Whisker pole track on wood mast....

[wwaite]

I'd like to install a track for my spinnaker pole on the forward face of my spruce mast. It's a box section spar so it's flat on all sides. My pole setup now is a fixed pad-eye/pole ring on each side of the mast. A front mounted track would make it possible to keep the pole mounted on the mast, ready for use and would make all sail handling with the pole much easier. My concern is drilling a "dotted line" of holes in the face of the stick and the fact that the loads would now be side loads on the track. This setup seems real common on aluminum spars, but I don't seem to see them on wood spars.

I don't know if it's because most wood mast are on pretty "traditional" vessels or because the side loads are the reason. I've thought about some straps that wrap around the sides of the mast, but I'd like to hear what the folks on this forum think

The boat is a Kendall 32 (earlier flushdecked version of the Westsail 32) with a 43' deck stepped mast.

Anyone have any thoughts on a good way to do this?