Spinnaker pole as a prod?

[Nzgrant 19]

I have hesitated before posting this as some may find this to be the stupidist question ever. But. I have a South Pacific 42 and it came with a gennaker which I have never used before. When using it the pulpit at the bow is in the way of the bottom tack line.

Is it a sensible idea to attach the spinnaker pole to the bow in order to get the bottom corner clear of the pulpit?

[Battleship 100]

Nice boat,

probably more likely a cruising chute rather than a gannaker, it should be fine running off the pole, especially if you want to soak off downwind with it.

[Black Panther 1,767]

But more work - the cruising solution would be do what's easiest and harden up a tad if necessary.

[madyottie 82]

Are you not able to run the whole thing a little higher by just easing the tackline so it's above the pulpit?

 

Alternatively you could hook the kite pole on to the tack and winch it to windward like a normal kite, but as BP says, it's a lot of extra work, probably not worth the hassle unless you're going the same way for a long time.

[gurge 0]

How much work is putting up a pole. Then if you want to run a bit more square just pull the pole a little bit aft. Sailing is also fun its not always the least amount of work. Otherwise you would never pull the sails up at all.

[Nzgrant 19]

Thanks for the replies, all helpful.

 

With the tack line attached to the bow roller and winched all the way down we seem to be able to sail to 60 degrees apparent wind. Should we be able to tweek this further? Would having it recut to have a shorter luff so it could be tightened further help?

[Battleship 100]

Looks like a fairly old fashioned cut to me but more knowledgeable guys are around, perhaps PM Booboo.

If it were me I'd save my pennies and put it towards something more suitable if I wanted to sail hotter angles, keep an eye on sail brokers they come up from time to time.

[ex TL systems 63]

Would be nice to have a short fixed prod , even 600mm past the bow should clear the pulpit without getting in the way too much when anchoring or docking.