For the benefit of those who don't ordinarily read the "Trailer Sailor" forum, I've decided to post this entry again.
It's been a while since I've posted anything of
interest on this forum since I brought up the Gin
Pole topic. With spring just around the corner
I'm sure everyone is making plans on getting
their boats ready or maybe a new modification is
in the planning. Last year I made up my mind
that I was going to try to improve my mast
raising rig, particularly the temporary mast
stabilizers, or baby stays. If I didn't have a
CDI Roller Furler I would fore go the pivot
bridles and the baby stays, but the furler adds
extra weight to the mast and could possibly throw
the mast off balance during mast raising/lowering
process which I always do by myself. I've been
confounded for a long time on how to connect my
stabilizer stays to my mast without having to go
through a lot of extra work. The MacGregor 26
that my friend Walter owned had a bolt through
the mast that held two tangs for the baby stays
connection which is OK but I'm not keen on
drilling a hole through my mast because I have
internal halyards. I could make some kind of a
crotch or yoke out of wood that could fit on my
mast. Said yoke could have two eye screws for
attaching the temporary stays, plus a long bolt
with a nut to tighten it up around my mast to
hold it in place. My friend Wayne made up a rig
such as this and it works great. I had designs
on making one similar to his, and then it hit me.
Why not use a length of rope around the mast in
the form of a "Rolling Hitch"? One rope could do
it, but two ropes would be better. The "Rolling
hitch" that I'm going to show you is very
different than the ones that are shown on the
knot sites and most knot books, yet most power
company lineman can tie this hitch and use it
every day on the job. This hitch can be tied to
wire, rope, Jib sheets, spars, and even a mast
and it's ultra simple to tie. Take a length
rope about 3.5 or 4' long and tie a Bowline at
one end. You really don't need the bowline, but
this is what I intend to use as an anchor point
on my mast that will hold my baby stays, and it's
easier to describe how to tie the hitch. Start
by taking 5 or 6 clockwise wraps around the mast
and while holding the turns in place, bring the
rope down and under the bowline and back up over
the wraps and tie two half hitches around the
mast. That's it! You can grab that hitch and
slide it up or down with your hands and put it
anywhere you like but if you add tension to that
bowline, that hitch won't move. In fact, that
hitch would hold your weight without slipping.
So with this anchor point on my mast I needed
something to attach the baby stays to and I've
decided to use a short piece of rope in the form
of a noose that will go around the mast and
connect to the bowline at the bottom of the
"Rolling Hitch." I took some small pieces of
clear hose and threaded it into the noose, along
with two welded stainless steel rings which will
be used to connect my baby stays from the two
pivot bridles. Once I get the noose set up
around my mast with the rings in between the
hoses where I want them, I'll probably seize the
rings to the noose. Any of you people who own
O'Day 25s or 26s that have triangular plates on
their stays for the boom bridle attachment, can
probably add more stability for their masts by
making up an extra set of bridles or baby stays
and attaching them to the plates and the mast. I
must admit to you that I haven't really tried
this yet on my mast but I know that it will work.
This is what I intend to use. One other
important thing bares mentioning here. When you
attach the rope from the noose to the bowline of
the "Rolling Hitch", you should use a "Round
Turn" and two "Half Hitches" so that you can
untie it easier. Also, the "Rolling Hitch" can
be slid down under load. So that's it! Please
feel free to improve on it if you like and let us
all know what you came up with. Also, if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.
Ahoy!
Joe
It's been a while since I've posted anything of
interest on this forum since I brought up the Gin
Pole topic. With spring just around the corner
I'm sure everyone is making plans on getting
their boats ready or maybe a new modification is
in the planning. Last year I made up my mind
that I was going to try to improve my mast
raising rig, particularly the temporary mast
stabilizers, or baby stays. If I didn't have a
CDI Roller Furler I would fore go the pivot
bridles and the baby stays, but the furler adds
extra weight to the mast and could possibly throw
the mast off balance during mast raising/lowering
process which I always do by myself. I've been
confounded for a long time on how to connect my
stabilizer stays to my mast without having to go
through a lot of extra work. The MacGregor 26
that my friend Walter owned had a bolt through
the mast that held two tangs for the baby stays
connection which is OK but I'm not keen on
drilling a hole through my mast because I have
internal halyards. I could make some kind of a
crotch or yoke out of wood that could fit on my
mast. Said yoke could have two eye screws for
attaching the temporary stays, plus a long bolt
with a nut to tighten it up around my mast to
hold it in place. My friend Wayne made up a rig
such as this and it works great. I had designs
on making one similar to his, and then it hit me.
Why not use a length of rope around the mast in
the form of a "Rolling Hitch"? One rope could do
it, but two ropes would be better. The "Rolling
hitch" that I'm going to show you is very
different than the ones that are shown on the
knot sites and most knot books, yet most power
company lineman can tie this hitch and use it
every day on the job. This hitch can be tied to
wire, rope, Jib sheets, spars, and even a mast
and it's ultra simple to tie. Take a length
rope about 3.5 or 4' long and tie a Bowline at
one end. You really don't need the bowline, but
this is what I intend to use as an anchor point
on my mast that will hold my baby stays, and it's
easier to describe how to tie the hitch. Start
by taking 5 or 6 clockwise wraps around the mast
and while holding the turns in place, bring the
rope down and under the bowline and back up over
the wraps and tie two half hitches around the
mast. That's it! You can grab that hitch and
slide it up or down with your hands and put it
anywhere you like but if you add tension to that
bowline, that hitch won't move. In fact, that
hitch would hold your weight without slipping.
So with this anchor point on my mast I needed
something to attach the baby stays to and I've
decided to use a short piece of rope in the form
of a noose that will go around the mast and
connect to the bowline at the bottom of the
"Rolling Hitch." I took some small pieces of
clear hose and threaded it into the noose, along
with two welded stainless steel rings which will
be used to connect my baby stays from the two
pivot bridles. Once I get the noose set up
around my mast with the rings in between the
hoses where I want them, I'll probably seize the
rings to the noose. Any of you people who own
O'Day 25s or 26s that have triangular plates on
their stays for the boom bridle attachment, can
probably add more stability for their masts by
making up an extra set of bridles or baby stays
and attaching them to the plates and the mast. I
must admit to you that I haven't really tried
this yet on my mast but I know that it will work.
This is what I intend to use. One other
important thing bares mentioning here. When you
attach the rope from the noose to the bowline of
the "Rolling Hitch", you should use a "Round
Turn" and two "Half Hitches" so that you can
untie it easier. Also, the "Rolling Hitch" can
be slid down under load. So that's it! Please
feel free to improve on it if you like and let us
all know what you came up with. Also, if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.
Ahoy!
Joe
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