Gin Pole

[Sailinnsc]

Morning all....

First....thanks to all the vets out there.....been there....its a great dat to be alive and to honor and appreciate those who have given us the freedom to enjoy all we have and do...

Now.....ginoles.....i have read a fair amount and seen a few photos....but would like some first hand knowledge from thosqe of you that have built and use one.

How long? Where and how is it attached? How string of a winch is needed?

I have stepped and dropped my mast a few times with the help of one other.....but would like to be able to fly solo since i sail mid week mostly...

I have an 8 foot crutch....no roller but i think i should add one

Would love to see photos or drawings


Thanks

Sailinnsc

82 sk. 11659

 

[Sailinnsc]

Durn. Just read my post....glad i dont depend on my typing skills to make a living....

 

[CaptGregg]

HA! Typing skills is overrated. You should read some of the people with degrees that post on my facebook!

I built a gin pole out of a 2x4. I bought my winch and cable from Northern Tool for about $26, the gin pole has to be about 89 inches long or so the instructions say that I used.

The strengths is between the jib halyard and the bow fitting (jib halyard to an eye bolt at the end of the gin pole and the winch cable to the bow fitting).

The gin pole is only half of the whole. The other is a mast cradle on the stern. The mast has to sit at an angle where the mast foot bolt can be inserted, that's the pivot point. how high does the mast cradle has to be? Long enough to put the mast at the correct angle to insert the bolt. (Sorry I didn't measure). Right now, I have my mast cradle roped to the stern but I intend to put hooks (pintles) to hook in the gundgeons the rudder pintles connect.

 

[CaptGregg]

O yeah! I forgot. When raising and lowering the mast, disconnect the front lower shrouds but only slightly loosen the top shrouds and rear lower shrouds. Keeping as many shrouds connected will lessen the movement from starboard to port. I can single hand raise my mast by cranking with one hand and the other hand steadying the mast.

 

[CaptGregg]

Any more questions, save them for tonight, I gotta get this memorial day started... family things ya know.

 

[Ken]

I've always used a gin pole to raise the mast. However mine is much simpler. I used a 6' piece of aluminum tubing to make the pole it attaches to the mast with a 1/4" bolt (at the base of the mast) the jib halyard attaches to a eye bolt in the end of the pole. I added line to the Vang that allows me to use it to raise the mast when alone. If there is help I use the trailer winch to raise the mast. The trailer strap runs up through a roller on the bow mast carrier.

The pieces needed to allow use of the trailer winch are from gate parts and in total cost under ten bucks to make.

 

[Milton.Audas]

G'day guys. Ken's system is a really good idea (mate, do you have any photos of securing at the base of th emast and the two lines to the mast and forestay/trailer winch). I prefer to have the workings for'ard of the mast as it comes up. I have heard of some blokes (successfully) using a line aft and using the winch to haul the mast up. However, if something goes awry or you need to stop to untangle a stay or other line then you're not in a good place as the halyard winch has no stop (you could cleat it but I don't trust that with my noggin the only thing in direct line when 25ft of mast reaches terminal velocity).

As an option, we obtained the purpose built system from McGregor Yachts. Basically a gin pole with a 2-way winch (no lever or ratchet), a fixed steel cable (attached to the mast - ours we mounted about 5- 6ft up to get a good purchase), and the winchable line is shackled to the bow stem in the rear-most hole so we can easily attach the CDI, or forestay if you have a std jib. This works GREAT. If we need to stop, we can. It will take the weight of the mast at 45deg, allowing us to free an errant stay, have a beer, etc.

I've attached a photo from when we stepped the mast this year. I can take some more in a week or so with a simulation. Either way, the wooden version is probably good. Metal is stronger. Depends if you step/un-step the mast once a year or every time you go for a sail. We opted for safety, dependability, and convenience. Came at a cost ($$) but money well spent in our opinion.

cheers

 

[watercolors II]

It's all about angles and leverage

When the mast is perfectly horizontal, lifting straight up the unattached end will only weight 1/2 the total weight of the whole mast because the attached end is carrying the other 1/2 of the total weight. The higher the unattached end goes up the lighter it gets cause more of the end weight is now starting to transfer to the lower attached end.

So, making the mast crutch at the stern high, this angle will cause more of the total weight to transfer to the lower end.

The Ginpole is compressed from the pull on the line from near the bow over the top of the ginpole and to the top of the mast. This compression will want to pull your ginpole sideways. Because your pulling on the top of the mast at an angle the weight will be much more than 1/2 the total weight of the mast.

The higher the Ginpole the greater the angle of pull at the top of the mast the better.

The Ginpole is a lever, the longer the lever the more weight it will lift thus the easier the lift, the higher the ginpole the greater the angle of lift at the top of the mast the less the weight will be also.

The size or length now depends on what you think you can handle or store!

An A-frame can be 1/2 the size of a Ginpole because it will carry twice the weight or compression, it’s much more stable because it will not want to pull sideways as a ginpole will but, coming up with someway of attaching both ends to the deck will be much more difficult.

 

[CaptGregg]

Hey Watercolors!

Where would you carry an A frame? Strapped to the trailer under the bow?

I agree with the sideways motion during raising with the gin pole to an extent but it's never been enough to matter since I can control it with one hand on the mast while raising.

I built my gin pole and stern mast cradle to carry on the boat with me in case I needed to drop the mast on the water... it's a bit more precarious on the water than on the trailer due to the boat moving but if I need to drop the mast it's there.

 

[txtowman]

I raise and lower My mast using the trailer winch and stern crutch without a gin pole. I have only dropped and bent the mast a few times(Kidding). I have not had any trouble at all with My system. I need to make a video, but I am always doing it alone.

I use a line on each side to keep it from going to either side. once it is halfway up the upper shrouds lose the slack and keep it straight. I do not loosen the upper or lower aft shrouds. My backstay almost always gets hung up, that is why the trailer winch works so well, you can stop at any point and adjust things.

I had help once in 5 years and it really helped. I have no plans to lower the mast while on the water, but I do believe I would lower it with the mainsheet if I did, it would take a little rigging but it's not to complicated.

 

[ShotgunSlim]

I made my gin pole out of a 2x4, a band clamp and some heavy duty eye bolts I bought from a Tractor Supply store. I added a short piece of 2x4 on the top and bottom of the main one to give the mast more support and the band clamp holds everything to the mast. On the other end, I placed the eye bolts about 6" apart with one facing up and one down. I attach the jib halyard to the top one then cleat the tail and the main sheet tackle to the bottom eye bolt and the bow. This allows me to stand on the cabin roof, facing forward with the mast in the stern crutch. As I take up the main sheet, I can keep one hand on the mast to steady it and use the cam cleat on the main sheet to stop at any point to clear any fouled stays. The only problem I have is making sure the boat is parked in a level spot to keep the mast from swinging side to side as it's being lifted. I'll try and see if I have any pictures of this gizmo laying around to make sense out of all of the above.....