[quote=vman]Funny, I am in the process of doing this on my Hobie Getaway. I am considering having it articulate to allow better down wind performance. Racers may not want to lose the time on tacks to play with this, but for recreational sailors it may be worth it, especially if you are doing long down wind runs. On short down wind runs it would be just as easy to gybe back and forth. They also don't have front tramps to worry about cluttering up. I want the pole below the tramp to keep it clear. I think your boat also has a forward tramp.
The pole would need to be mounted to a modified V below the main cross beam. This would accomplish a few things, the front of the pole would be elevated to allow you to see under it. It would also help to keep from stuffing the tack and sail into the waves and it would also give you some space between the tramp and the pole, which would allow you to walk or lay on the tramp without hitting the pole below it. All of this depends on how much visibility you want, the water conditions you sail in, flat waters or open seas and how tight your tramp is.
My thoughts on fabrication are as follows. Determine the length of your pole. Tie the pole to the forward spreader bar that your tramp is attached to. Allow the pole to hang 3" below the bar to compensate for any upward lift when the sail is loaded. Now you can determine the height at the forward end of the pole and the angle needed to get this height. At the aft end of the pole, measure how far below the main cross beam the pole needs to be to achieve this angle. This is the height of the modified V. This V would need to be flat at the bottom to allow a pin or bolt to attach to the bottom of it. The pole would rotate on this pin against the bottom of the V. \_/
At the forward end of the pole attach two low stretch lines, these would pass through turning blocks at the outward ends of your front cross beam and continue aft to cam cleats on the main cross beam. These two lines would keep the pole from rising and would also allow you to control the position of the pole, center, port, starboard.
I am not sure if my pole will articulate but it will be below the front tramp. I would like to here from anyone who has done this, or has a good reason as to why it should not be done. One last thought on this. I have also considered doing this with a 4' pole attached to the front cross beam instead of running it back to the main cross beam, but I am really uncertain as to how well the front cross beam would hold up, even if I reinforced it.
Looking forward to any and all input on this.
Vern[/quote]
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