Topping lift problem
I'm assuming that the topping lift catches only when the sail is fully up and you're tacking or jibbing or otherwise having the main swing beneath the lift cable. When you have the main fully out and don't need the lift to provide more belly to the sail, tie it off to the back stay, taking out any slack, or tie it to the mast. If it's catching when you need it for sail shape under certain conditions, that means either that the sail was cut a bit too full at the top, or that you have the boom a few inches too high on the mast. My Pearson 30 has a short track with pin settings allowing me to adjust where the boom sets, so if you have such a track and the boom isn't already at the very bottom of it, set it there to avoid the catching when you have to leave the topping lift in place. Otherwise, there's no need to leave it connected to the boom end, underway, is there? JP
