Spin Pole boom Bag
This topic contains 18 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by 
-
Posts
-
Anyone have specs. for a boom bag for spin. pole?
Thanks!Jim I don’t have any specs but would like to add to this string. When I first bought Opus Dei I consulted with Chuck Queen, and he sailed both ways with and without the boombag. I took him at face value when he said he would rather sail without it. Does anyone have pros and cons? It seems also that a Forte “rodeo” style pole(no bridles, D-rings lashed to center of pole, would work best with this set up. Any thoughts?
I have been using my Forte carbon pole with D rings and a bag. DEFINITY fast for pole removal and storage. No tangles! Down and away in a couple of seconds. Bag: it has to have an open end as the pole will stick out. I would recommend that the bag taper some to a smaller size aft. It would still be double the size of the pole to prevent binding. The pole is in your face a little bit, but with carbon..not as much fear. Front opening should be about an 8″ diameter. This opening needs a stiff wire sewn into the opening to keep the bag open. The wire needs to make a circle and be fastened into a hoop that won’t come apart (I have to fix mine). We leave the pole lift and downhaul attached when it stows. I can’t imagine NOT using the boom bag. (BTW..we put the bag on the stbd side of the boom)
I would state that the weight is offset by our boomkicker..I think every olson needs one of those as well.
2 cents please.
No genoa sheet resets..ever!
Length: measure from about 3″ in front of boom aft band to about 3″ from gooseneck. I would say that is 10ft roughly. Aft consideration is the outhaul tack moving for & aft. Front..only consideration is the tack of the mainsail foot. Should have a tie at both ends.
I agree that the boom bag is an indispensable item for course racing. It is a no-brainer in my opinion…if you need to do a quick tack at the leeward mark and you have a foredeck that knows how to use the bag, you can tack within about 5 seconds of having the chute down.
I have played with different home-designs, and have settled on a closed end version. I found that open ended versions would catch when you are trying to pull the pole out. Yes, the closed end will extend past the end of the boom. When it is empty, it will lay down a bit. I have rigged a hard attachment (read-quarter inch bolt with wing nut) at the very aft end of the boom that is attached to the bag in order to minimize the issue.
Yes, you need a stiff front end. I used some old lifeline that I had. Sew it in just like a bolt rope. You do need a method for tying the front of the bag to the boom so that it does not get forced aft with each douse. I put a bolt-rope in the top of the bag to keep it in the boom. If your main is captive-footed, you will need to attach it with rivets or the like.
Of note, my bag ends about 12 inches aft of the mast, and is around 6-8 inches in diameter. The aft end must allow the forward end of the pole to stay behind the mast, or you will end up binding and having trouble if you need to set on port (yes, my pole is carried on starboard).
Old School do you have a “rodeo” pole? It seems as though the bridles would make a tangled mess trying to get in and out of the bag. Do you have to adjust the topping lift and downhaul with each set or do you just blow both and the foredeck shoves it into the bag?
If I remember right Chuck said the bag was visually disturbing and the constant banging upwind was also a distraction. He did make the comment that the crew liked it better.
We use ABS plastic pipe cut to about 6 inches long. we have one on port and starboard riveted to boom near end. At the tack end of boom we have a stainless cable in a loop that the spin pole jaws clip on to leaving the pole fully supported and we leave up haul and down haul connected so it a simple matter to hoist. One of the Olsons here had a bag and later switched to this system they said they liked it better and it holds the pole higher on boom for less danger of a tacking mishap of boom bag hitting a crew members head.
When I got my boat..it had plastic pipe joints on BOTH sides of the boom. This is because you can’t put the boom away if the mast is in the way. With the bag..doesn’t matter because the opening is large enough that even if the boom is to starboard you can still put the pole in. YES..you do have to have the pole end aft of the mast to prevent binding. Bridles will work..a bit more work to insert in the bag. We just dump the pole lift/downhaul out of the cleats during takedown.
Thanks gang. We do have bridles, though blowing the topping lift and foreguy will allow them to slide into the bag w/o any problems. I don’t like the extra weight up high etc. but I think the saving in time and foredeck mess will out weight this.
We have never had a significant issue with the bridles, and we have old-school crimped bridles to boot. You do have to blow the topper, but we leave the foreguy. We have the foreguy lead to a block at the base of the mast, so it works. If the block is up near the hatch, then you would have to blow it foreguy.
I have never noticed my bag banging or clanking. Perhaps Chuck’s bag was larger than mine…
It should be noted that, in my opinion, the real advantages of this system can only be realized if 1) your foreguy attachement is aft of the hatch and 2) that you douse and launch from the forward hatch. If you are one of the boats that clings onto dousing into the companionway for reasons that I have never understood, you will not get the advantages.
Here is a pic of my bag. Click “view” at the bottom of the page to see the whole image…for some reason the forum is not shrinking down the full size shot.
What a great informative group we have. It loos like I will have to get out of the stone age and add a boom bag.
Chris
I doubt you will regret it once your foredeck figures it out. For boats that do primarily distance stuff, there would be no real advantage to using this system.
Here is a picture of my boom bag. You can see the pole out the end…it really is not a distraction or problem because it is carbon. The full metal might be more intimidating!
What material do you have it made from?
Mine is a heavy sunbrella…sailmaker made it. Same stuff as mainsail covers or roller furl covers.
Wow Bruce, that thing hangs low! How often does your crew get hit with it?
Mine is also made of sunbrella. I made the fore opening out of a heavier nylon strapping material for better abrasion resistance.
On another boat, I had a bag made of old, work dacron. I found it too floppy and more difficult to use than sunbrella. If it were made out of new, fairly firm dacron, I am sure it would be fine. Sunbrella has better colours, though! (note…my sunbrella was a remnant that I scrounged up, so no comments on the taupe colour)
It is light..no one hit in three years.
Forgot to add: it was made for the aluminum pole..bigger diameter.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.