# Spinnaker vs Whisker Pole



## jr438234606 (Apr 25, 2006)

What is the difference between a Spinnaker Pole and a Whisker Pole? I have a "Whisker Pole" and I am looking for a Car to attach the Whisker Pole to the front of my mast where there is a track. For some reason when I bought the boat, the Car was missing. When I try to find a Whisker Pole Car, I can't find it. Although, I find plenty of Spinnaker Pole Cars. Are they the same thing? Does each have it's own type of Car? My pole is a Forespar.


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## mgiguere (May 22, 2004)

Hi John:

I have both and spinnaker and spinnaker pole and used a wisker pole to pole out the jib on a trip last year. The only difference is, I had to widen the jaws of wisker pole to attach it to the spinnaker car. Not a big deal. 

Moe


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

jr438234606 said:


> What is the difference between a Spinnaker Pole and a Whisker Pole? .... When I try to find a Whisker Pole Car, I can't find it. Although, I find plenty of Spinnaker Pole Cars. Are they the same thing? Does each have it's own type of Car? My pole is a Forespar.


Spinnaker poles are fixed length (usually based on the boat's "J" measurement) and have identical fittings at each end.

Whisker poles - used to pole out a jib or genoa downwind - usually have one car fitting and may have just a pin at the other end, or a similar fitting as well. Whisker poles are also often telescoping to allow adjustment for different sized headsails.

A whisker pole can be used on any car or ring that it will fit on (you can save a lot of money by simply attaching a large ring to the mast - you lose some adjustability, but if cruising it's not a big deal)


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