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DSC01158 The pivot bridle shown in the picture is made up of two ropes, a large stainless steel ring and a couple of snap hooks. I have my pivot bridles pre-adjusted so that when they are connected and stretched out, the rings come even with the pivot point of the mast tabernacle. The thin line connected to the ring in this bridle is one of my baby stays which is attached to the mast yoke. The thicker rope is a bridle which is connected to the end of my Gin Pole. Note* If you make up a set of pivot bridles, it is important that you adjust the ropes so that they are even. This way, you can use them on either side of the boat.
IMG 0001 I use the "Lineman's Rolling Hitch" around the vinyl luff of the furler and then I take a round turn around the Gin Pole about 2/3s of the way out from the mast and secure it with two half hitches. The round turn with the half hitches can be seen in the pic just to the left of the furler luff. Now, with the excess line, take it around the vinyl luff and entrap it to the Gin Pole with a couple of half hitches around the Gin Pole.
DSC01038 In mast raising with a roller furler connected to the mast the question arises; What do I do with the fuler while the mast is going up or coming down? Well, you could have the Mate hold and guide it with the mast, or if you're by yourself, you can tie the furler luff off to the Gin Pole as seen in the picture.
DSC00423 For lack of a better term for his device, I've been calling it a mast yoke. It's main purpose is to anchor the temporary stays (baby stays) to the pivot bridles on each side of the boat. The baby stays offer some lateral stability in raising or lowering the mast. If you have a good roller reefing furler I recommend that you make up baby stays and pivot bridles if your boat is designed like this boat. If your boat's cabin top is designed like a MacGregor, you would only need the mast yoke and the baby stays. I firmly believe that this mast yoke would also work on an O'Day 25 or 26 in conjuntion with baby stays attached to the triangular plates, along with the boom bridles for over the bow mast raising.
DSC00628 The stern rail as mentioned previously is very helpful for supporting the mast crutch. I favor this mast crutch set up because it allows you to mount your rudder on the stern at the ramp and launch your boat if you choose to raise your mast with the boat sitting at the dock. Having a roller inside the crutch allows you to roll the mast aft or forward instead of having to man handle it as I was doing for many years.
DSC00627 In essence what we see in this pic is a Gin Pole with a small boat winch attached to it, pivot bridles, and the baby stays. It takes a little time to set this mast raising rig up but we only do this a couple of times a year, as we both rent moorings at the yacht club.
DSC00428 When I first saw this guy raise his mast with a CDI Roller Furler connected to it one day at the club, I was completely blow away! I've always wanted a good roller furler on my boat but there was no way that I could ever raise my mast with a furler connected to it the way I was doing it by hand. This guy was a new YC member back then and I was later to find out that he had more clever ideas and mods than anyone I've ever known. He used to categorize himself as a "tinkerer" and that he is to this very day. I'm forever picking his brains and I'm still learning from him.
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