I think I shouda hada V8 Moment :o

[BD]

I just realized that all last year I sailed without releasing the topping lift. I just sailed along with the boom in a slightly raised position. Could this explain why I seemed to be having trouble getting my main up (I guess that will open up a can of worms).

How much performance do you guy think I lost?

I guess I need to make a mental note to let the boom drop before I raise the main.

Thanks

 

[Bob V]

Duh!

That's like sailing with your fenders hanging over the side. I would think it would be easier to raise the mainsail with the boom slightly up since there would be slack on the leach.

It would hurt your speed though when sailing. I doubt if you will ever be able to make up for all of the time you lost unless you motor-sail for the rest of the season.

 

[Maine Sail]

What the heck is going on????

Just read this in the local press. Are ALL boaters getting dumber and dumber? Three rescues in 36 hours by the USCG! We really need to begin charging some of these idiots the full cost of rescue!!! Who needs rescue in 6 foot seas and 20 knots?? This is just ridiculous!!



"The Coast Guard rescued a sailor off the southern Maine coast as he tried to sail from Portland to Groton, Conn., in stormy seas.

Sixty-eight-year-old Michael Mavor made a radio distress call Thursday afternoon from his sailboat reporting that he was alone and that his vessel had torn sails and disabled engines. Seas were 6 feet, winds more than 20 miles per hour and there were thunderstorms in the area.

The Coast Guard launched a 47-foot rescue boat and a Falcon jet crew from Cape Cod, but when they got to his reported location there was no sign of Mavor's 30-foot vessel. But his location was finally pinpointed based on his cell phone signal when Mavor was asked to dial 911.

The Coast Guard arrived after 5 p.m. and took the sailboat in tow. It was the third time in 36 hours Mavor needed assistance at sea."

Here's the link:
http://news.mainetoday.com/updates/030753.html

 

[Breaking wind]

I leave my topping lift up

all the time also? I let out the slack after the main is up?

you probably dont loose as much as I do dragging 3 kids thru the water on ropes!

 

[Charlie]

Vang

Vang and main sheet should be slack when raising the main.

 

[Breaking wind]

agreed!

with Charlie

 

[Nice N Easy]

For me

For me that is what is called a senior moment.

 

[jviss]

Please elaborate.

"Vang and main sheet should be slack when raising the main."

I confess, I have a rigid vang and no topping lift rigged; but I have sailed many other boats with no boom vang and with topping lifts.

If you slack the topping lift before you raise the main, what will hold up the boom?

Maybe you're assuming a rigid boom vang?

Standard procedure with non-rigid boom vang boats would be to support the boom with the topping lift until the main is raised and the halyard tightened, and then slack the topping lift. Take up on the topping lift before you lower the main.

Tell me, what's wrong with that?

 

[Alan]

BD

You're not alone, I have seen countless skippers sailing with their topping lifts on and tensioned. Many I suspect don't have a clue that a topping lift is not a sail control line.

jviss, you are describing it correctly and saying the same thing. Slacking (not releasing)the topping lift prior to raising the main is counter-productive because it lowers the angle of the boom which puts additional weight from the boom on the main halyard as the main approaches full hoist. Some boats have adjustable topping lifts while others do not. The adjustable lifts can be eased after hoisting while the fixed ones must be released completely. It goes without saying that the mainsheet and vang should be released while hoisting.

 

[oldiesrocker2001]

Slack topping lift

I leave my topping lift at the same tension also, but while it's adjustable I generally keep it just tight enough to keep the boom from smacking me in the head when the main halyard is released. I also sometimes keep the boom attached to the backstay pigtail while raising the main(but only in calm weather, of course).

 

[Ted Weitz]

slack topping lift

If you slack the topping lift, the mainsail will hold up the boom, as it is designed to. On some boats there was not topping lift at all, and either a boom critch or a pigtail to hold the boom up when the sail was not in use.

 

[rardi : H36 ( Cherubini)]

Topping Lift Ramblings

I've put a stopper knot on my topping lift tension/slack line in a spot where it can be let slack when the mainsail is up, but the knot will jam up against (in my case a block) to prevent the boom from ever falling down to head height in the cockpit the event that mainsail is dropped without first securing the topping lift line.

When sailing, I'm frequently fiddling with the topping lift play so there is some slack, but its not flapping up against the sail and banging up against the backstay. For instance, if I have just the right amount of topping lift slack when I have the mainsheet and/or boom vang hauled in tight, when I ease the mainsheet out for say a broad reach and the boom raises (which it does a bit even with the boom vang still tensioned) the topping lift becomes very loose, and needs to be taken in a bit. Going the other way (from mainsheet let-out to in-tight), the topping lift then needs to be let out again, or the mainsail leech can't be made taught.

It was suggested by a sailing neighbor, which I have adopted, to add some stretch cord in tandem along the topping lift's last couple of feet before it intersects with the boom end. Note this cord added in tandem to the topping lift. The topping lift remains connected to the boom as normal. Adjust the stretch cords so it has a little tension. It will then stretch out when the mainsheet is pulled in tight, but will still keep some tension on the topping lift when the boom raises as the mainsheet is let out. Less adjusting is needed when sailing.

With all the fiddling demanded by the topping lift, guess that's why rigid boom vangs are generally preferred these days... But I like fiddling, so I'm staying with the topping lift for now.