CarpeDiem 461 Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Hi all, I have some damage to the end of my Spinnaker pole and I am toying with the idea of shortening it rather than replacing it. I need to lop off about 100 - 150mm. The pole at 4.35m is already quite a bit longer than "J" which is 3.85m. The boat is a 10.6 Fractional rig (if that is relevant). Obviously my existing spinnakers (MH and Frac) were both "made to fit" this Spinnaker pole. So what impact would I notice or see if I just shortened it? Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RushMan 31 Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Sweet Fanny Adams... And it will be a little bit easier to gybe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
markm 30 Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 The number to look at is the max width of your kites. Ideally the kite pole should be minimum of about 55% of the max width of your bigger kite, or rule of thumb kite width = 1.8 times pole length. Guessing you probably don't want to cut any more off than you absolutely need to. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CarpeDiem 461 Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 The number to look at is the max width of your kites. Ideally the kite pole should be minimum of about 55% of the max width of your bigger kite, or rule of thumb kite width = 1.8 times pole length. Guessing you probably don't want to cut any more off than you absolutely need to. Thanks for this @markm, very interesting rule. So my sail maker advises that the SMW (maximum width) of the largest spinnaker is 7.6m. I assume that is the right number? So have I worked out correctly that my Spinnaker pole could be a minimum of 4.18m (7.6 * 0.55)? And going the other way if I cut off 150mm from my 4.35m pole, my kite should be 7.56m SMW. (4.2 * 1.8 ) (So the kite will be just a bit wider than the rule of thumb). Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
markm 30 Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Yes, looks good, and it'll even be be easier to jibe, not that this observation should be taken in any way as showing even the smallest degree of sympathy for the bow department Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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