Help with mast rigging

[mlindberg1]

I am new to sailing and have a few questions regarding rigging on Oday 26. Looking at the mast head I have 2 halyards that run thru sleeves. These are external to the mast. One is for main and one is to attach to the top drum of the roller furling system. There is one fixed line tied to the masthead. What is this for? Would that be the topping lift for the back of boom? On the masthead itself I see the place where the antennae for vhf goes. There are also 3 screws in a line on top. What are they for? There is also a D like ring at the top also. What is that for? Just one more (I feel like an idiot) the main halyard has some sort of blocks attached to it. I thought it would be a straight line that attaches to the main sail to hoist it up. Don't understand the blocks on the halyard. Also various line on blocks going to spreaders and one just runs up to right above the steaming light. Am am new to this...there are no real manuals for the 26. Thanks for this group.

OK Adding some more photos. What is the tang on the front of the mast for? is this where the forestay (with the roller furler goes) so then the halyard can tighten up the top of the fuller since its lower??

 

[agprice22]

I will take a shot at this, as I just rigged my friend's Oday 26 with him.

Yes, you have two external halyards. The extra blocks on the mainsail halyard sound like maybe the owner left turning blocks attached to it to lead it aft(?). To confirm this, there would be a plate, eyelet, bail, or some connection point on the base of the mast to connect the block. The line would be led toward the starboard gunwale to a line organizer atop the cabin. That line organizer would turn the line aft. Without these, I don't know that your mainsail halyard was being led aft.

Yes, the line tied to the top, aft end of the mast would be the topping lift. Tie this to the end of the boom.

The D ring you speak of on the top, forward end of the mast is perhaps to connect the forestay shackle and toggle or a block for a spinnaker halyard.

If the furler is a Furlex 100s, the jib halyard connects to the top of the halyard swivel, a barrel-shaped piece that slides up the foil. The head of the headsail connects to the snap shackle on the bottom of the halyard swivel. The headsail is fed into the foil into the luff groove. The tack of the headsail is connected via the snapshackle on top of the furling drum.

The lines and blocks connected to your spreaders could be for flying pennants / flags, or they could be for lazy jacks. Lazy jacks are normally attached directly to the mast just below the spreaders. They control lines that run down to the boom to form a cradle for assisting in flaking the mainsail.

If you give me more detailed pictures, I might be able to sort some of it out.

Understand that owners customize their rigging, and this makes sorting it out difficult when buying a new-to-you boat.

Good luck! Enjoy your boat!

Thanks,

Andrew

 

[mlindberg1]

Thanks Andrew,
I just uploaded a few more pictures. The blocks on the main halyard makes sense now as does the topping lift. I just am not sure where the forestay coming out of the drum attaches to? there is a tang (pictured) about 6 inches or so from the top of the mast...hmmmm?

 

[mlindberg1]

Andrew...There is a ring attached to the base of the mast so that makes sense. There are also 2 clutches on the starboard side cabin top that lead to a cabin top winch. I'm sure I can sort that out.

Should I keep all of this attached to the mast before stepping it? worrying about weight. My plan is to step the mast while the boat is at the dock and have lots of strong people at the ready. I will build a mast crutch / pin the rear pin / and muscle it up. Also have one person on the Furler so it does not get snagged. keep rear stay and uppers and lowers connected.
I am just worried about side to side movement..if people tread lightly and not rock the boat I hope we will be fine. There is also footbridge at the dock. Was thinking of a line wrapped around the mast for folks to help pull...has a good angle. my My this is tons of work from a former motor boater. Thank god I have a mooring all year.

 

[mlindberg1]

Here is some video of this mess!
https://youtu.be/M_vd7vSyVyA

 

[Indysailor]

The "D" ring on the masthead is for a spinnaker block. The forestay should connect to a pin on the masthead via a toggle. You can raise the mast with stays and shrouds attached to the boat, but you want to make sure everything is oriented correctly and not tangled prior to raising it. The nice thing about having shrouds attached is that you can more quickly get things stabilized once the mast is vertical. One exception, with a headsail furler, you obviously cannot attach it prior to raising the mast. And make sure your halyards are not tangled and that you have both ends of each secured somewhere so that you don't finish only to realize you're looking up the mast at a headboard shackle. Not that it's ever happened to me, of course. Generally, I've found that the most important thing is to have a couple of needle nose vice grips at the ready. I keep a leatherman in my pocket and I give out a couple of vice grips so that multiple people are prepared. Secondly, make sure your cotter pins to be used are all straight, ready and within easy reach. You should be able to raise the mast with at minimum, four people: two at the mast step, one to raise the mast and one to tend the forestay/furler. More hands are better to a point, there isn't a lot of room for a bunch of people to be bumping into one another on deck, but a second person to help raise the mast would be a good idea. Many people use mast raising systems. I have not on my 23, but I ink if I were doing it on your boat, I'd look into constructing one. I haven't raised mine without a gin pole in about five years and I never found it to be very easy. But I'm also pretty small guy....


Can't tell much from the video.

The lower shroud tang pointing the wrong direction is not a big deal. Just loosen it, point it downward, re-tighten.

 

[agprice22]

I think you have it mostly sorted out. As said by indysailor, the forestay passes through the foil and attaches via a toggle at the top and gets pinned just below the masthead. Attach this before raising the mast.

As for raising the mast, I used a gin pole attached to the main halyard and the forestay chainplate on my friend's 26, and it worked fine. I hauled the line using 4:1 tackle (think boom vang or mainsheet block) from the bow while "steering" the mast by pulling the gin pole or lines as the mast came up. There are Youtube videos of Gin Pole mast raising. No muscle required!

When hauling the mast up in any fashion, make sure your line is centered on the mast. Pulling off center will cause the mast to fall away to port or starboard. With the shrouds attached, the higher you get the mast, the more the shrouds will stabilize it. With the backstay attached, the mast will stop at the limit of the backstay. I have cleats that attach to cables, and I used these to attach lines to the shrouds to tension them til the mast was erect. Don't attach any lines to the mast higher than you can reach, or you will have to go up the mast or get a ladder!

At that point, the only pin you will need to insert will be the forestay pin beneath the furler drum. If needed, once the mast is up, you can tie off the main halyard and attach it somewhere forward to stabilize the mast while you pin the forestay.

Yes, a few strong guys can get this done, but it could get exciting!

Take care. Enjoy!

Andrew

 

[mlindberg1]

Thanks so much for the help. I think I've got it. Also I took the blocks off the main and jib halyard for traveling purpose. I neatened all the lines and got them ready to go. All I need now is transportation to the ramp.. I had a date set but I injured my back so I had to cancel. Trying to get him on memorial weekend forget it. I'm sure everyone has the same idea..

 

[Ward H]

Looks like Andrew and Indy have answered most of your questions. I looked at the video and that bungy cord coming out of the furling drum is for a pre feeder. You run the luff tape through the pre feeder then into the furler foil. The pre feeder helps to align the luff tape as you raise the sail.
Here is a link to the Furled 100S Manual. http://www.seldenmast.com/files/1426855958/595-102-E.pdf
it will help you get that part part figured out.

If you have four guys people helping you raise the mast you shouldn't need to build any rig to assist you. One for the furler drum. One at the mast step and to watch for any tangled rigging and two to raise the mast and you should be fine. One thing I did was add additional line to the main halyard shackle and ran it back to a stern cleat. Tightening the main halyard as you raise the mast helps to pull it up and hold it up while you get the furler fore stay attached.
Andrew was right. Your working on a 34 yr old boat so who knows what previous owners have added and whether they really added to the boat or was just somebody's idea and didn't work out.
I also agree that with all the blocks on the lines and on the spreaders, there was probably a lazy jack system. Some are attached to the mast, like in your last photo and some hang from the spreaders.
The first winter I dropped my mast with two of use on the mast and one guiding the furler.
In the spring I could not get anybody together to help raise it so I had the yard do it. I wasn't there but I had all the rigging and lines laid out for them. When I got to the boat I found both ends of the main halyard were in front of the spreader. The shackle end needs to be aft of the spreader.
I gave it some thought and filled water jug to the shackle and a very light line to the jug. I raised the juggling the halyard and when it got to the spreader pulled it forward and raised until it swung behind the spreader. Released the halyard and the jug pulled the shackle end right down to the deck.
I went for the first time this season yesterday. For being a Memorial Day weekend it was dead at the local public ramp and dock. Made for a nice empty bay for sailing.

And the other common things I see missing from your mast head are a windex, to show wind direction and an anchor light. If I remember right I had a couple of threaded holes on the flat top of the assembly for a light to screw to.
Also, don't just look for a O'day 26 manual. Look for a 25 also. I think it is on this site somewhere but google should fine it.