whiskers

Posted By: Charley-487
Date: 4/25/07 4:13p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: Whiskers anyone? (Gene Bragalone - #485/5.2)

A whisker pole is useful on a long run when you can't set a chute. I bought a Forespar 4-8ft pole with mast ring and it does work well, but we found that it isn't worth the trouble on a short run. At the Nationals in Ocala we found that the movement of the crew around the boat and the delay when jibing caused by the pole justified leaving it at home. The technique we used is as follows: In light air the crew sits just aft of the shrouds on the leeward side and holds the jib sheet out and about a foot off the deck. As the wind increases the crew needs to move aft, if your crew doesn't have extra long arms, as he move's aft he'll trim the jib. To offset this problem we pass a short ( 5')length of line around the jib sheet. The crew can sit aft and control the jib and we have the freedom to jibe or head up at anytime. This is a real tactical advantage when in close quarters or a shifty breeze. Charley 487