Forestay extension for low Bridges

BudGates · Oct 2, 2014

Since you will be motoring under the bridge the tension on the forstay shouldn't be any problem. You will, however, have an issue with side to side movement. Since the shrouds will be slack the only thing holding the side to side movement would be baby stays if you have them. The baby stays don't have much purchase on the mast so I wouldn't rely on them if you have to go under the bridge in rough water. You would be better off to add a taller mast crutch at the stern to hold the mast while you're navigating the bridges. Also, make sure that the rear stay is up and away from the propeller when you do this.

Justin_NSA · Oct 2, 2014

ooohhh, the Emerald Coast aka the Redneck Riviera! We just spent 2 weeks in Destin.

Wouldn't a gin pole / block and tackle system work better? You need something that will be able to give you the mechanical advantage to re-pin the forestay. The side shroud tension will be fighting you.

caguy · Oct 2, 2014

Justin_NSA said:
ooohhh, the Emerald Coast aka the Redneck Riviera! We just spent 2 weeks in Destin.

Wouldn't a gin pole / block and tackle system work better? You need something that will be able to give you the mechanical advantage to re-pin the forestay. The side shroud tension will be fighting you.

He can overcome that obstacle with Johnson lever. He should have one already just to make his set up easier.

Sumner · Oct 3, 2014

Justin_NSA said:
..Wouldn't a gin pole / block and tackle system work better? You need something that will be able to give you the mechanical advantage to re-pin the forestay. The side shroud tension will be fighting you.

caguy said:
He can overcome that obstacle with Johnson lever. He should have one already just to make his set up easier.

I agree that the Johnson lever is a very important part of this, but alos agree that the gin pole/block and tackle is also needed. One might still be young and/or strong enough to manually push the mast up or down on land and on the trailer but out on the water with the boat rolling around I think that is just inviting disaster. Using the winch from the cockpit with the gin pole, block and tackle along with the baby stay is the only safe way to do this. You can attach all of that and detach it in just a couple minutes,

Sum

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Justin_NSA · Oct 3, 2014

Sumner said:
I agree that the Johnson lever is a very important part of this, but alos agree that the gin pole/block and tackle is also needed. One might still be young and/or strong enough to manually push the mast up or down on land and on the trailer but out on the water with the boat rolling around I think that is just inviting disaster. Using the winch from the cockpit with the gin pole, block and tackle along with the baby stay is the only safe way to do this. You can attach all of that and detach it in just a couple minutes,

Sum

Rightly put. Thee's too much unpredictable motion on the water to think you can manhandle a long aluminum stick and sails without help.

topcat0399 · Oct 3, 2014

A gin pole AND baby stays are definitely the way to go and I've seen where someone has rigged a permanent gin pole mounted on the mast and permanent baby stays just for the purpose of clearing bridges.

walt · Oct 3, 2014

I would also add a permanet mast crutch - just a little safer to hold the mast while you go under the bridge. (woops, I see BudG already mentioned that..)

My 26S is already set up for this with the mostly stock mast raising system (gin pole that I havent taken off the boat in about 8 years, baby stays).

Just disconnect the boom where it attaches to the mast, hook up the mast raising stystem, drop the mast into the crutch. You can even do this with the main sail still on boom in the bag and the slugs still in the mast slot.

Doc_holiday · Oct 3, 2014

One of the other threads has the promotional video for the 26s. In the video I believe they promote the ability to lower the mast whole under way. As you would expect they make it look easy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFP3QA9-5GI

Freedom77 · Oct 4, 2014

Welcome Back Sumner!! When we lived in Cali we used to launch out of Long Beach on our way to Catalina. There is a bridge if any of you are familiar with the area. We would rig the mast on the trailer and launch the boat. My motto has always been K.I.S.S. I would take two lengths of line and throw them over the spreaders where they joined the mast. The port line would tie to the starboard side at a point on the deck just forward of the shroud turnbuckles and the starboard line to the port making them tight. if you get the picture. I would then release the forestay and ease it back enough to clear the bridge, and attach the forestay to a small cable extension a couple of feet long. The mast would sway a little but not enough to cause damage. Once under the bridge up she went and off we went.

justsomeguy · Oct 6, 2014

Some folks go with a gin pole that's semi-permanently (?) mounted to the mast base, and kept stowed vertically along the upright mast. If you're constantly passing under these bridges, this might be one good way to go.

You'll certainly want the baby stays on the water.

Here's my set-up: http://tomeshew.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/stepping-the-mast-with-a-gin-pole/

Sumner · Oct 6, 2014

suvh8er said:
.... Would a Johnson lever in addition to a gin pole be the perfect rig?

Definitely, as you can get the rigging tensioned the same every time without having to adjust the forestay turnbuckle every time you put the mast up and it isn't near as hard to pin it before you pull it over into the tension position.

justsomeguy said:
Some folks go with a gin pole that's semi-permanently (?) mounted to the mast base, and kept stowed vertically along the upright mast. If you're constantly passing under these bridges, this might be one good way to go....

That is a good idea and...

... ours would work like that and I'd leave it by the mast if I was dealing with bridges also.

Sumner

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topcat0399 · Oct 6, 2014

justsomeguy shows you a version of a moving gin pole with the foot of the pole on the mast itself.

sumner shows you a version of a fixed gin pole with the foot of the pole on the deck (in this case the tabernacle - as is ours). For you this would be the best set up I'm thinking.

I have attached a couple of concepts illustrating how the different setups might be used.

You will need baby stays for the mast I assure you. That is another subject unique to each boat. For ours I had to make a harness to run down to the side decks due to the wide pop top on a Venture.

Sumner · Oct 6, 2014

More info on ours (for an S) that came with the boat and I haven't modified it except for putting in a larger backing place under the cleat that is use forward of the gin pole...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/rigging-2.html

That might help with some ideas. Remember this is on an S but something similar could be done on about anything. Check out also how the factory did the X. It might be a version of what topcat posted...

... where you raise the mast from the foredeck. With what I have you use the boats jib sheet winch from the cockpit. Either can work,

Sumner

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Justin_NSA · Oct 6, 2014

I don't trust the deck cleat. I attach my forward line to the bow pulpit

Sumner · Oct 6, 2014

Justin_NSA said:
I don't trust the deck cleat. I attach my forward line to the bow pulpit

Yep we never had any problem with it but felt better after replacing the small fiberglass backing plate with an aluminum one...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/rigging-17.html

... the top arrow points to the new backing plate for the center cleat.

Of interest is that Macgregor didn't do a very good job at all of putting backing plates under the pulpit mounts (bottom two connected arrows above).

The other backing plates above were for...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/rigging-16.html

... the double anchor roller mount.

In case one is wondering how the forestay mount is connected...

.. the picture above shows it. The top left arrow points to a bolt I put in, again for the double anchor roller mount,

Sumner

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Justin_NSA · Oct 6, 2014

Sumner said:
Yep we never had any problem with it but felt better after replacing the small fiberglass backing plate with an aluminum one...

I figured you would Sum. I always wanted to replace the cleat with a padeye and put a cleat on both sides of the deck for docklines.

Sumner · Oct 6, 2014

Justin_NSA said:
I figured you would Sum. I always wanted to replace the cleat with a padeye and put a cleat on both sides of the deck for docklines.

I use the center one...

... to secure the anchor chains when the anchors are up and to make sure they don't go overboard while underway.

The...

...side ones get used all the time with either one anchor or when both are down and I remounted the chocks on the anchor rollers also as they are really needed when anchoring,

Sumner

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Forestay extension for low Bridges

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