Mast raising question.

[Mac Bentley]

For Peter or someone like him. I've built Mr. Suah's mast-raising a-frame and everything's fine, but it appears my mainsheet is woefully short. Assuming one block attaches to the tack stay and the other at the top of the a-frame ... I can raise the a-frame only about halfway. If I'm doing something wrong, I'd like to hear about it.And assuming I need more mainsheet, with a 4-to-1 purchase ... this is embarrassing ... will I need to buy 4 feet for every foot of overall extension? That's sure going to leave a mess in the cockpit when it's time to sail.Thanks,Mac

 

[sailsinger]

Mast Raising with A Frame

Mac,I just completed the A frame and Block& Tackle to raise the mast like Peter's set up. Last year, I tried it only with the traveller sheet and had the same problem. This year, I solved it by fabricating a seperate 4:1 block using some West Marine blocks and about 90' foot of 1200lb working strength line. This setup works like a charm and allows me to truely step the mast single handedly./ChuckS/V WindsongsH23

 

[Steve677]

Mac... Other side of the coin...

Hey Guys,I also downloaded the pics and instructions for Peter's A-Frame and will be making one before it is time to pull my H23 out of the water for the season. She is on a buoy so I won't unstep the mast until the Fall. I'm concerned about bringing the mast back down. Peter's instructions cover stepping the mast but there aren't any pictures or tips for bringing her back down. Mac, it sounds as if you have experience. Any tips to share?

 

[william3045]

how about a seperate harness

i apologise for my not having seen the mainsheet system yall are talking about but...i'm considering using the mainsheet next time too but maybe a little differenty. last time i used took about a 20' piece of 3/16 cable and made a loop with a couple of ferrells....then ran it out the bow roller, (pic attached), and used a come along winch belayed to the bumper. (i bet right here that the mainsheet could replace the come along winch)...worked like a champ. next time i think i'll just use a single cable with some small eyes that will go through my bow roller and atttachong one end of that to the forestay and the other to the mainsheet....should give me the extra length i need + a rolled-up cable is easy to stow for next time. when the foresail halyad gets close enought to the anchor roller i clip that to the roller and release the cable use the halyard to pull enough extra purchase to attach the turnbuckle. (i stayed a little loose on the backstay and forestay till i was done. (balance was my big problem for singlehand and i am going to tie a line athwartships over the mast for the next try till i have the back pin in.)

 

[Wanderer138]

Mast raising and lowering

a) You need a lot of line (approx. 70 feet), especially if you want to stand on the cabin top and steady the mast by hand as it goes up or down.b) I coil the excess and hang it on the wooden slats on the side of the cockpit. Otherwise it can becomes a mess.c) A separate tackle just for raising or lowering the mast is one solution.d) pulling down hard on the A-frame once the mast is up makes it a lot easier to tighten to forestay turnbuckle. I can tighten it most of the way by hand.e) lowering is the exact reverse of raising.Thanks for the comments. Glad to hear the rig is working well for you all.PeterH23 "Raven"

 

[DCsailor]

A frame and Block

Peter or Steve,I am still a new guy to this form, so I am sure I am missing the obvious, but where is the photo's and instructions of Peter's A frame mast raiser that Steve is refering to? I would love to be able to raise and lower the mast myself.Jim

 

[Steve677]

Photo Forum

Peter's rig is archived in the photo forum. If this link doesn't work go to the photo forum and search for 23's and it should pop up.

 

[Steve677]

In operation...

Check out my last response too. I found one more photo that is not nested within Peter's posting. This one shows the assembled system being used.

 

[OkieSailor]

Backstay

I hava a question about making the back stay loose when the mast is being raised or lowered. If the backstay is as loose as you can set it, would that not let you connect the forestay easily and then go to the back stay and retighten it after the mast is up. I notice that most people mention how hard it is to get the forstay connected when raising the mast.

 

[Jason Alexander]

That Looks alot

like the system that is designed for the 26. Except the pole goes in the mast and the mail sheet is long enought to do the job so we don't need a second block. Jason

 

[Steve677]

Hey OkieSalior

It can be a b.... to attach the forestay if you haven't loosened the turnbuckle to take the pressure off it first. Peter's use of the mainsheet blocks should let us put enough tug on the mast to make attaching/detaching the forestay pretty easy without loosening the backstay. I'm going to build an A-Frame before I step my mast this fall. I'm leaning towards a system that combines Peter's system and one using the halyard winch as designed by Mark Major in the photo forum link below. I think using the winch would give me even more pull than using the mainsheet tackle and I won't need a super long mainsheet or too much of a "lifting" line...

 

[Steve677]

Hey Jason

I was raised in Independence, Iowa. Where do you find enough water to float a 26 around Cedar Rapids?

 

[Mac Bentley]

Hey Steve,

As Peter said, just do everything in reverse to lower the mast. I raised and lowered my mast recently without his system, felt I had enough help to do without it for that one trip. I have a furled headsail so I used the jib halyard, through a turning block at the bow and to my mainsheet tackle, the cam end attached near the mast base. Of course I didn't have enough mainsheet but we complemented with muscle. One problem I believe is the halyard that came with the boat I bought in Sept. has way too much stretch, didn't feel like I had good control of the mast. To tie the forestay, I had a guy hold the mast up while we loosened the backstays and shortened the halyard so I could extend the mainsheet tackle, which was cinched to the max, and crank some more and bring the masthead foreward.A surprise while lowering the mast was the 4:1 purchase worked so well the mast would get partway down and stall ... a couple of times I had to give a little tug on the mainsheet between the blocks to get it going down again.I'm building Peter's mast crutch right now, plan to put the boat in the water within a week and will let you know how it goes. Thanks for that picture of the a-frame in action; it helps to know what to expect.Mac

 

[Jason Alexander]

Two Places

There is a 400sq acre lake north of here thats a good teaching lake. And then we go to Lake Red Rock that is good sized. I'm moving up from a 19" flying scott and am looking to move someplace with more water and a bigger boat in the futureJason

 

[ruedi ross]

Another solution for a short mainsheet

is to use the winch cable or strap used to pull the boat onto the trailer. You need to put a block or roller on the bow pulpit to do this, but it makes single handed raising a snap. You need to be careful lowering it this way, don't let it get away from you. Only works on the trailer though.