Newby needs mast stepping help!

topcat0399

topcat0399

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Aug 22, 2011
1,113
MacGregor Venture V224 Cheeseland
Like the diagram shows - I mounted a "bail" (a u-shaped piece of stainless) about 6 feet up from the cabin roof. Easy to hook on with strong hooks attached to the ends of the baby stays. It is also the point that we connect our gin pole line to the mast.
 
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Chief RA

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Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
topcat: been shopping but you didn't need me anyway. You guys are doing a good job helping him. My point on stays for the gin pole is if the gin pole is stable then your mast should be too. Using baby stays is a good thing but he probably will need to use line since he doesn't have the fancy set like my boat. I would think the slot stop screw on the mast would work to secure a line above it and around the mast to make 2 lines to tie off on each side. LA LA, BABY STAYS! What do you guys think? Chief
 
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watercolors II

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Dec 23, 2008
772
Catalina 22 Central Penna.
two strong friends or more

Operating a gin pole is more complicated that raising the mast on your boat. Everyone has different attachment points, so no Two are alike.

I recommend you and two strong friends or more to muscle the mast up a couple times till you understand what goes on with everything during the lift. Damage to the boat and fittings can be possible by using some kind of lifting device by using the power of the device to bend or brake something not knowing. When muscleing, go very slow checking every cable attached to the mast and attached to the hull, that is why I suggest two strong friends or more.

Stays 2 and 3 on both sides and the backstay, stay attached. Stays 1 and the forestay are attached when the mast is vertical. Loosening of the backstay and stays 3 may need to be loosened at the deck fittings to get the three forward stays attached. Never need to adjust the stay number 2 that go all the way to the top of the mast.

When using a gin pole or any other device to lift the mast have those two strong friends or more around because if something happens it will happen when it can do the most damage!
 
topcat0399

topcat0399

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Aug 22, 2011
1,113
MacGregor Venture V224 Cheeseland
Watercolors! said:
Operating a gin pole is more complicated that raising the mast on your boat. Everyone has different attachment points, so no Two are alike.

I recommend you and two strong friends or more to muscle the mast up a couple times till you understand what goes on with everything during the lift. Damage to the boat and fittings can be possible by using some kind of lifting device by using the power of the device to bend or brake something not knowing. When muscleing, go very slow checking every cable attached to the mast and attached to the hull, that is why I suggest two strong friends or more.

Stays 2 and 3 on both sides and the backstay, stay attached. Stays 1 and the forestay are attached when the mast is vertical. Loosening of the backstay and stays 3 may need to be loosened at the deck fittings to get the three forward stays attached. Never need to adjust the stay number 2 that go all the way to the top of the mast.

When using a gin pole or any other device to lift the mast have those two strong friends or more around because if something happens it will happen when it can do the most damage!
Click to expand

Not sure why you think it so complicated. I have made ours so simple that the Admiral has done it alone in high winds and shes no sumo wrestler...
 
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CaptDon01

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Nov 19, 2008
2,129
Catalina C-22 MK-II Parrish, FL
Neat little cheap trick in the latest issue of the "MainBrace" on the National C-22 web site to help prevent an expensive screw-up to the rigging while raising the mast.

Did you know access to the "MainBrace" is free?

Guaranteed to save you the cost of a years membership!

Don
 
K

keljohnso

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Nov 26, 2014
29
C22 22 Oxford
Ok I got what I need to make baby stays. But I have another question, do I connect the forestay to the ginpole or the jib halyard?
 
justsomeguy

justsomeguy

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Feb 20, 2011
8,062
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
keljohnso said:
Ok I got what I need to make baby stays. But I have another question, do I connect the forestay to the ginpole or the jib halyard?
Click to expand
I'm leaning towards connecting the halyard to the gin pole.

Got any photos of your system?
 
Dodsonn

Dodsonn

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Dec 16, 2011
14
Catalina C-22 Cheney Reservoir
There is a YouTube video called "mast stepping catalina 22 (1st take)". This guy has a great idea for stabilizing the side to side motion of the mast. Give it a look. I use this same design and it works pretty well for raising it by yourself.
 
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Dwight Thomas

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Mar 9, 2014
2
Oday Oday 25 Pepin, WI
Biggest concern when using a Gin Pole is to have the Gin Pole stays anchored on a pivot point that is in line with the mast base. As the Mast is being raised these stays will keep equal tension from side-to-side and the Gin Pole will remain stable as the mast is being raised. I put a gin Pole system on my Oday 25 a few years ago and the tension in the mast's sidestays is un-important, they will get tighter as the mast is going up becuase they are not anchored on the same pivot point as the mast base, but the stays on the Gin Pole will keep it all going up evenly from side to side. There are many ways to raise the connection point for the Gin Pole stays. On my boat it was best to take two shorter cables and anchor them to the two stancion bases fore and aft of the mast, (on each side of course) by adjusting the lenth of these shorter cables and then connecting the Gin Pole stays to them I was able to get the Gin Pole stay anchored on a pivot point even with the Pivot point on the Mast Base. this system allows me to singlehandedly raise my mast, before using this system it took 2-3 people to raise my mast.
 
topcat0399

topcat0399

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Aug 22, 2011
1,113
MacGregor Venture V224 Cheeseland
keljohnso said:
I did it!! And I did it by myself!!

Very never racking the first time. Here's my setup.
Click to expand

Looks like you've got the idea.

A couple of small things;

Put the S hooks in a vise and close the ends a little more.
Might want to replace those self tappers with stainless through bolts.

I knew you would succeed.

The real test will be doing it in a breeze and/or when the trailer is on a slant.
 
Chris115

Chris115

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Jun 21, 2011
49
Catalina 22 MKII Scarborough, Ontario
Any reason why the baby stays could not be attached to both the mast and the ginpole?
 
topcat0399

topcat0399

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Aug 22, 2011
1,113
MacGregor Venture V224 Cheeseland
Chris115 said:
Any reason why the baby stays could not be attached to both the mast and the ginpole?
Click to expand
Not sure what you mean by this and how exactly that would be done.

Some folks put stays on their gin pole and some (like us) don't.

Again; there are many many ways to accomplish a mast raising and there is no absolute one right answer for everyone. Anyone that says different lacks imagination...
 
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