I'm making a gin pole to assist in raising my mast. First, I measure the V222 mast as right at 24 feet. What length do I need to make my gin pole for maximum mechanical advantage?
That is the gin pole and I don't leave it there while sailing as it would be in the way of the whisker pole.....Is your whisker pole stout enough to act as a gin pole? Is that your whisker pole in the picture, or your gin pole (looks like it is attached to the tabernacle)?
Todd, if the "big vice" (I want to know how much time you get when caught by Vice!) doesn't get it satisfactorily laid flat (yeah, I know, bad pun), keep in the back of your mind that the replacement tabernacle (where you can atone for all your sins, I'm sure) (I'm on a roll!) is only $39! Plus a handling fee, I'll bet!Good news. I work in broadcast TV and the engineers here said I could use the "big vice" in the engineering shop to press this back into shape.
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I'd recommend that you don't put a a backing plate under the mast on the inside of the cabin, fastened with bolts and washers. It wont stop the mast from falling, and it will cause severe damage to the roof, the tabernacle or the mast itself.Has anyone ever "beefed up" that area? What about adding a 1/4" wood plate at the base? I could then add another under it in the cabin of the same size (slightly bigger than the step base) and pin it in place with some stainless bolts with washers and nuts.
That came out way better than I thought it was going to! Nice job! Now get some baby stays! lolHere is the turnbuckle after I spent some time with it in the the vice. I think it turned out pretty good.
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Personally, I use 1/4" dyneema line - so a fixed length, very little slack in the line, just enough to make it easy to use the trigger snap cleat/hook. The PO on my boat used a pair of ratcheting straps, so he could tighten them a bit when attached. Personally, I'd prefer to just clip them on and not really think about them - I am good with the couple of feet the mast can sway. Ken (Tsatzsue) used straps - at least in that picture. Its really just personal preference.As for the babystays. So I see you and others using racheting tie downs. So this allows the mast to go up and the strap to move freely through the rachet, stopping when downward pressure is applied? Or am I completly crazy or over complicating it? Or does one adjust the tension manually as the mast goes up?