whisker pole

has anyone ever use a whisker pole on a hobie 16?

No.

Nobody sails (races) dead downwind. Tacking downwind is faster.

Tacking downwind is always faster in terms of how fast the boat is going, but it is not always faster in terms of getting to a fixed destination, like the leeward mark.

I thought (and I could be very wrong) that in light air the Hobie 16 actually does better sailing straight downwind, wing-and-wing. But I cannot imagine a whisker pole being necessary for a jib on any small cat -- just a crew with a long, strong arm. On our Hobie 18 I was the whisker pole, although I really try to be whiskerless. We always tacked downwind, but I had to hold the jib out at the proper position, so I was definitely a whisker pole. It's the same thing on the Hobie 16 downwind.

P.S. It's not like NOBODY sails dead downwind. We do it on our Hobie Waves. It is true of any boat that the slower the boat, and the lighter the wind, the less benefit from tacking downwind and the deeper the angles you have to sail.
And, of course, if you have an assymetrical spinnaker (or Hooter), you have a fixed pole sticking way out in front, so you don't need a whisker pole if your sheet leads are in the right place.

Since this is the Hobie 16 / 14 forum, and the question was specifically regarding the Hobie 16, my reference to "nobody" specifically meant the Hobie 16.

Even in the lightest of airs, the Hobie 16 will make better VMG downwind when it is sailed with the apparent wind at 90 to 100 degrees.

You can sail wing-and-wing and the battens in the jib do an effective job of holding the sail out.

The Hobie 14 is a whole different story. From the lightest of airs to nearly nuclear, it goes fastest dead downwind.

one question about the spinnaker would you use a jib to? or just the s?