Technically, the measurement should be taken from a point directly below the hound on the mast, as the amount that the chute "lays back" determines the angle of lift; that is, what percentage of the lift generated is vertical versus horizontal. With a pole length of zero, all lift is horizontal and you are talking about your main sail. The Aussie 18 skiffs use very long poles, and frequently triple-trap off the rack which extends 2 feet or more aft of the transom.
http://www.18footer.org/Galleries/D...ternational_Championship_2002&Page=2The boats would reverse-pitchpole if they tried that upwind. This is why we run footstraps on kite cats, very often.
The short answer is "very long", and the other short answer is "it depends". It depends on the size of the sail, how much air there is, how much lee helm you can stand, and how much pole you can stand. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, some classes limit the length of the pole.
All that said, I have sailed my P-19 with small chute with 11' and 12' poles and could not tell a difference; I am in the process of rigging a 15' pole now, with a larger sail, and I'll fill y'all in. I figure with modest rake, the tack will be about 16' ahead of the head, and since the luff is about 31', this works out to about 40 degrees of angle on the luff. I think.
pix upcoming, and I'll take it sailing in the spring
sail fast y'all
