A spinnaker pole being used to set a conventional symmetric spinnaker
A
spinnaker pole is a
spar used in
sailboats (both
dinghys and
yachts) to help support and control a variety of
headsails, particularly the
spinnaker. However, it is also used with other sails, such as
genoas and
jibs, when sailing
downwind with no spinnaker hoisted. (Since the load on a spinnaker pole is very light on this
point of sailing, sometimes a special light spinnaker pole called a
whisker pole is used in these circumstances.)
The spinnaker pole is rigged to run from the base of the mast, where there is a special fitting for attaching one end of the pole, out to windward over the side of the boat. There, one of the control lines of whichever sail it is to be used with is run through a fitting on the other end of the spinnaker pole. This allows for more precise control of the corner of the sail to which the line is attached.
For a spinnaker, the line attached to the pole is the guy, or brace, and the corner is the tack. For other headsails, such as a jib, the line would be the sheet, attached to the clew.
A special line, the [[
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