Jib sheet keeps getting caught under mast mounted spinnaker pole

[Ltfdrebbin]

We have a spinnaker pole mounted on a track on our mast. When we tack, our jib sheet gets caught under this pretty often. The pole is as high as we can go on the track. What is a good solution to stop this from happening?

Thanks!

[Ltfdrebbin]

We have a spinnaker pole mounted on a track on our mast. When we tack, our jib sheet gets caught under this pretty often. The pole is as high as we can go on the track. What is a good solution to stop this from happening?

Thanks!

[MarkSF]

I've had the same problem with my dorade vents. The gold-plated solution would be a custom stainless steel bar, mounted to the deck. Imagine an inverted U shape or similar.

These are what one guy made for the dorade vents :

https://phoenixketch.blogspot.com/20...de-guards.html

[Stu Jackson]

Lower it.

[Marathon1150]

The following is excerpted from a book called "Skipper Tips for Everyday Sailing" F. Gungkel, Adlard Coles Publishing. "...I discovered a solution [to the precise problem in the post - genoa sheet gets stuck between spinnaker pole and mast] in the form of a line rigged from the handrails to the mast. This simple deflector prevents the sheet from getting too close to the fittings and getting tangled up in them." The author points out that this approach also protects any exposed wires going from the mast into the deck, which is not uncommon on many boats.

Another suggestion from the same book (which was edited by the above noted author but consists of contributions from hundreds of sailors to a German sailing magazine). The second suggestion is more complicated but looks effective. Attach pad eyes to the mast and the deck in front of the spinnaker pole and/or wiring, and run a line between the two. I'm not keen to drill holes in the deck, or the mast for that matter, so the first solution looks to be simple but effective.

[Jammer]

Tie a piece of bungee material in a loop around the base of the mast and pull it into the hook of the pole.

[sail sfbay]

Install a flexible plastic shroud at the base of the pole and tie it to the mast.

[tedowens]

I had trouble with my jib sheets catching on the mast mounted winches when tacking. So, I tied two lines from my radar mount down to the deck. One line at a 45 deg angle to starboard and one to port. This creates a triangular area that keeps the sheets away from the mast. The only trouble that I had is that the first lines that I put there were somewhat abrasive an chaffed the lazy sheet. I replaced this with a very soft line, and now it works great.

[Clivevon]

Tie a piece of string around the pole then slightly forward to each of your handrails. Or fix (epoxy?) a couple of small u-bolt padeyes to the deck (to avoid drilling holes in it) & tie the string to that each side of the pole. This is not just theory - using a piece of string completely solved a similar problem for me. (Actually it was outboard starter cord I think but you get my drift..)

[Clivevon]

You could refine the solution by making the string unclippable from the pole..

[thunderhoof]

Can you lower the pole on the track so the pole end nearly touches the deck? If so you could use a short length of plastic tubing that just fits the pole diameter and trapped against the deck to prevent snagging. Add a length of twine from plastic to mast to keep it on the boat.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Tie a piece of bungee material in a loop around the base of the mast and pull it into the hook of the pole.

That's right, there's no need for overkill.

Maybe something a little neater than tying bungee around the mast. It looks like you have a small eye in the forward side of the cast aluminum mast base (almost hidden by a line in the picture). If you don't have that eye in the mast base, then drill and tap to install a small eye-bolt. Then just tie in a short loop of line or bungee to this eye.



Lowering the pole would work but you'd have to get it right down to the deck, where it would eventually cause damage to the gelcoat. If you do this, install a small plate to protect the deck.

[singlespeed]

A 16" piece of 4" diameter PVC sewer pipe that you drop the bottom of the pole end into would be cheap and effective. Just tie a lanyard to it so the foredeck person can tie it out of the way when using the spinnaker.