I don't think anybody is coming from the point of view that there are "other options." Rick just thinks that the spinnaker pole provided with the kit is too short for the spinnaker to work properly.

I think Rick knows a little bit about sailing with spinnakers, so he is not talking about trying to go upwind with one. That would be silly.

Obviously, headsails are not allowed for racing one-design in the Wave Class, so that is not an issue. And anybody who wants to soup up their Wave for racing on Portsmouth or in the Formula 14 Class is going to want something bigger and faster than the factory spinnaker.

Maybe you guys could do some more testing and let us know what you find out, because I still think the factory spin kit would be good for training purposes and for fun sailing if it works properly.