Can you identify this dinghy?

Originally posted by Granite You can angle the pole slightly so the tip is on the centerline when extended.

Or if necessary you can angle the pole a lot... here the spinnaker pole is offset on a big bracket so much that the pole retracts into the sidetank but the tip is still on the centreline! Can't think why no-one else did that... Much...

Originally posted by furtive Wing-wangs mean that the pole can retract beyond the front of the mast and be on the centreline of the boat.

Mine retracts behind the mast but is on the centerline when extended. although to do it the way I have you need a tapered pole and that means composite, not aluminium like the L4000

Having the pole off center is not a performance issue, if you are worried by the slight displacement for one gybe, you can angle the pole slightly so the tip is on the centerline when extended.

Aye- I've seen the current pole in Flat Stanley, that just about hits the back when in. And the Iso pole certainly retracts past the mast step too.

Reply to Smight at BBSC.  Yes both the 400 and the 4000 were esigned by Phil Morrison in the mid 90's.  I think the 4000 was first.  As for the wing-wang pole it has its good points and bad.

It wouldn't be worth it on a boat that is much faster than a 4000 since most of the time you'd have the pole central and be blasting.  However when the wind is light it does give you the ability to soak a bit deeper, this makes it particularly useful for the 400 which sails in displacement mode more than the 4000.  But for the 4000 it has one other advantage - the pole can be longer then the dimension between the bow and the mast. 

If you look at the B14 you'll see the mast is set well back in the hull to give a long pole, this puts the weight of the crew and helm rather too near the transom especially on such a short boat.  The 800 is a bit of a compromise the weight is not so far back but the pole is not that long, this is ameliorated by the bow extending forward of the forestay.  The 5000 has yet another solution and the I14 yet another.

Quite an interesting design problem and interesting to see the different solutions.  On balance Phil Morrison was probably right to do what he has done with these 2 designs although it is one more thing to get right during a gybe.

The web site says it can sail directly downwind this certainly sounds impressive. When the 200 was first launched I seem to think it had a large spinni pole to enable to sail directly downwind. I assume this was dropped because it is faster to reach however I am not sure.