I made a mast raising system out of rope and bungee cords. Here is the link on how to do it.
http://forum.trailersailor.com/post.php?id=1405723
Follow the thread down and you will get info on the system. It worked great for me and I bought bungees off of ebay for a reasonable price. My son was there when we raised the mast using this system and before I got the bungees stretched all the way he tried to move the mast and it lifted with no effort on his part.
I haven't tried it solo but feel it will be real easy to handle.
I am enclosing a picture of the construction and also a parts list for the Sirius21.
Here are a few notes that was posted about the system.
A few notes:
1. If you use a sheet winch to tension the system, the line must have sufficient "tooth" to create friction against the drum. If your line is too "slippery" you can rough it up with a little sandpaper in the area where it contacts the winch drum. You could also consider using the trailer winch or a handy-billy / block and tackle.
2. Don't cut the bungee. If you don't like the performance, it's easy to start over with a different configuration. I like a constrictor knot to hold the bungee coils, but you might want to experiment using a clove hitch until you're happy with the system. The clove hitch can "foll out" if not seized, shortening the limiter, but the constrictor knot becomes a "knife knot" after tension and will cost you new limiter line to make a change.
3. Limiter line is continuous. All knots are tied in the running part of the line, so there's nothing to come undone. When fully tensioned, all of the tension in the system is under control of the limiter. The bungees could theoretically be cut with no effect when fully stretched.
4. You can change the ratio of beefy to stretchy by changing the number of coils in a pack or varying the coil length. The 7 1/2 foot limiters assume max bungee stretch is 2X relaxed length.
http://forum.trailersailor.com/post.php?id=1405723
Follow the thread down and you will get info on the system. It worked great for me and I bought bungees off of ebay for a reasonable price. My son was there when we raised the mast using this system and before I got the bungees stretched all the way he tried to move the mast and it lifted with no effort on his part.
I haven't tried it solo but feel it will be real easy to handle.
I am enclosing a picture of the construction and also a parts list for the Sirius21.
Here are a few notes that was posted about the system.
A few notes:
1. If you use a sheet winch to tension the system, the line must have sufficient "tooth" to create friction against the drum. If your line is too "slippery" you can rough it up with a little sandpaper in the area where it contacts the winch drum. You could also consider using the trailer winch or a handy-billy / block and tackle.
2. Don't cut the bungee. If you don't like the performance, it's easy to start over with a different configuration. I like a constrictor knot to hold the bungee coils, but you might want to experiment using a clove hitch until you're happy with the system. The clove hitch can "foll out" if not seized, shortening the limiter, but the constrictor knot becomes a "knife knot" after tension and will cost you new limiter line to make a change.
3. Limiter line is continuous. All knots are tied in the running part of the line, so there's nothing to come undone. When fully tensioned, all of the tension in the system is under control of the limiter. The bungees could theoretically be cut with no effect when fully stretched.
4. You can change the ratio of beefy to stretchy by changing the number of coils in a pack or varying the coil length. The 7 1/2 foot limiters assume max bungee stretch is 2X relaxed length.
