45DS spin pole boot?

[firestarter]

I have a new 45DS that has one "under way" issue that I'm hoping I can get some insight into. When I spec'd the boat out I added the cruising spinnaker package which includes a spin pole that mounts on a frame on the front of the mast when it's not in use. The problem is that when I'm tacking the boat (primarily from starboard to port tack) the lazy jib sheet gets caught frequently under the frame and holds tight (loads up) resulting in a trip to the foredeck and a swift kick to the line to clear it.

Last night things got a little more interesting in 15kts of wind. I went for a tack and it happened again but when the line caught and powered up it was resting against the lip of the hatch over the forward head which exploded the latching mechanism hard enough to take a chunk out of the fiberglass frame that the hatch sits in and scatter latch material around the foredeck. Clearly this is something that needs to get addressed!

So the question is: has anyone else had this problem and, if so, how did you solve it? Seems like the best thing to do would be to put some sort of boot around the bottom of the spin pole frame but I wanted to hear of other's experiences.

[Zanshin]

I had the same problem on my 49DS with the lower end of the spinnaker pole catching the genoa sheets when tacking. I ended up rigging some lines from the pole to the deck in order to deflect the sheets enough so that they wouldn't catch. Before I did that the sheets would usually catch at night during offshore passages when I hadn't rigged jacklines - Murphy strikes again.

[Don Reaves]

My other boat, a Windrider 17 trimaran, has a similar issue. But the factory knew it was an issue and arranged for a couple of bungee cords to deflect the sheet, just as Zanshin describes. It sounds like you should be able to do the same thing for very little cost and effort.

Sorry to hear about the damage to your new boat. I have a friend who bought a 45DS this spring. I'll be sure to tell him about it so he doesn't have the same problem.

Don

[MalcolmP]

Same on the 39i with the pole stowed up the mast. I rig a line (when I remember...) from spi pole uphaul cleat across to the foredeck tang for the spi downhaul - that fixs it

[firestarter]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've got a basic fix for the hatch lever while I wait for a new one to be delivered from Lewmar. I'll try rigging some lines as suggested and I'm also thinking about putting in a slanted section of toe rail in front of the hatch lip to prevent anything like that from happening again. It wasn't such a big deal on the Chesapeake in 3-4' waves and 15kts of wind but if there was more serious weather it could present a real problem, especially if the lever components ended up in the water instead of on deck.

BTW, I ordered 2 latch sets just in case...

[deandavis1]

Thanks for the suggestions as well. I have the same problem. I had a "boot" put on the sail to protect they eye from catching with some success but not 100%. I'll try the cord.