Our pole end with its plunger closed



On 12 Meters racing for the America’s Cup through 1987, one of the signature maneuvers was the “dip pole” jibe, and it was emulated by big boats everywhere. Each corner (clew) of the spinnaker had two lines (a sheet and a guy) attached to it. When the boat turned to jibe, the outboard end of the pole would be released from the “old” guy, while the inboard end was raised up a track on the mast. That allowed the outboard end to be lowered and swung through inside the forestay during the jibe. ("Trip!)

Jaw open, trip lever raised



The cool part was that the rock-star bow man (or woman) would run forward with the new (“lazy”) guy from the other side, straddle the forestay facing aft, and slam the new guy into the end of the pole as it swung through – not an OSHA-approved move with no lifelines and the boat surfing downwind.

An essential piece of equipment for this was a fitting with a trip mechanism on the outboard end of the pole. As the jibe started, this fitting would need to be “opened” to release the old guy, and would have to stay open as the pole swung across the foredeck to accept the new (lazy) guy. The new guy would be pressed hard down against a trip bar, which would close the plunger with the new guy captive in the jaw, and the pole would swing up to the spinnaker on the new windward side as that guy was tightened.

When the line hits the trip mechanism, the plunger closes again.



Here’s Our Problem

The spinnaker pole that came with our boat was set up for dip-pole jibes, with a jaw on one end that locked open. But while dip pole jibes are fine on big boats, a J/35 isn’t that big. The previous owner must have preferred dipping the pole, but we found on our previous J/35 that end-for-end jibes are a whole lot easier. We still have a sheet and a guy attached to each clew of the spinnaker, but we take the pole off the mast and switch it sideways during the jibe. The new guy gets put right in at the mast rather than at the bow, and nobody needs to move the pole up the mast or adjust the pole topping lift.

Wire tie restrains trip bar



But . . . we don’t want to have to slam the new guy into the end fitting to close the jaw. We want to be able to open it, put the line in, and have the plunger spring back in place. One end of the pole was already set up that way, but the end with the trip bar was causing problems.


A little tape over the wire tie completes the job.



Before I could dig out my list to write, “Remove pole end, dismantle trip mechanism,” Stuart MacNeil had the problem solved. “Just put a wire tie around the trip bar,” he said. Fantastic! – the tie keeps the bar from locking the plunger open, and the end works just like a small-boat spinnaker pole end fitting, opening and closing when we pull or release the line running along the pole. Cost: Pennies. Time: A few minutes. Problem: Solved. Thanks Stu!

Editor's Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on used boat repairs. Previous posts include:

To Buy a Boat or Not to Buy a Boat

Used Boat Ads

How to Talk with the Broker

Looking at the Boat

Reaching an Agreement

Choosing a Name

Keel Repair and Fairing

Working with Boatyards

Rigging Your Mast

Adjusting the Mast Step

Sailboat Rigging: Blocking and Sealing the Mast Partners

Paul Grimes is an engineer and marine surveyor living in Portsmouth, RI. For more information, visit the Grimes Yacht Services website.