Club Arnage

Has anyone managed to find a portable solution to the flag pole problem?  We broke another couple of fishing poles at LM and are now without a pole.

I'm reluctant to buy another fishing pole at the moment, I think we've probably snapped five in the last two and a bit years so perhaps its time for a re-think.

Any suggestions?  Rick did you say you'd found something?  Will it work for tent campers with no van to attach it to? 

a surfboard pole will probably do, but is a bit clumsy on transport :-\

Is a surfboard pole one length?  It needs to be something we can get in the trailer (not sure how big that is!).

Can't find the aluminium poles we bought this year. They were in four parts of 150 cms each, and the complete poles were €39,- each.
It could well be that the Dutch DIY store sells them again for next year Queens Day (so they will be on sale somewhere next year April). In that case I will buy a few of them, presuming there will always be people here who'd like them.

Here's one of them at the Nürburgring LMS 10 days ago, transported by car:

(http://www.drinkingforholland.com/Paddy/Nurburgring07.jpg)

Fab that's the kind of thing, could you keep a look out?   I might have a trawl through some DIY places when we go to Spa.   

I'm pretty sure Rick has found something similar. I've googled but the only ones I can find are £150+ and I don't really want to spend that much. 

Same 150 here, but then in €uros, only 5 metres high, and ex VAT :-\

I think I saved the webpages on my PC at home, Will have a look tonight.

What was the amount you paid, Rick?

Try here -

http://www.hampshireflag.co.uk/FlagPoles.html

or here -

http://www.mamut.com/controls/shop/shops/4/default.asp?wwwalias=signsyousee
Portable flag poles up to NINE meters - for less than 150quid!

Haven't bought any yet, I will look tonight and see what I found.

6m for less than £30, including tire mount (which it sounds like you don't need).  They don't ship internationally, but maybe someone coming over for the Petit could pick it up for you?  ???

LINK (http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=149599&pCatg=6981&atc=0001&BV_SessionID=_SC_2013237219.1184150723_CS_&BV_EngineID=cccladdlghhiefdcfkfcfkjdgoodflh.0)
(http://graphics.samsclub.com/images/products/0004476900220_L4.jpg)

(American flag not included, required, nor encouraged).  ;D

Canada Phil bought an aluminium pole in LM Carrefour. I think he said it was the handle of a swimming pool cleaner. it wasn't huge, but, knowing Phil, it must have been cheap!!  ;)

It's somewhere at home, I'm away this weekend but if I remember I will measure it and post again. (Must have been at least 4m I would guess, and not dissimilar to those in Paddy's pic).

I too broke my fishing pole this year although it has done well to last 5 years. I think the problem was the sheer weight of The flag when wet, it was seriously heavy trying to wave it about in that final couple of hours. Has anyone tried water proofing flags- does it work and which product is best? Looking around at the finish our flag was sodden and there were others (much smaller granted) that were still fluttering nicely! Si

Our 9m fishing pole died this year too - I agree with Dr Sconefinger and believe it was the sheer weight of the sodden flags and the fact it was a 'fair bit windy' at times ... I have one of those swimming pool poles ( for our pool ::) )and they are approx. 5m - I'd guess they would be fine for trackside but I think you would have trouble transporting one unless you have a handy ski rack you could attach it to as they are only two piece telescopic and the main bit is about 3m long ....

Edit - darn my poor spelling!!

Hi Smokie:) Yes a swimming pool tool handle. from SUPER U two sections of 2 metre so total about 4 metre. I attached an old tent pole to the top with the flags on. Piglet your trailer would make a good base for it or a solid stake in the ground.
10 Euro sounded good to me. Inexpensive not cheap :)
Phil

Had a look last night and found that I had not saved the webpages. I seem to remember there were some companies selling through ebay:

This one looks quite good at £50:-

7.5 Meter, 5 section alumuinium pole :- http://tinyurl.com/23uoq5

Another option -

What about speaking to an Aluminium tube manufacturer, they may do suitable extruded tube (may be stronger) and so more suitable.

Had a quick web search and found this company,

http://www.mcmmetals.com/products.htm

anybody in the Avonmouth area, may be worth a call.

Ahh that'd be me then!   

If someone can ring and talk to them I'm happy to (ask KK) to collect.

[plays girlie card] No point me ringing I'd have no idea what I'm talking about! 

I'll give a ring right now, me and my big mouth  ;D

Spoke to a nice lady down there, Suzanne.

She was helpful, but as we do not know exactly we need, and they seem to sell by the Kilo (with a min order) I may be barking up the wrong tree.

The two copmpanies they supply tubing for, but the customer then fabricate it (how much is the question it's only a tube).

The two companies are
http://www.zephyr-tvc.com/index.asp
http://www.bannerbox.co.uk/company/profile.html

but they seem like most other flag companies, but they do have a system where the flag fixing, rotates around the pole, giving less stress I pressume.

Oh well, back to everyone looking into it again.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Skyblue-Leisure_Telescopic-poles_Flag-pole-bungees_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ752793QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Found this on ebay today, spoke to Brian there, he has the standard telescopic flag poles (seem reasonable price) - look at his site.

But he is working on a heavy duty version, waiting for a sample from China at present, but will need to test it and see how it performs.

If they do go ahead with them, then they should be selling them in 2 -3 months time, but they will be a bit more in cost.

Worth a look later, He will discuss discounts for numbers. I told him I would mention him on this site, so if anybody contacts him say you saw  his name on this site, we may get special rates later.

And here's a special (http://i4.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/a9/a6/b204_1_b.JPG)

He has my email, and said he will email me when they know more about the heavy duty version.

Fab well done! 

If he wants some testers I'm sure some of us would be happy to oblige with some field tests ;D

Our flagpole this year was from Skyblue - Overall I think they were good quality and with the amount of very wet flags we had on ours I'm not suprised it broke and ended it's days in KN. It was very good value too, so a heavier duty one would probably be a good compromise between portability and big/expensive aluminum one ...

Sorry, but I disagree. I believe the articles Skyblue sells are of less quality than we (DfH) expect. We have had a 9 metre fishing rod for about three years before it snapped at Donington LMS last year. It had 4 flags on it (see Rick Cutler's avatar), but the wind was way too strong and the pole was tied to the fence in an improper way. We did many flagpole-daring things with that pole, like tubelights together with a 2x3metre flag on a 22 metre hight at Le Mans in '06. But like I said, it finally gave up at Donington. The ones from SkyBlue are most definitely not as strong as the one we had before. Sure, Sebring were ridiculous circumstances, but at Le Mans we only had two flags. It still bl00dy snapped, which it shouldn't have done as far as I'm concerned.

Sorry, but I will never order poles at SkyBlue again. Too cheap stuff :-\

Agree! Old Pole 6 years of Motorsport events, still in the camper and used at Silverstone last week. Only the last section is broken.

Skyblue Pole, Snapped on first day. Will not be buying one again.

Hi nopanic,

How about bringing your 'cherrypicker'.

It's got lots of strength, it's got the hieght.

It's an option to be considered.

Jerry

My Skyblue pole survived with two frlags and a windsock.

What are you lot doing

4 very wet flags and a windsock is what kiled ours this year.

We deliberately put only two flags on the pole :-\

I think generally they are less well made at the moment.

We also had an old one which lasted a couple of years.  We also broke a brand new decathlon pole in one day at LM - this either had 2 flags or possibly even 1. 

Part of the problem is that pretty well every race circuit I've been to this year has been wet and windy!! 

So did I Paddy   :'( :'(

Try this site - supposed to be really good for flags http://www.reallygoodflagpole.com (http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/40/013_MR749~Empire-State-Building-Posters.jpg)

FY Steve!  >:(

(yes I clicked before quoting)

Hi Del,

If thats my photo I demand as copyright charge £5.00 to the server fund.

Jerry

Holy Schnikies - three whole pages on the anatomy, physiology and social merits of.....flag poles.
I'm obviously some kind of philistine, because I don't take any heraldic paraphenalia to the races - best left on castles and cruise-liners, in my view. If I'm forced to drag a load of gear around the track, I'd rather it be something I can drink or sit on. A flag pole seems rather redundant and cumbersome. Maybe it's me that's weird - after all, Eddie Izzard did point out that we English are obsessed by the bloody things...

 

All for the fun of it, Matt ;)


Found this thing yesterday as I was walkie doggie. It's supposed to hold up road signs, but will be great to hold up our aluminium flag pole ;D

(http://www.drinkingforholland.com/Paddy/pole.jpg)

What did you do with the road sign Paddy??

Del

I found that photo on the web somewhere, Jerry, in the public domain.   ;) ;)

Del

It was only this loose thing, so dunno... (and don't care ;D)

Bump!!

My thoughts are turning towards replacement of the pole that broke last year and I looked back at this thread.

I've looked at Sky Blue, but they don't seem to have any heavier duty ones.  They do now have a 10m pole though.

Anyone heard/seen anything?

Del

SkyBlue ones were cheap. Would not recommend them.

Search Ebay and a few companies do slot together 7m Aluminium Flag Poles.

I think Eddie Izzard is looking for a new 'flag pole' himself!!!!!!!

IIRC when we discussed this before (maybe on this thread can't be arsed to look back  ;D ) the Dutchies said that their DIY stores sell decent flag poles ahead of Queen's Day in the Netherlands? 

Might that be an option for this year?  We've done nothing other than construct a couple of slightly shorter poles from the left over bits of poles that broke last year so we still need a better solution.

I will try and reach Gamma (Dutch DIY store) to see if they will sell them again.

Thanks Paddy  :-*

Try this(NIKWAX, TX DIRECT,WASH IN)you can get it from most outdoor shops. I use it on most of my waterproof gear. One thing read the instructions, It doesn't like soap powder.

It only rains every 7 years, so a pole bought this year should last another 6 years on top.  Therefore might as well go for the cheapest option!

The heavier the pole the greater the problem of fixiing it, and the more chance of it hurting someone/thing if it does come down!

Mind you the bungees advertised on skyblue give me a thought.  Presumably they basically snap because at some point on the length of the pole it is fixed and can't move.  If one used elasticated guy ropes this would presumably allow te whole pole to sway and reduce the snapping opportunites?

Suppose the soultion is to stick the pole up in the garden and test different securing methods in advance of Le Mans!

Feel free, please feedback pics and ideas  ;D

On the weather front, for those of us who do Spa and LMES Silverstone etc. it quite often rains  :(

We've started fixing the flag pole inside the A frame of the trailer and trying to give it some room to flex - that might help but as we're down to three quarter sized poles it wasn't a huge problem. 

Right. Been on to the phone to customer service of the DIY shop (what a struggle to get through :-\). The same poles -as posted by me in this thread on page one- will be available somewhere in April again. As from week 14 we can check the online leaflet on http://www.gamma.com/folder.html Price looks to be the same.

Anybody who would like these poles, please PM me and I'll do my utmost to get them. It's a very popular item, so I can never guarantee to get all poles required. Last year I got the leaflet in the mail, went straight to the DIY shop and found there were only two left.

Me pretty please Paddy  :-*   

Would you like one or two, Piglet? They're € 39.00 each...

One is fine thanks.  Can sort you money whenever/however you want?   Have you got a UK bank account floating around? 

We can also do cash on Brants Hatch, no problem ;)

Ahh yes, I'd forgotten that  ;D

4 pages and no mention of Viagra and early mornings :laugh:  :angel:

The last few years ive been at Lemans TBH the flag I take has been used as a sun break ( part from last year when I didn’t make the race from passing out on Friday  ::) ) isn’t there anything you can get THERE from the local super u or anything?

At Sebring the popular choice is the telescoping pole used by power companies to but the breaker back in at the top of the power poles (sorry don't know the technical name for them).  This way we get dual uses for the poles  :-X and they are very sturdy (as proven by past weather at Sebring).

The pole in Turn 10 was ruined by the storm, even though it took a whole scaffolding unit to eventually break the thing :-X

;)

Poles!!!  Paddy...Poles!!!  There were plenty of them!!  ;D

That said, i doubt if ANY flagpole would have survived that!!

(Apparently there was a very bad wind at Sebring last year - and for once it wasn't me!!! - that ruined many tents, gazebos, awnings and tent poles!) Julian and I were safely shopping for ice and wondered what the hell all the carnage was when we returned!

Just come and see who the Welsh do it.

This pole cost us diddlysquat as it was sourced on site.

Nice bit of 1 1/2 piping  and a twig off the tree.  Stayed up for 6 days during LM 07. Oh, I forgot to mention the park bench. All supplied by the french.

Things are cheaper in France than the UK, why waste time.


(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa64/jjkt15/FlagPole-1.jpg)

Wouldn't it be cheaper to bring along an eastern european bloke to hold onto the flag pole, just like the ones who hold 'legal' advertising boards all day in your local shopping centre?  ;)

Aren't they called Poles anyway, Surely we can ask one of them from the land of Poles (Poland) if they know of a good supplier.

Could ask one of my collegues, he's originally from Poland.... ;)

Barry, BTW, the bottom flag is Estonia, they got the bench. Not too far from Poland. Also the were of the fairer sex.

Found this over on PH

When it comes to flagpoles, only the amateurs bring their own. This is a tried and tested approach for the seasoned Le Mans goer that sets you apart from the crowd.

Step 1
Ensure you take with you a minibus / 4x4, some rope / chains and some digging & chopping instruments.

Step 2
When at LM go to your nearest wood, find a suitable tree, cut it down, trim the branches and then tow back behind said minibus or 4x4.

Ensure you have a support vehicle to follow, don't drive to quickly as the tree being dragged along the road can fish tail somewhat! and can be a bit of a hazard. Laugh hysterically at the looks on the faces of the passengers in the cars who go for the big overtake to pass the support vehicle only to find that the 50 foot gap between it and the minibus in front is filled by a tree.

Step 3
While the lumberjacks are off doing their Monty Python thing, dig a hole @ 4 foot deep and ensure you have a number of wedges to chock the tree when you get it into its hole. Ensure that on one side, the hole is opened out so that the trunk can slide in before its put upright.

Step 4
Enlist as many fellow campers into the next operation as lifting a 50 foot tree into the vertical position is a bugger of a job.

Step 5
Tie your flags on now

Step 6
Using a large log as a fulcrum, walk the tree up into the vertical and chock as appropriate.

Step 7
While you have a beer admiring this feat of human engineering that only a group of lads could do in a foreign field, watch numerous people move their tents as the new flagpole leans precariously even though you know its not going to fall over in a month of Sundays. Also joke with the more gullible amongst us that yes indeed you found the only tree in the campsite and got some mug to climb all the way to the top and put the flag on it.

(http://www.crawleybrothers.co.uk/images/LM02/Flag2.jpg)

But they can't build a bottle mountain can they  ;) ;D

Nah, you need us Welsh guys for that.