Whisker pole for singlehanding?

[Joe Myerson]

Yesterday I skippered Crème Brûlée in our local club's "Anything That Sails" race. Conditions were terrible for a CD-style boat, near calm and, because of a wind shift, two loooong, hot downwind legs. Having me as skipper didn't help (no excuses--I totally botched the start).

Our class included a Quickstep 24 and a Marshall 22 catboat. We came in dead last, passing the Marshall on upwind legs, only to get skunked when they pulled up the board and planed past with the wind at their back. The Quickstep had a deck sweeper genny and a whisker pole, as well as the area's best racer onboard.

Anyway, Since I don't have a spinnaker,and almost always sail alone, I was wondering if a whisker pole would improve my boat's downwind performance, and if it's something I could comfortably handle solo. Or, would an assymetrical spinnaker or drifter be easier to use singlehanded? Any suggestions?

Joe

[tjr818]

Joe,
We have a whisker pole aboard Slainte, our 27, in the very light winds of late summer we will use it to pole out our 150 genoa. I works, and I have done it single handing, BUT when those very light winds of late summer become strong gusts it leads to some frantic moments on the foredeck. Perhaps if I had a tiller pilot it would be easy to do single handing, but I have this fear of falling overboard and watching the tiller pilot hold Slainte steady on her course as I have to turn a swim for shore So we do not use a tiller pilot. I do think our 150 genoa is just too heavy for the light winds. It seems to be about 7oz cloth. I really want to get a drifter or asymmetric for late summer, but I am not sure which would be the best. We primarily day sail so what wherever we end up down wind or up wind, we eventually have to turn around and the wind will be 180 degrees opposite.
Our whisker pole is a two piece telescoping model that collapses to about 8 feet in length. Think about where you will keep something like that on a 25D, it does not fit well on a 27.

[Jim Walsh]

I have a line drive whisker pole which is pretty easy to deploy. I rig a preventer to hold the mainsail boom in place and just do as well as I can. I would love to have an asymmetrical but I haven't yet been able to justify the investment for those rare times I'm running dead downwind.

[Andy Denmark]

Joe,

At the risk of starting another endless, and fruitless, debate like free wheeling vs fixed or tiller vs wheel, let me offer the following:

Sailing dead downwind is the absolute slowest point of sail there is as you simply cannot exceed the speed of the wind. Better to sail in a criss-cross pattern with a series of broad reaches. A pole isn't needed (matter of fact I don't even carry one aboard). I'm not talking about drastic course changes here --- 8 to 12 degrees either side of the wind line with the leg distances varying according to where the next mark is located. Sail set is nowhere near close reaching angles and a little experimenting with this will show the optimum course and trim. Headsail trim is usually just prior to the sail collapsing on itself, main out and vanged down. If this is to be a long leg then I'll move the car forward a few holes to make the headsail more "tubular." (Don't know how else to phrase this)

Of course you must jibe out on the corners but you are going downwind so boat speed continues to work in your favor toward the mark.

I've successfully raced Rhiannon over the years and we use this technique whether sailing spinnaker or non-spinnaker class. It almost always makes us money over the boats sailing dead down. One of the less obvious advantages is that you have clear air because you stay clear of the "parade" of boats, all going the same relative speed, sucking up what wind there is, as they all head down the rhumb line.

Like anything else, this is something you need to practice to learn the best sail sail sets, block positions, etc. Set the GPS in "popcorn" mode and you can see your tacking angles vs course headings in retrospect and adjust accordingly. And if you plot the race course and wind direction it's easy to see which legs to lengthen (or shorten) to "fit" the course layout.

In racing circles this techniques is called "tacking downwind" -- a bit confusing as what I've described is a series of jibes. Go figure???

Hope this helps.

Andy

[tjr818]

Andy,
What type of headsail are you using with this method?

[Andy Denmark]

Typically the 135% genny but the 94% "working jib" works better if there's much wind. I barber haul the smaller sail to the outboard track to give it the "tubularity" referenced earlier... easy to do with a "whip" to a more forward lifeline stanchion.

If wind is steady and I'm single handing then "Otto" can sometimes hold course steady enough to steer the boat. If there is any wave action, though, he can't do it.

I've always been amazed at those people who seem to automatically assume that offwind legs are not places where gains can be made in a race. This is the best way I've found to surprise those folks. It's a bit deceptive as the gains usually don't become apparent until the end of the leg.

FWIW,

Andy

[Gary H]

I participate in our club races with my 22D about one weekend each month. I have a 130 genny and would regularly lose ground in the downwind leg. This year, I started using a whisker pole when going downwind and now stay ahead of the pack. It has made a considerable difference in my case. As for storing it, I bought whisker pole holders that attach to the stanchions and it is pretty much out of the way on a 22.

I used an Asymmetrical spinnaker for the first time this week. You will move in the lightest air, but for me it would be too cumbersome to raise and lower in a short race. In a longer race in light air it would make a real difference.

Jim - the asymmetrical actuall does not work best when straight downwind. It is designed for a broad reach up to 80 degrees from straight downwind. You pull the sheets tighter so it flies more to the side the boat. If you are single handling, you will want a sock to make it easier to hoist and douse.

[Joe Myerson]

Thanks, all (and more advice/opinions are sure to come).

Andy, I fly a 135 genny, and have always tacked downwind when cruising or daysailing. The wind was so light yesterday that it certainly wouldn't have helped much--I should work on my starts. But I agree with you about running downwind, I generally avoid it.

Barry, your experience sounds valid for me, too. On Buzzards Bay most of the legs are short, so investing in an assymetrical headsail would probably not be worth it.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Joe

[Steve Laume]

Joe, I am assuming you have a crew when racing. In that case an asymmetrical spinnaker, equipped with a sock, would be quick and easy to handle. You might not look like one of the professional race crews but it couldn't take you more than a couple of minuets to deploy or dowse the thing if you had everything set up and had practiced a bit before race day.

Down wind sails are really fun to fly and very pretty too. Steve

[Neil Gordon]

Joe, was not that long ago you asked if it was worth buying anything larger than a working jib.

[Joe Myerson]

Neil, I think it was about 10 years ago.

[Klem]

There is no question that a whisker pole will improve your downwind performance. It will also help to stabilize your sail plan when conditions get a bit rolly. You can certainly set one by yourself but you need to be careful and have some form of autopilot (I used to set one without an autopilot and it got kind of hectic). I really like whisker poles but they do not usually result in the fastest downwind vmg in lighter airs. In heavier air where your limitation is hull speed so going dead downwind results in the fastest vmg, whisker poles can be great. As we do most of our sailing in unprotected areas where there is usually some swell, a whisker pole make all the difference in making downwind (this includes broad reaching) sailing more pleasant.

There are also several specialty light air sails that could potentially help your racing career. Be aware though that many of these will change your handicap. If you are not looking for a lot of excitement, I would stay away from anything set on a pole. Since your boat is small, the best bet would likely be something like an asymmetrical in a snuffer. With an autopilot it is possible to set one of these solo without too much excitement although it is a bit of a pain not having someone on the sheet as you operate the snuffer. I find these sails to be a lot of fun to fly but we only actually put one up maybe 8 days a year. If it gets rolly, you won't be able to keep the sail full. These sails are used for tacking downwind in lighter airs where heading dead downwind is slow.

To me, the decision would come down to how serious I am about racing and how calm the waters are where I sail. If I raced a lot, I would probably go for a spinnaker in a snuffer as my first purchase provided I didn't sail in a place that normally has large waves. For a cruiser, I would probably choose a whisker pole as it can take the truly annoying downwind sailing days where everything is slamming and turn them into nice outings.

[Dick Villamil]

with 0 to 2 knots of wind you should try light air sheets (1/4 inch or 3/16"). They don't weigh the clew of the genny down letting the wind make a better shape of the sail. Each boat has a better downwind tacking angle but 15 degrees off dead down wind is a good place to start. Also, use magnetic cassette recording tape for telltales - they flutter in the least amount of wind (nobody on my crew smokes anymore - the smoke was a better telltale during those drifters).

[Maine_Buzzard]

Gary- It the photo above an asymmetrical or a symmetrical spinnaker? It looks like a conventional racing spinnaker hung from the bow. I've used one like that to go nearly dead down, they work well without the mainsail to about 20 degrees off dead down.

[Gary H]

It is asymmetrical. Not as drastic difference between the luff and leach as some which makes it more versatile, allowing for a wide range of sailing angles - from dead down wind to almost a reach.