Using the Bow rail as a Gin Pole

[Gypsy]

Just curious ,
Has anyone ever used the thier bow rail , instead of a gin pole to raise the Mast ?

I have daydreamed of hooking the block and tackle into the bow mount where the mast rest , when its down. and running this back to the winch , elimanating the gin pole .

The pulley blocks would run between the bow mount and the mast , and back to the winch .
Instead of between the gin pole and mast , then to the winch .

To much stress on the bow rail ?
Think it would bend it upward ?

As said , just curious , it would be great to elimanate the gin pole.

[Don T]

Not recommended, the gin pole provides the leverage to raise the mast from the horizontal position plus the bow rail is not strong enough for the forces involved.

My 2c worth

[Chinook]

I've not used the bow pulpit as you've speculated, however, I have used it to fix a rigging problem. Not paying close enough attention, I'd raised the mast and pinned the furler on backwards (with the opening for the furling line facing forward). I didn't want to reinstall the mast raising pole, so instead, I tied the jib halyard to the bow pulpit, using a trucker's hitch to gain adequate tension. This allowed me to remove the furler pin and reinstall it correctly. It worked fine, but it didn't have the same amount of tension on it that the block and tackle would provide while raising the mast.

[Scott]

Its not tall enough to get any leverage and IMO not strong enogh.

[Catigale]

Not strong enough to lift the mast from the crutch, but once you get it up about 10 feet, my 10 year old can pull it up with a block on the pulpit pretty easily. I tie off a dock line from the spreader crotch there when I am rigging, too.

[Gazmn]

If you don't like the size of the gin pole, consider getting the new mast raising kit for the . I got an extra pair of baby stays with the purchase. The baby stays are mucho important in the mast raising excercise

I like the fact that you can stop midway with the two way winch at any height. Can't be beat
This even beats having the ability to just bull the mast up which many,as well as I, can do. Something always snags or isn't paying out as it should & then you're stuck or have to return it to it's cradle

Lastly, leave the bow rail out of the equaton

[School House Steve]

I owned a Mac 25 for 18 years before I bought my 26 M. My method of raising the mast consisted of attaching a 2 ton come-a-long to the spinacker pole attachment mid way up the mast and the other end tied to the bow pulpit. I would prop the mast up with the crutch as high as possible from the cockpit, and then lift the mast with my right hand and work the come-a-long with the left hand. No baby stays were used and the bow pulpit never pulled out. One question my Admiral pointed out, "Maybe the older Macs were stronger built than the new ones?" However the mast raising system for the 26M is better.

SS

[Gypsy]

Please explain baby stays , is this something I can add to my 2000 26X ?

Our biggest problem is the mast wanting to swing to port or starboard , while we are raising it .
Last time we had a near castrophe when it swung and bent the ginpole mount , then came crashing down .
I straightened the mount on the gin pole and we were able to raise it.

[Québec 1]

Please explain baby stays , is this something I can add to my 2000 26X ?

Our biggest problem is the mast wanting to swing to port or starboard , while we are raising it .
Last time we had a near castrophe when it swung and bent the ginpole mount , then came crashing down .
I straightened the mount on the gin pole and we were able to raise it.

Yep! Baby stays are what keep your mast from swinging to port and starboard. They always come with the mast raising system on the X and M. If you never want to have a problem like that again....get them. The absolute best is the newest mast raising system for 26M's ( I think you can get them to work on the X) you can get that info and the excellent mast raising system with stays from the dealers on this site under the resources tab on the top of this page.
Q1.

[Gypsy]

They are basically short guide wires that connect to the mast at about 4 feet up ?

[40Toes]

They are basically short guide wires that connect to the mast at about 4 feet up ?

Yep. They keep the mast centred while raising it. I can't imagine trying to raise the mast without them especially if you have a roller furling.

[Scott]

In this (bottom) pic, you can see he baby stay to the left of the mast

[Gypsy]

Thanks For your Help !

I am thinking of maybe adding some lines as baby stays , just for use while raising the mast .
Then removing them once its up , so as not to clutter the deck anymore.

Is 4 feet about right to attach to the mast , or higher ?

[parrothead]

Hopefully someone with their Mac close enough to measure will chime in, but I'm pretty sure that the bail where the baby stays attach to the mast on our is at least 6 feet above the deck.

[Russ]

Hopefully someone with their Mac close enough to measure will chime in, but I'm pretty sure that the bail where the baby stays attach to the mast on our is at least 6 feet above the deck.

Sounds about right. I know I have to reach up to attach them.


--Russ