt not to have a spinnaker since I sail
single-handed most of the time. Second sailing in the confined waterways of
the Pac. NW. a spinnaker run normally is relatively short and hardly worth
the trouble (my opinion).

That said: I don't have a spinnaker pole on board but realize I need a
whisker pole for my head sail (on roller furling). My boat is cutter rigged,
plus I have the ability to release the staysail stay and move it back out of
the way when necessary.

I'm about to build a whisker pole and the extrusion I have is 15 ft long. I
have enough room on the mast for 15-18 ft of track without moving any
hardware.

The mast is ~16 ft from the stem plus the bow sprit is 4'9" beyond that. The
staysail stay is about 18" behind the stem. I have enough room to dip the
pole under/behind the staysail stay if I restrict the length to around 16-18
ft.

I plan to store the pole vert. on the mast.

Even though I have roller furling for the head sail, I have several sizes
and often change, depending on the wind predictions and size/experience of
the crew.

What would be the determining factor for a light weight whisker pole??

Recommendations appreciated.


--
Steve
s/v Good Intentions