What a complete load of bull****.
Have a close look at the mast section and crack at the gooseneck.
Notice anything!

Huh? Being dismasted isn't a terrifying event; no sailor worth their salt should be in terror during a dismasting. You need to be controlling your emotions and doing what has to be done (and yes, I've been there, at 3 am in heavy weather). Personally I'd also be deeply concerned about someone who didn't eat or sleep for three days because they were busy setting up a radar, AIS, Starlink and other things that are completely un-necessary and that people have been going without for centuries. Going three days straight without sleep is just silly; your brain will not work properly, you are likely to suffer dangerous microsleeps, your decision making becomes impaired, and you may hallucinate. Those are far more serious problems than lacking Starlink.

He claims that the Amel is deficient because the Amel where his masts came from went aground, lost a pole, stuck that pole into the bottom, and that force of the pole against the bottom of the sea took the mast out. That seems to be extremely odd. Surely no designer could create a proper rig that is strong enough to take the force of something as rare and bizarre as a boat going ashore and driving the pole into the bottom.

It's fair to say that having a whisker pole that is light enough to act as a sacrificial "fuse" is a good idea in some ways, but I'm biased that way.

julesmoto said..
Yeah pretty sure the track carrying the car with the ring for the inboard end of the pole would be the fuse on my NS. It would simply rip out of the mast if the boat rolled enough to dig the pole in. Wouldn't be using a jockey pole for a headsail would you?

There is quite a sturdy ring riveted directly to the very narrow section mast on my TS so could be a problem there I guess.

Pretty sure your Northshore has a back on the mast section.

The rig for poling out headsails on Amel 54's is enormous. The local one has the twin setup. There is more aluminium there than the average 40 footer has in the whole rig!
On my SS34 I have a whisker pole made from the tops of two windsurfer masts. easy to carry one handed and light when it comes to setting. I'm fairly confident it would snap if it had to.

Good article here;
www.sailmagazine.com/diy/know-how-installing-a-new-whisker-pole

Selden details
support.seldenmast.com/en/products/spinnaker_-_gennaker_hardware/telescopic_-_jockey_poles.html

At this one whisker poles are recommended to be the length of the foot of the longest footed genoa wanted to be poled out.
support.seldenmast.com/files/1390189860/excerpts/595-808-E-146-147.pdf

Other sources suggest 1.25xJ which would work for genoas up to about 130%.

I reckon Ramona is on the right track. You can get a strong two piece carbon sailboard mast for about $2-300 and then get some ends for it. A mast foot for the mast connected to an end fitting. I kept an eye out for some old ends I just bought. Then you can have a nice two piece pole that can store away well and yet be nice and strong enough for most sub 35ish ft boats. (Although my cat is 38ft so I hope the sailboard mast is strong enough)

The Amel does have a huge cutaway in its aft wall. As Amels use twin poles they may not have the pole fitting hanging off the front of the mast. If it is on the side of the mast then the end fitting may not be able to act as a fuse by being wrenched off the front of the mast. I like Ct249s point. You know the world is crazy when getting Starlink, AIS and radar back on is more important than having a sleep with one of the two crew doing the look around every 15 minutes.

My whisker pole is two windsurfer top sections bonded together at the fat ends. Hardware from a Flying Dutchman spinnaker pole. It's probably slightly longer than the J measurement and I use the jockey pole rings on the side of the mast and usually no topping lift.

Bananabender said..
I went to an aluminum tube supplier bought a 6 m length for $40 ,had it cut to size ,bought cheap pole ends from Whitworths.

I've used those cheap nylon pole ends and you have to watch out because they get sloppy and allow the pin to adopt the wrong angle and not lock. Next thing you know it has jumped off the mast.

$40 sounds really cheap. What diameter and wall thickness is that and for what length boat?

julesmoto said..

Bananabender said..
I went to an aluminum tube supplier bought a 6 m length for $40 ,had it cut to size ,bought cheap pole ends from Whitworths.

I've used those cheap nylon pole ends and you have to watch out because they get sloppy and allow the pin to adopt the wrong angle and not lock. Next thing you know it has jumped off the mast.

$40 sounds really cheap. What diameter and wall thickness is that and for what length boat?

I was surprised how cheap aluminium tube is as well. I got it from Vulcan Ullrich . Spinnaker Pole for my Sonata 40mm 1.6mm thick. I also bought a 35 mm length and made up an adjustable mast rest sliding the 35 into the 40 .

Twin headsails downwind.
Admittedly not MUCH wind.