A used windsurf mast works well for a pole. Vectran works for rigging it (use shackles instead of clevis pins where the bridles attach to the hull and you can tie off to these).
Instead of rigging the stays for the pole to the bridle tangs, consider drilling a small hole in each bow lip, run the vectran into those and dead end them there. Gives a little better angle to suppor the mast. Pics are of a windsurfer mast pole rig, sail is old-style SX spin, boatis regular 18.
