After an interesting time single handing in 20kt winds with a reefed sail that was not cooperating I've moved the topping lift project to the head of the project list.
Currently I have a pigtail off the back stay - works fine but it does not allow the boom to swing and therefore must be manually attached/deattached whenever the halyard is released. Also due to the 'no swing' part if the boat turns while I'm forward messing with the sail it catches wind, and well, you know, things go downhill from there.
So a topping lift seems pretty easy, just run a line inside the back stay to the top of the mast. Well my masthead is currently 24 feet off the water so all I've got to go on is a photo to figue out how to attach a block to it.
It looks like maybe I could attach near the masthead/mast junction and hang a block to clear the back stay and halyards - I guess it could be a small block and 1/4" line.
Are there any pitfalls you see or has any one done this or have a factory version?
Ken,
I like my topping lift set up because I can control the topping lift at the goose neck. My boom has internal control lines. The middle line is for the out haul, the Port line is for the Jiffy reefing, and the Starboard line if for the topping lift. My topping lift is dead ended at the mast head just inside of the back stay deadend, and the topping lift consists of a vinyl covered metal cable that comes down within about 12" from the end of the boom. It has a swadged marine eye fitting at the end with a small single sheave attached to it. The control line for the topping lift exits through a small built in sheave at the end of my boom and passes through the sheave at the end of the topping lift and deadends at the end of my boom.
You could have the same setup with the boom control line on the outside of your boom. The advantage is; you can do all your reefing right at the mast without going aft to adjust your topping lift.
The disadvantage of this set up; If the topping lift control is set with too much slack in it, it can wear on the leach of the Main and the sheave can bang against the boom while you're sailing.
You have another option. They have a boom lift thingy that mounts under the boom and it holds the boom up. A friend of mine has one on his boat and he likes it. I'm not too crazy about them myself. I can just see myself losing my balance and falling against my boom, bending that thingy out of shape.
Unless you have a boom crutch or a boom gallows, you're going to need to remove your main halyard from your headboard and attach it to the end of the boom whenever you leave your boat at the slip or mooring. It wouldn't be a good idea to apply too much strain to the boom lifter with your mainsheet unless you have a pig tail on your back stay. I hate those things! "Squeal like a piggy!" Remember that movie with Burt Reynolds?
The boom lifter would be too much of a pain for me. It's a pain setting up and breaking down each year too. I know for a fact that it's a pain because my friend Wayne does a lot of swearing each time he has to mess with his boom lifter. I suppose there are ways of getting around this problem by using push button quick pins. I really don't know.
So these are just a couple of more choices that you can ponder. All I can tell is, I love my topping lift setup because when I trailered my boat, I used to store my boom with the sail and sail cover on it, inside the cabin. After I got my mast raised, I only had to attach my topping lift to the end of the boom while it was still in the cabin and lead it out of the cabin like having a second pair of hands hold the end of the boom for me while I hooked it up to the goose neck fitting. I still do this today if I know that there is a serious storm headed this way, I'll put the boom with the sail and cover on it, inside the cabin if I'm planning on leaving my boat out on the mooring. Again. The topping lift is left connected while I disconnect the boom from the goose neck and get it into the cabin. It's like having a helper on the end of the boom, leading it into the cabin for me. It takes me longer to remove my Gennie from my furler than it does to remove my boom with the sail and cover on it.
Joe
